okaybee

Let’s be honest, getting bangs as summer is beginning was not my greatest move… But here we are.

I’ve had bangs (or a fringe) several times before, so today I wanted to share my top tips for styling and managing your bangs.

1. Figure out a style you like and that suits you. I personally prefer a softer look around my face, so a super blunt fringe with a blunt haircut just wouldn’t work for me. I think I have a pretty angular face too, so it’s good to soften that out. I tell my hairdresser (aka my aunt), to cut in some face framing pieces along with a soft fringe.
2. Bring photos of the styles you like to the hairdressers. Avoid all that “ok that’s not the style I wanted but there’s no turning back now” stress and bring photos in with you when you’re getting your hair cut. It makes life so much easier. Try to bring a couple of different options so that you can choose the one that’s best for your face shape.
3. Just wash your fringe when you needed to freshen up your hair. Your fringe will get greasy/oily faster as it’s resting up against your skin. If you feel like your fringe is looking a little lacklustre, but the rest of your hair is ok, just wash the fringe. Use a face cloth to wet that section of your hair, a shampoo bar will give you better precision here, and then rinse and dry as normal. Simple!
4. To avoid a split in the middle of your fringe, dry your hair towards the right, then the left, then straight down. It’s less likely to part that way as it’s been dried to work more towards the middle of your forehead. Also, if you have a thick fringe, dry it in layers, making sure you’re getting the underneath exactly how you want it.
5. Learn how to trim your fringe, or arrange to have fairly regular appointments. One of the trickiest aspects of a fringe, especially one that’s similar to my style, is managing the fine line that is having an eye grazing fringe, and not being able to see. Obviously you don’t want to be getting poked in the eye with your hair every second. So do yourself a favour and learn how to keep it in check, or make peace with the fact that you’ll be seeing your hairdresser more frequently
6. If you’re growing your bangs out – be patient. Rome wasn’t built in a day, and your bangs won’t grow out overnight. It can be really annoying and feel like it’s taking forever. But you need to do your best to just forget about it and let it do it’s thing.
7. Clips and hairbands will be your best friend during this time. Experiment with different styles, middle splits, whatever it takes to keep it out of your eyes and get you through the awkward length phase. It doesn’t last forever, I promise!
8. Avoid oil based products near your fringe. That thing will soak it up like a sponge! If you want to avoid washing your fringe every damn day, then just check your skincare and make up products to see which are oil based. You’ll want to avoid using these near your fringe, or at least greatly reduce the use of them.
9. If you’re growing out your eyebrows, or if you’ve had an eyebrow mishap, a fringe is a great option to cover them up. I know it sounds ridiculous, but I wish I had had a fringe during my skinny brown grow out days. Photos would have been a lot less horrifying to look at!
10. Texturising spray is your new best friend for freshly washed hair. I normally don’t mind when my hair is freshly washed, but fresh bangs are just a no for me. They need the texturising spray to take the fluffiness out so that they sit down rather than making me look like a poodle at Crufts. I love the Ouai Texturising Hairspray. Really lightweight, but adds that bit of texture that’s needed.

I’m so happy I got bangs/a fringe again. I really do love them, and I’ve been getting a crazy amount of compliments which is lovely. The main this is to have fun with them and not worry about growing them out. Hair grows after all!