Kiss, Kiss, Bang, Bangs!

    It's been almost a decade since my last attempt at having bangs.  It's been almost a decade because my last attempt was such a complete and utter fiasco.  I had two very small children and no time for hair.  I wanted something different and stylish, but what I got looked like a giant hipster mustache across my forehead.  I tried for weeks to train them into place, but it just didn't work and I hated it.  

    So, to solve my problem I had all my hair cut off into as short a pixie as the stylist would go before saying "This is scaring me.  I'm not comfortable cutting off any more hair."  That was then and having a pixie came with its own set of problems and benefits.  Nowadays, I have more time and patience for such things and decided to give it another try.  

    While I could have taken it as a bad omen that I told the stylist I wanted fringe that curved around my forehead  with longer pieces at the sides and she instead went straight across, I decided to be calm.  Bangs grow quickly.  

    It was perhaps another bad omen that when my family saw me the responses weren't things like "Oh, wow, you look great!"  But, were instead things like "Is this what you wanted when you went in there" and "do you like it?"  When someone asks you if you like what you've done, what they mean is "I don't like what you've done, but I don't want to be the one to bring you down just in case you haven't realized what a colossal mistake you've made yet."  

    My husband knew me when I was an awkward pre-teen with a ridiculous little roll of fringe that I cut myself and I think he instantly had flashes.  My girls usually don't even notice when I get a hair cut, so maybe they were just in shock.  It doesn't matter now, because like it or not, they're here to stay for a while.  Even though bangs have to be trimmed constantly, it takes For-Ever for them to grow completely out, not unlike that pixie cut I got almost a decade ago.  

    The good news in all this is two fold.  First, I do like these bangs even if they weren't exactly what I asked for.  I wear my hair up a lot and I've noticed over the years how increasingly harsh the hair pulled back look is with my features.  A nice fringe across the forehead will help to soften these styles.  Secondly, I don't think it will be any trouble to go in every few weeks to trim and coax these bangs into the more curved look that I wanted.  I know bangs aren't a big deal for a lot of women, but for someone like myself who absolutely hates spending time on her hair, I feel a bit like a supermodel rocking this style.

Tips for Fringe:
Do Your Research  Find out what length and thickness is best for your face shape and hair type.  I like these articles from Harper's Bazaar and About.com

Start Long  Longer bangs are a good way to test the waters and ease into the transition.  It's easier to go a little shorter each time you go in for a trim than it is to wait for those super short bangs to grow back.

Expect a Training Period  Your hair has been trained to part around your face and now it wants to keep doing it.  Alle from XO says in her article about What You Need To Know Before You Get Bangs,  "The best way to train your hair into beautiful bangs is to blow-dry it every morning (this will give it the correct shape) and sleep with a thick elastic headband on at night."   I also found that the  weight of thicker bangs made it easier to tame them.  But, for awhile expect to wash, blow-dry, curl, and heavily hairspray them until they learn this new style.

Don't Despair and Cut Off All Your Hair   Take some advice from someone who's been there.  Have a little patience with your new style and don't do anything drastic for at least a couple of months.  By that time your bangs will have grown out enough that if you truly hate them, you can start pinning them back or over to the side.