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Why I Finally Grew Out My Bangs: PLUS Help Your Clients Do It Too
MODERN's Alison Shipley writes about the awkward stages of growing out her bangs, plus advice from Sam Villa on how to help your clients grow out theirs, too!
July 8, 2013
1/8
3 min to read
While I was in the awkward grow out stages, I spoke with educator extraordinare Sam Villa all about how to gracefully grow out a fringe and he offered AMAZING advice on how to help your clients as they transition.
I always joke that I came out of the womb with bangs. As a product of the 1980s, I rocked a full fringe as soon as my hair was long enough to be cut into a style.
I grew them out when I was about 6 or 7 years old, because my best friend Kari didn’t have bangs and I wanted to look more like her (I clearly remember my hairdresser Vicki Preston laughing at me when I asked her to "cut off my bangs" because I didn't understand they needed to be grown out)—my mom bought me a headband to help the transition and I wore that black glittery headband every single day until my bangs were long enough to tuck behind my ear.
Four years ago, after becoming bored with my hair style, I decided to get a full fringe again. I loved having a new look. At first it was difficult to "train" my bangs to not split down the center, but soon enough I became comfortable styling them. I'll admit, I quickly became obsessive over them being perfectly straight and smooth at all times. It was very high maintenance.
They needed to be trimmed every eight-10 days otherwise they would move with my lashes whenever I blinked. And, having naturally curly hair, I had to be extremely cautious with them curling up if it was humid, or it rained, or if I got overheated from dancing at a wedding. I became a slave to my flatiron.
I actually would carry a flatiron with me in my purse sometimes for a 911 bang touchup. I had also been known to dash up to a tool booth at a trade show and do a few quick passes on my bangs before a meeting, or even backstage at Fashion Week I would sneak over to the tool table to polish up the fringe. It was challenging to maintain the look I desired--even with smoothing treatments.
Since my natural texture would sometimes present a problem with my hair style, and I was sick of always looking exactly the same (no matter what I did to update my look for a special occasion, or change my color formula, or wear dramatic eye make-up or lash extensions, I always looked the same) I finally decided to grow them out.
And this time I was serious. I nearly took a vow to NOT trim them—believe me, there were many failed attempts where texturizing turned into a trim. Now that I’m an adult, especially one who happens to work in the beauty industry, a black glittery headband would simply be unacceptable for every day wear.
Yes I went through several awkward, painful stages of the grow out process, but I am so excited that my former fringe is now a side-swept bang. I of course miss my old look sometimes, but it's good to switch things up every now and then.
Will I ever consider cutting bangs again? Definitely. But next time, I'll take Sam's advice and avoid relying on bobby pins for three months--instead, I'll round the corner off of one side so I automatically get the swide-swept effect.
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