The sun is shining again. Temperatures are on the rise. A cool gust of wind in your face reminds you that it is possible for wind to be gentle rather than painfully numbing. Lately, you’ve been feeling bold and craving change. Then a thought occurs to you: When was the last time you treated yourself to a day at the salon for a new ‘do’? Not only that, when was the last time you did something daring? An impulse decision urges you to make an appointment to get bangs first thing tomorrow, and there’s nothing holding you back from confirming it at ten o’clock. The salon is on your way home, so it won’t take long to get there. You can just pop in and out in no time. Your mom offers to pay for it as a late birthday present to you, and as a college student anything free is hard to pass up. But wait! Continue reading for a list of things to keep in the back of your mind before you feed your impulse for change. As someone who recently decided to make the same rash decision you’re considering right now, I want to make the following points:
- Blow Dryers & Straighteners
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Daily encounters with Vogue, VSCO, Garnier Fructis commercials, and countless other platforms make it easy to overlook the fact that not everyone has the luxuriously silky, smooth, straight hair ideal for bangs. I am one of these unlucky people. On a rainy day, I am constantly worried about covering my forehead with whatever I can manage—a hood, a scarf, my palm—so my hair does not get wet. If it does, I’ll have to go through the day attempting to keep my bangs hidden after they air dry to their natural state of flouncy frizziness. Blow drying and then straightening my bangs after a shower adds at least fifteen minutes to my daily morning routine. That only means one thing: less time to sleep. And I am not content with that. This is not to mention the damage that daily use of intense heat from blow dryers and straighteners causes to your hair. It will stall the growth process (awesome!) as well as create hair breakage and more frizziness.
- The Hat Hassle
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One of my favorite accessories is the hat. You can wear a hat and your ears will be nice and cozy. They won’t lose their feeling, you can tuck in your bangs so you can see, and boom. All problems solved. Wrong! You do this and your forehead gets sweaty from your cozy hat. Now your bangs appear wet and greasy from your sweaty forehead and hat even though you just showered this morning. You’re back at square one. The only options now are to cover your bangs for the remainder of the day or blow dry and straighten them. Plus, having bangs makes it impossible to see anything when wearing a beanie or ball cap. All I can say is you’re only in the clear if you hate cute hats.
- Lenses Cause Messes
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If you’re someone with less than perfect vision, then this point would apply to you. Let’s just say that since getting bangs, I’ve found myself wearing contacts instead of my glasses a lot more frequently than I used to. If you follow through with bangs and you do not have contacts, I would strongly consider getting them! Similar to wearing hats, the combination of bangs with glasses definitely takes some getting used to. Whether your bangs lay on top of your frames or vice versa, you can’t even see as much as you would be able to with just the bangs. If your bangs are long enough to get caught underneath your glasses, they will itch your eyes and the skin around them. Recently, I have noticed that the skin around my eyes has become dry and cracked from rubbing at the itchiness caused by my growing bangs
I hope that by reading this article, I have opened your eyes to a few of the downsides of bangs, whether they have swayed your decision of getting them or not. There are plenty of people out there who would not be bothered by any of these factors, but I just thought that I would share my opinions and experience with all of you! Thanks for reading!