When to Bang & How to Bang

Bangs have been back in a big way for the past few years. And thank goodness, because according to my own personal hairstyle, they've been in my whole life (except for that brief stint in 1996). But not everyone can (or should) wear them, and deciding to go with a bang truly is a major commitment. In case you're considering taking the plunge, here’s a few helpful suggestions:

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When to Bang

Deciding whether or not to bang has a lot to do with your face proportions. The face is divided up into three sections: the hairline to the eyebrows, the eyebrows to the end of the nose, and the end of the nose to the chin. A proportioned face will have roughly the same amount of area between each of those three sections.

If you are lucky enough to have a perfectly proportioned face, whether or not to bang will be determined by how strong your features are: the stronger the features the more you won’t be overwhelmed by bangs. If you have more delicate features, then bangs aren’t probably for you.

Bangs will draw lots of attention to your eyes, which is great if you’re wanting to de-emphasize a more prominent nose or chin. However, if you’re wanting to not draw attention to your eyes, again bangs aren’t probably for you.

Now, if the area between your hairline and eyebrows is smaller than the other two facial subsections, you have a petite forehead — bangs will only emphasize this proportion, and once again, bangs aren’t probably for you

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However, if the area between your hairline and brows is the largest area out of the three, then — ding ding! — you are a fantastic candidate to bang!

How to Bang

Heavy full bangs are the hands-down current “IT” look. You can go pretty wide or slightly more narrow, but they need to be heavy. It's all about the slight moon-shaped arc, think shorter right between the eyes, and then gently rounding down towards the temples. Also consider the length, which optimally should just graze below the eyebrows.

Make sure that the outside corners of the bangs do not extend further than the arch of the eyebrows. This ensures overall balance of the bangs (especially in relationship to the rest of the cut) and keeps the look very modern.

Finally, be sure to have the ends of the bangs textured; a few snips of the texturing shears keeps movement in an otherwise heavy band, and also softens the look. This makes all the difference between grade-school bands, and sexy, sophisticated bangs.