Hairstyles: Growing Out Bangs

Introduction

Sara Rue ABC

ABC/Bob D/Amico

Bangs, also known as fringes in Europe, come and go into hair fashion with predictable regularity along with the regular cycles of long, short, straight and curly tresses.

Cutting and then growing out bangs can be as painful as dealing with yo-yo hems and changing waistlines.

Does the process of adding or growing out bangs have to involve a painful process? Not any more.

Celebrity hairdressers have found a hot new way to minimize the pain of instantly adding and subtracting bangs.

How? Clip on bangs. Of course semi-permanent hair extensions have been used, especially in Hollywood, for many years.

However, clip in bangs have recently been perfected for hair consumers as well as professionals.

Sara Rue ABC

ABC/Bob D/Amico

Marley Shelton's celebrity hairstylist added spiked bangs in an instant with carefully blended fringe extensions.

Ashlee Simpson's celeb stylist helped her grow out her bangs in mere seconds by adding graduated hair extension pieces along her face line to blend in with her previous short fringed areas.

Even JLo and Jessica Simpson have played with add-on bang extensions, both fusion and clip-in with great results.

Many celebrities are now keeping their face line hair lengths a little longer since they know any type of bangs from full mall bangs to sultry side swept strands can be carefully cut and glued, tied or pinned into place.

If add-on fusion or clip-in bang hair doesn't fit with your ultimate financial or hair-styling goals, you can still handle the bang challenge with ease.

Although it is always easier to go from no bangs to bangs, the opposite doesn't have to involve long weeks of bad hair days.

Bangs Growing Tricks

There are many tricks anyone can deploy to grow out bangs painlessly and effortlessly.

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Consider some of the following bang growing tricks:

1. If you have bangs shorter in the center than at the sides, wait until you can pull the center strands below your eyelashes, then get a teeny tiny trim (1/16th of an inch) to even all of the fringe hair to the same even length.

Keep in mind that bangs that are all one length will be easier to manage as they grow out.

2. Use hair accessories to help you manage your unruly fringe pieces.

Adjustable elastic headbands or ones with teeth that allow you to place the band at various positions on your head from right at the hairline to midway back, allows you to control renegade strands.

Experiment with matching baby barrettes that will clip mangy strands up and off your forehead near the forehead area.

3. Play with hair paste, gel, molding mud or wax to smooth fringe hair out of your eyes. Use styling products to direct hair to one side or back from the forehead towards the crown area.

Start with a small amount of styling product and experiment. Add more if appropriate.

Clip-in Bangs

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4. Separate the bang hair into individual one inch sections. Twist each section clockwise and then click back off the forehead with a small claw clip, bobby pin or tiny alligator clip.

Create an evenly spaced row along the front of your hairline for a chic look. No one will even know you are growing out your bangs.

5. Experiment with different parts to control the growing hair. Start with a middle part and clip the hair back on either side. Or play with side parts that allow you to sweep the hair and clip it to the side.

6. Braid the bang area when it is damp. Create a side part and then tightly French braid across the hairline near the forehead. Mix in longer strands from the sides to control the braid. Tie off the end of the braid with a chic ponytail elastic, clip or barrette.

7. Use a clip on braid worn right at the headline to hold bangs straight back.

8. Backcomb bangs into a mini-quiff. Use a good setting or volumizing spray and a rat tail comb. Tease or back comb the bangs to get lift. Direct the quiff up and off your face. Use a great hairspray for great hold.

Clip-in Bangs

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9. Wear creative headgear. Throw on a baseball cap worn backwards to look trendy.  Try on a cool beret, cowboy hat or newsboy to hide your straggly fringe.

10. Use bobby pins to secure your bangs up and off your forehead.

Add one of the silk ribbon headbands worn right at the hairline and over the pinned strands. You will be at the height of hair accessory fashion and will have tamed your bangs, all in one simple action.

Gradual Bang Recovery

One trick that many hairstylists use with their bang challenged clients is to help them grow their bangs out in stages rather than going cold turkey.

Instead of having their clients grow the entire bang area out at once, the stylist will separate the fringe hair into two different horizontal sections.

HairDo Clip-In Bang Extension

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The top section is allowed to grow out with the use of hair clips and other accessories.

Meanwhile, the bottom section is trimmed so that it stays static just above the eyes.

When the top section is completely merged into the rest of the hair, the bottom section of the bangs are grown out in a similar fashion as the top section.

This staged process will not only gradually rework the bangs into the allover length, it will slowly ease a fringed hairstyle to one that is fringeless.

Summary

Although growing out your bangs could be considered a hair trauma, if you're willing to experiment, be creative and have fun with the process, you may find that you are actually enjoying all the challenges that growing out bangs can provide.

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