Curtains, Please!
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 a brief cringe-worthy stint in 1996).
But the thing is, not everyone can (or should) wear them. Then there's the major commitment of both styling and maintaining them...and the inevitable growing out.
In case you're considering taking the plunge, here’s a few helpful suggestions and guidelines:
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.
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
There are lots of options when it comes to banging, much of which has to do with your current hairstyle, the density of your hair, and preference.
The "side swoop" bangs had been HUGE for the last 10 years, giving folks with all sorts of style and forehead sizes many options. Larger forehead and thicker crown -- make them eyebrow-length and piecy. Finer hair and a shorter forehead? Go with the "is it a short layer or a long bang?" option.
The side swoop works for just about every hairstyle and length, which is what made it so versatile. Just remember that the short layer/long bang option works better on a layered haircut -- a shorter, disconnected side swoop is amazing with a long- or no-layer look.
The side swoop transitioned into the heavy full bang and was the new“IT” look a couple of years ago. They're still classic and full of lots of options for various face shapes. But most importantly it's all about the slight moon-shaped arc -- think shorter right between the eyes, and then gently rounding down towards the temples. Keeping the length just grazing below the eyebrows looks great on everyone.
When going with the heavy, full bang, 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.
Texturing the very ends of the bangs is pivotal; a few snips of the texturing shears keeps movement in an otherwise heavy bang, and also softens the look. The texture elevates the bang, making all the difference between grade-school bands, and sexy, sophisticated bangs.
Trending Bangs
But if you want to be on the cutting edge (pun sooooo intended!), curtain bangs are SO HOT that you might get burned!
Curtain bangs got their name because they're supposed to look like, well, curtains (hence the post photo). Typically parted just right or left (your preference) of center, they're finer towards the center and become more dense towards the temples. They're also cut short-to-long from the center-out, and are also deeply texturized in the center.
Curtain bangs are not as dense in the center as a heavy, full bang, and are considerably longer towards the arch of the eyebrow/temple than the full bang. These have very little volume as they're cut to lay pretty flat to the forehead.
These work best on proportional-to-long foreheads, and look more current on a medium-layered haircut that has a ton of movement -- think shag but waaaaaaay cuter. These can be fine or thick, depending on how dense your volume is at the crown. Those these bangs are styled straight, I personally love them on a 'do that is styled with tons of texture!
OKAY, so who's going to give curtain bangs a try??? I did about a month ago, and I'm not going to lie....I swear it took at least 5 years off me! Leave me a comment and let me know if you taking a plunge -- or better yet, post a gorgeous photo of you and your new bangs!
