One of the best ways to change your look is by adding a side fringe or bangs to your haircut. It draws attention to your eyes, helps ‘shape’ your face and look stylish, but sometimes keeping an unruly side fringe in good order can be a headache. It doesn’t need to be that way and this article offers some advice on how to style side swept bangs.
Reese Witherspoon, Taylor Swift and Jennifer Anniston are all great advocates of the side bang, but you don’t need to have a great stylist to be able to get tame and great looking bangs that fall to the side in a graceful manner!
If you have newly cut bangs, your hair may take a little time to start falling in the right place, but there are plenty of ways to manipulate it with brushes, drying, straightening, grips and products to hold it in place. The longer you have them, the better they will fall naturally in place, but at first it can take a little bit of patience.
Cutting
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When you visit the salon, make sure you take a picture along to show the stylist the type of fringe you want. There are loads of inspirational pics online or in celeb magazines.
Asking for side bangs is not a straightforward request as one can look totally different to another, so decide whether you want long, short, thick, feathered etc. and explain what you want to the stylist. Also have a think about the natural condition of your hair and your personal hair type – if your hair is very curly, will bangs work? If your hair is very frizzy, can you smooth it out effectively?
If you have super thick hair, can bangs be thinned well enough? If in doubt, ask your stylist for advice, they know what works and what doesn’t and what type of bangs will suit you best. It is important to keep bangs well maintained, which means regular trims and shaping. Most salons allow you to pop in for restyling of just the bangs in-between cuts.
A good cut will go a long way in helping keep your side bangs in good shape and style. One that is cut badly will never really ‘lie’ well, so choose your hairdressers carefully. It is also probably not a good idea to cut one yourself at home unless you feel very confident or unless you have a friend who has some hair knowledge and can help you out. If it is your first time, seek professional help!
Washing
When you wash your hair, don’t neglect your bangs – they need shampoo and conditioner too (but be careful not to get any in your eyes).
It is also a good idea to use a conditioning treatment from time to time, especially as your bangs probably get more heat from the hair dryer and straighteners than the rest of your hair.
Use a wide tooth comb to comb through the bangs when the hair is damp, getting all knots and tangles away, and comb/place the bangs to the side that you want them to fall (make sure your hair is in its natural parting first).
You will probably have a side that your hair falls naturally to – it is best to go with this one rather than forcing it to the other side.
Drying
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If you blow-dry your hair, never forget your heat protectant spray. Your bangs will get a lot of heat exposure through hair dryers and straighteners and they can be really damaging to the hair if it is not protected with a good quality base spray.
Use a barrel brush to dry the bangs from underneath, giving them volume. The length of the bangs and your hair’s thickness will determine what size barrel brush you need (small or large).
When the bangs are almost dry, style them to the side and run the hair dryer from the root to the tips of the hair. This blasted heat stops them from getting frizzy and helps set the bangs in place.
The heat takes out the moisture in the hair, which is often the cause of frizziness.
Finish with a blast of cold air from the hairdryer and a very light spritz of hairspray. Sometimes it is best to tie back your hair and just focus on your side bangs either first or last, to give them the extra attention they need.
Pins
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If you do not rely on a hairdryer to dry your hair, but instead let it dry naturally, you can still style your side bangs in place.
It is best to use a small amount of serum or mousse.
Simply let your hair dry as normal and when nearly dry, use bobby pins to pin it to the side until it is fully dry.
Be careful where you place the pins, as it can sometimes leave kinks in the hair.
Finishing
Depending on what type of side bangs you want, you can either leave them flat and straight or add volume and fluff them up.
This is personal preference and both ways look great. If your hair is a little frizzy or the bangs are not lying flat, simply spritz a little extra heat protectant spray on them and run the straightening iron over them quickly (do not leave it on the hair for too long).
You will need to be really careful not to catch your face with the straightener, and this can be a bit tricky, so always pull the hair away from your eyes and face and don’t let the hair drop straight back to it – the hair will be hot for around 30 seconds after you have straightened it.
Tricks
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There are some nifty little tricks to try when drying your side bangs to help shape them. Give them a go and see what works for you.
- Dry your hair with your head upside down for added volume. This is great for the whole hair, and especially bangs.
- Bring the brush under and upwards when drying, again for extra volume and a barrel brush works best.
- Work the brush in a zigzag pattern, swap the barrel brush for a flat brush to get this right.
- Pull the side bangs over to the side they do not normally lie and dry them that way – when you bring them back over to the side they normally lie, they will have added volume.
- Use a tiny amount of serum or styling spray, but not too much, in case the hair appears greasy.
Maintenance
Always keep your bangs cut and styled neatly and remember to wash them regularly to avoid spots on your forehead. Sometimes it is best to wash your bangs on those in-between days even if you don’t wash the rest of your hair.
If your hair does not need washing, but your side bangs are looking out of place, simply tie back your hair and spritz water on the bangs only and re-style. The more you style your side bangs, the better ‘trained’ the hair will become to fall in the side position naturally.
If it needs a little help, pin it back and spritz with hairspray.
Using all these methods and a bit of patience will help style your side bangs perfectly.