Hide Bad Bangs or Fringe

Maybe you decided to try out a new style and got your bangs cut. Maybe you only intended to give yourself a slight trim. Maybe someone else did it for you, possibly a professional, but when your bangs are a disaster, you need damage control. As severe as the situation may seem, your options might not be as limited as you think.

Steps

Adopting Styles for Frightful Fringe

  1. Try a deep side part. If you have cowlicks or kinky hair, you should wet your hair to make styling easier. Sweep your hair to either side to see which you favor most.[1]
  2. Create a clean part on your favored side. Using a comb or brush, neatly part to the side of your head. If your hair is wet, dry it following parting to set the part.[2] Your bangs should now be swept to the side and indistinguishable from the rest of your hair.
  3. Shape a pompadour with long bangs. Grab your bangs and tease them upwards. By lifting them into place, you can create more volume and an elaborate style. Use hairspray or styling gel to ensure your bangs don’t fall flat and revert to a less flattering look.
    • Use short bobby pins to further stabilize your pompadour. A few well placed pins can help maintain this style for the duration of your day.
  4. Twist and pin up short bangs. Twisting your bangs in strands and pinning the ends to the sides or back of your head can hide a foul fringe beneath a classic style.
  5. Braid your bangs. Part your hair down the middle and take hair from one side to braid it with your bangs. Tie off the braided hair with an elastic and braid the other side in the same fashion. When finished, you can clip the braids out of your way or tie the two behind your head with another elastic.[3]
    • Short bobby pins are excellent for pinning down fly-aways and working with shorter hair.
  6. Try an extreme style or dye job. Your botched bangs might just be the thing to liberate you from comfortable, everyday styles. Consider a Mohawk or try to Style a Pixie Cut. Dark and luxurious colors can make it harder to distinguish a bad cut.

Thinking Outside the Hatbox

  1. Choose the right headgear for your face and head type. A hat that brings symmetry and balance to your face and head stands a good chance of being flattering.[4] If you have prominent features, these can be offset by the right hat.
    • Long faces should consider flared brim hats that sit low on the forehead.
    • Round faces can achieve balance through angular head wear. The natural symmetry of round faces can be offset with asymmetrical caps.
    • Square faces can be softened with wide brims and rounded tops.
    • Small faces should stay true to proportion and choose fitted hats with smaller brims.[5]
  2. Use a headband to slide bangs back. Choose a cute or elegantly decorated accessories will enhance your look and take focus away from your bangs. Bows, ribbons, and decorative pins used in the right way can make your misshapen fringe disappear.
  3. Wear a baseball cap. Couple this with a ponytail for a sporty look, or try a bandana to cover and hide offending strands.
  4. Consider wearing a headscarf or turban. Using a light, colorful material can turn the conversation from your bad bangs to your bold fashion choice.
  5. Embrace a light knit beanie in summer or a thicker version in winter. The beanie does an excellent job of holding hair out of sight and out of the way. The recent popularity of this head hugging headgear means there are many styles and colors to choose from!
  6. Keep warm while disguising bangs with a bobble cap or knit-cap. The fuzzy ball that often adorns the top of this hat can give you a retro-chic appeal.
  7. Unleash your inner flapper with a cloche hat. These bell-shaped, fitted hats were most popular during the 1920s.[6] Wearing one might replace your embarrassment with a sense of bygone elegance and class.
  8. Bring back the classy hairnet, also known as the snood. Too often these days hairnets are associated with the food service industry, but a hair net adorned with sequins might draw people’s attention in a way you appreciate.
  9. Tuck fringe under the brim of a doll hat or half-hat.[7][8] The doll hat especially, as a scaled down design typically worn toward the front of the head, can be just the thing to camouflage your fringe situation.

Restoring a Can-Do Perspective for Your Hairdo

  1. Resist the urge to turn this into a catastrophe. Perhaps you have a wedding, prom, or another special event at which you wanted to look your best. Even so, remind yourself that your worth isn’t based solely on your appearance, to encourage a proactive mindset, which will help you take measures to improve your hair.[9]
  2. Talk to a stylist. Some salons offer touch-ups or corrections for a fraction of the normal price, and if your unfortunate fringe is the result of a stylist's error, you may get your money back.
    • Even if you don't get your money back or a special deal, ask if there are ways you can correct or improve the state of your bangs on your own.
  3. Search online for images of the worst haircuts. Though this will not correct the fringe injustice you have suffered, laughing at ‘’worse’’ haircuts can be therapeutic and put your situation into perspective, and perspective might be just what you need to correct a bad cut.
    • Have a friend join you so that you have an ally that understands how you feel. Laughing together can protect you from psychological pain.[10]
  4. Plan humorous responses for social scenarios. Planning can take a great deal of stress off your mind, and planning what you might say if someone comments on your bangs can be an advantage. Some things you might say:
    • “I decided to hack off my bangs to see if my face could make up for it. How am I looking?”
    • “I said ‘I forgot my wallet.’ My stylist heard, ‘I want a mullet.’”
    • “I decided on trying something different. So did my stylist. I think her version of ‘different’ is the same as my version of ‘bad.’”
  5. Be cautious of being defensive. You probably feel pretty strongly about your terrible haircut. These strong feelings can make you interpret even compliments as an attack.[11] Don’t let bad bangs sour your relationships or get in the way of you taking measures to fix your fringe.

Tips

  • Remember that wet hair shrinks when it dries and cut accordingly. The general rule of thumb is to cut bangs half an inch longer than when dry.[12]
  • Use sharp scissors when cutting your fringe; a dull pair will just make it harder or damage your hair.
  • If you visit a stylist, bring a picture of your desired hairdo.
  • Leave your fringe long enough so you can pin it back in an emergency.
  • Clip your bangs to the side of your head with hair clips. You can then style them accordingly, until they look nice again.
  • Ignore the outcome. Let people assume you meant to have your bangs cut this way. It's the new look, maybe they'll copy it.

Sources and Citations

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