Look at any young girl’s elementary school picture and you will most likely find bangs gracing their forehead. Bangs seem like almost a rite of passage for any little lady, with straighter hair. For a majority of my younger years, the very popular “bowl” cut bangs were my poison of choice.
Soon the make or break “side bang” became my go to haircut. It wasn’t until I was an upperclassman in high school that I decided to let my hair grow out. I’d had too many, in my mind, unflattering bang cuts to ever want to attempt them again.
That all changed this past February, when I was scrolling through Pinterest and discovered bangs were “back in.” At first I wondered what sick stylist decided to bring them back but, as I scrolled through the pages and pages of “bangin’ styles” I realized these may not be the bangs of yester-year.
Before I could help myself, I had saved several bang photos to my hair board on Pinterest. I began to wonder if bangs were the thing missing in my life or, if it was the changing season influencing me to try new things.
It wasn’t long before I made an appointment with a hairdresser, from my hometown and, convinced myself that I not only deserved but needed bangs. However, the day of the appointment, I began to have second thoughts.
What if I ended up with an actual bowl haircut? What if I hated them and had to spend the next six months growing them out? What if I ended up with the same haircut as my mother?
I turned to the only people I trust with important decisions concerning my life: everyone in my contact list and anyone who would answer.
Mainly, people agreed that the risk may be worth the reward. Unfortunately, there were those select few that advised against such a drastic life decision (#firstworldproblems). Finally, it was the inspiring words of my older sister, basically telling me that “…it is only hair and “just do it,” that gave me the confidence to make the cut.
I emerged from the salon with the longest, stringiest bangs I’d ever seen. I’m not sure the stylist quite understood what I was going for and, basically cut two strips of hair to create the “bangs” I wanted.
I realized that my first mistake was not showing her the picture of the style I wanted and emphasizing what I liked and didn’t like. Clearly this would have prevented a lot of mini panic attacks, as I continued to try and make my new “bangs” work.
I even pinned them back when I got back into town and went to see my boyfriend for dinner, as I was too ashamed of what he would think of me. Obviously, these “bangs” were messing with my mind as well as my self-confidence. I realized that all new haircuts take time to get use to but, the fact that they made me feel self-conscious was unacceptable.
I immediately looked for hair salon, close to my apartment, that would give me the bangs I originally wanted. After finding one, I stopped by for a “bang trim” and emerged a new woman.
Speaking up, being reasonable and open-minded really goes a long way when attempting a new hairstyle. This hairdresser also gave me tips on how to style my bangs the way I liked.
Sometimes it takes a while to get use to a new style or, improve a style that interests you into something uniquely you. Hair shouldn’t have the power over a person that many, including myself, give it. However, it does.
Even after a month of having bangs, I’m still getting use to them. But, I’m so glad I branched out and got them.
After this experience, I’ve learned that attempting new things can be scary, especially something as intimate as a haircut but, it shouldn’t stop you from trying. Without experimentation no one would ever figure out what works for them.
Life is a game of trial and error. But, if you never try you’ll never know the successes waiting for you.