So, you are thinking about cutting bangs! I was thinking the same thing about a year and a half ago and ended up getting them. The entire experience was a rollercoaster and I ended up making a lot of mistakes. Somehow, I figured everything out and eventually learned how to rock my bangs.
Towards the end of my senior year of high school, I felt that I needed some sort of change. When I would look in the mirror, I saw the same hairstyle I had seen my entire life. One day I thought: what if I got bangs?
I started obsessively watching YouTube videos and reading articles about getting bangs. I was super nervous about whether or not I could pull them off and, unfortunately, there’s no way you can know for sure until you get them. I thought about it for three months before finally getting bangs a few days after I graduated high school. Here are a few things I learned:
Bangs will not look good for the first week after cutting them.
I learned this the hard way. I got bangs right before everyone’s graduation parties and it was a little bit of a mess. It’s important to remember that our face-framing pieces of hair are not adjusted to laying straight down on our foreheads. It will take about a week for them to stop trying to part as they used to and adapt as bangs. Because of this, I didn’t realize I looked good with bangs until that first week was over. Learn from my mistakes and make sure to give yourself a few adjustment days post-haircut.
Everybody looks different with bangs.
Celebrities like Taylor Swift, Dakota Johnson, Kerry Washington and Zooey Deschanel are known for their amazing bangs. These women have very different types of hair and don’t all style their bangs the same way. I have thick, semi-straight hair. So, I looked a lot different with bangs than someone with thin or curly hair would. If you’re thinking about getting bangs, make sure to look at examples of someone with hair similar to yours to get the best idea of what you would look like.
I had to wash my bangs every day.
With naturally oily skin and hair, there was no way I could not wash my bangs every day. They could barely make it through one day without getting oily. I learned to tie the rest of my hair back, wash my bangs in the sink and blow dry them so I could stick with washing all of my hair every other day. Although this was inconvenient at first, I got used to my new routine in no time.
Bangs require effort every morning.
When you have bangs, there is no such thing as getting up and going. I always had to blow-dry and sometimes straighten my bangs if I wanted them to look nice. The only way I could avoid any effort was by tucking them under a headband – which came in handy for my 8 a.m. classes freshman year. Eventually, I got tired of putting the effort in every day. I desperately missed the days of rolling out of bed and being able to put my hair in a simple ponytail. No clips, no headbands, no hairdryer – just a hair tie. In the end, this was the deal-breaker. I kept trimming my bangs for about six months before deciding to grow them out after winter break.
Today, over a year later, my bangs have FINALLY grown out past my chin! The absolute worst part about this entire experience has been the grow-out stage. At one point, I genuinely believed my hair looked the worst it ever has in my life. Although I knew they would be a pain to grow out, I figured my hair would grow fast and be back to normal after a year.
If you’re considering bangs, know they are a large commitment and there is not an easy fix if you don’t like them. But, I think it’s important to experiment with your hair and change up your look. Overall, I love the way my bangs looked and I don’t regret getting them. I think the experience of having them and making the change was worth the struggle of growing them out. Bottom line: If you’re willing to put the effort in and commit to growing them out, then I think you should take the chance and get bangs!
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