Everything You Need to Know Before Cutting Your Own Bangs

It’s week seven of social distancing, and chances are that your boredom is beginning to reach its peak. So much so, that many of us are considering cutting our own bangs it would seem – according to Pinterest, searches on how to cut your own bangs are up a huge 102 per cent.

Bella Hadid recently cut her own, and I’m almost 100 per cent positive one of your friends already has but the question remains, should you? To find out if it’s possible to give yourself a new look and not immediately regret it, I reached out to Canadian hairstylist Kirsten Klontz. Before you pick up the scissors, here’s what she had to say:

OK first things first, is it possible to cut your own bangs and not immediately regret your decision?

Yes of course! It is definitely less of a risk if you already have bangs that are a bit grown out and you are just looking to trim them. If you are considering a big change on your own – do your research on styles, maybe even DM your hairstylist for a second opinion. Hair is something that is an expressive extension of your personality and it’s fun to change it.

For anyone considering cutting their own bangs, what is your advice for them?

Please put down those kitchen scissors – it’s better that you use a shear that has a fine point for better precision. You can find a variety of decent professional barber/stylist hair cutting scissor sets on amazon ranging from $30-$100. I also recently discovered transparent, stick-on eye shields. You stick them on your forehead and can pull your hair down over them to cut. It is an effective way for you to see exactly where your bangs would sit on your face and avoid getting hair in your eyes at the same time.

Can you outline a few steps people can follow if they do want to cut their own bangs?

First off, your need to assess where you like to part your hair: centre, side or both? If you want the flexibility of changing your part then consider a centre part and a bang that gets longer on the outer edges. That will ensure that you can move them side to side. If you want a side sweeping bang, then you will start on the side where your part is. If you are looking for a heavy blunt fringe, you will start with a centre parting.

Once you have figured out your placement, you will want to start by sectioning out a triangle. The wide edge or bottom of the triangle will be in line or parallel with your forehead, the top tip of the triangle will land in the centre of your parting. Depending on how thick or thin you want your bangs to be, either increase or decrease the size of the triangle.

I would recommend point cutting up into the bangs. What that means is holding your shears vertically as opposed to horizontally. Start in the centre and work your way to the outer edges.

Are there any hair types that should be wary of cutting bangs?

Curly hair can be more challenging, depending on the type of curl that you have. I would recommend that you cut your hair dry, styled in the way that you wear it most often. If your hair is naturally thick, start with a small triangle section and, as a precaution, cut them a full inch longer than you want them to be. Typically when there is less weight on the strand, the curl will helix tighter or “shrink up” more than it did before you cut it. You don’t want any surprises the next time you wash and style it. Play it safe and you can always take a little more off if needed.

If someone has cut their own bangs and doesn’t love the new look, is there anything they can do to fix the situation?

There is one trick for a particular scenario. Say you cut them just a little too short and wished they were a little bit longer, you can pull a bit more hair from directly behind the section and cut it longer than what you did previously. It might seem weird that the hair underneath is a bit shorter but it’s perfectly ok. In some cases, this actually encourages the edge of the bang to curve under more easily. But be careful to consider how much hair you pull so that you don’t all of a sudden make them too thick. If something really bad went down, pull out your favourite accessories to clip them to the side or try cute headbands or bandanas. And don’t worry too much – I promise they will grow out.

Once you’ve cut your own bangs, what’s the easiest way to style them?

I absolutely love the Hot Tools One Step Blow Out to round brush my bangs, it takes all the juggling out. Tools like this, that are a blowdryer and brush in one, really make things easy. If your bangs are longer, a curling iron or flat iron are also great options.

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