Successful Styling for Hair Bangs

Hairstyles tend to fall into the same cycle as just about every other item of fashion on the market: They emerge once, fall into the category of "old fashioned," and then pop up again in around ten to twenty years. One such hair style is the ever-including style of "bangs." Hair bangs were very popular during the 1980s and early 1990s as huge fluffy fortresses built upon the foreheads of females. However, in the later 1990s they were phased out and considered a style only really appropriate for young girls. In fact "growing out your bangs" became a bit of a sign of "growing up" for many adolescent women during this period. However, several years ago the popularity of hair bangs made a comeback. The volume of the bangs of the 1980s was replaced with the range of styles/cuts of bangs in the new millennium. Popular celebrities sported all varieties of this basic hairstyle, from straight bangs, to side bangs, to longer "mock bangs." As more girls opted for chopping off their frontal tresses, however, they discovered that bangs often take more upkeep than the rest of their hair style. For anyone who is new to the wonderful world of hair bangs, here are some basic tips that can help you keep your bangs both manageable and beautiful.

1) Use less conditioner on your bangs than on the rest of your hair. For hygienic purposes alone, it is generally a better idea to reduce the amount of moisture that you artificially insert into your bangs, as they will be brushing up against your forehead (or simply lying flat against it) for the majority of your day. Any contact of materials or hands (or definitely hair) against your sensitive facial skin can increase the chance of having a "break out" of acne. Reduce this possibility by allowing your bangs to be a little dryer (and thus less moist/oily) than the rest of your hair.

2) Always blow dry your bangs. Even if you allow the rest of your hair to air dry or a regular basis, try to blow dry your bangs in order to style them. Bangs are much shorter than the rest of your hair do, and thus styling them can be a bit trickier at times. Blow drying your bangs gives you the opportunity to style them when they are still wet (as opposed to trying to work with them after they have already naturally dried themselves into an unwanted arrangement on your forehead), and this will make the rest of your hair style much easier to fix.

3) Style your bangs in an "opposite" fashion to the rest of your hair. For example, if you wear your hair straightened daily then use a curling iron on your bangs to give them a little bit of fluff and lift. On the contrary, if you have very curly hair then you may want to use a hair straightener on your bangs. Keep them separate from the rest of your hair styling.

4) Keep a brush with you when you have bangs. While the rest of your hair may be able to go days without being styled or brushed, bangs will start to look droopy and greasy easier. Solve these problems by carrying a brush on your person that you can run through your bangs to give them lift and shine (without a greasy matted look) throughout the day.

5) Regularly trim your bangs in order to keep them at the length you desire. However, while it is generally recommended that you cut your hair while it is still wet, it may be desired that you cut your bangs when they are dry. Because the differences between wet and dry hair include a difference in length (and since the exact length of bangs is generally very important), cutting your bangs while they are dry will give you a better idea of exactly how they will look.