In the USA the section of hair that covers the forehead is known as “bangs” but in the UK and parts of Europe they are known as “fringes”.

(Image of (l-r) Tori Spelling, Christian Siriano of Tori & Dean:  Home Sweet Hollywood – Wearing matching side-swept bangs – Tori’s side-swept flows to the right and Christian’s to the left – Episode 405 — Oxygen Photo: Michael Simon – All Rights Reserved).

Note: For more information refer to:  Hair Bangs – Types & Face Shapes

For the purpose of this HairBoutique.com Blog since I do live in the United States they will be henceforth called bangs.  I love the look myself and have been wearing a version since I can remember.

When I was a little girl I had thick traditional bangs which brushed above my eyebrows.  Over the years I have worn ever conceivable type of bang style even though my hair is naturally wavy.

Bang Style Depends on Hair Type & Texture

Bangs may or may not be easy to achieve depending on the type, texture and condition of the hair being cut into bangs.

Hair which is naturally wavy and/or curly can be more of a challenge when coiffed into a forehead hugging style but its not totally impossible as I can attest with my own wavy hair.

(Image of Dr. Gilbert Lee with side-swept wavy fringe from show Addicted To Beauty — Oxygen Photo: Michael Lavine – All Rights Reserved).

Hair Fashions Dictate Bang Trends

Hair fashions dictate to some extent when bangs/fringes are in style.  There is no such thing as a “one size fits all bang/fringe”.  Also, regardless of prevailing hair fashions some wear bangs regardless whether they are trendy or not.

Yes, that’s me.  I don’t care if bangs or in or out, I love them for my face and to bring out my eyes so I will be wearing them when I’m 100, if I should be so lucky to live that long.

(Aimee Teegarden as Julie Taylor wearing long layered bangs which might also be referred to an angled, sloped or Boho Bangs – Friday Night Lights – NBC Series – NBC Photo: Michael Muller – All Rights Reserved).

Although most people think bangs are predominently worn by females, they are also favored by some males and of course they are worn by all ages, races and any type of hair length or style.  One thing is true about bangs, they are very versatile.

Main Types Of Bangs

Listed below are the main type of bangs which ebb and flow into hair fashion including some traditional bangs which never go out of style.

1.  Sideswept bangs – Starting back 1 1/2″ – 2″ from the hairline and extending down between the eyebrows and the tip of the nose (depending on personal preference) sideswept or angled bangs, as they are sometimes called, can be worn to the right or the left.

Tori Spelling is shown wearing sleek sideswept bangs which seamlessly flow into her sleek angled bob hairstyle.  She looks stunning.

(Pictured: Tori Spelling of Tori & Dean: Home Sweet Hollywood — Episode 303 — Oxygen Media Photo: Michael Williams – All Rights Reserved).

They can even be changed up and worn sweeping off a center part, although generally speaking most people prefer sweeping them to the side.

Forming a type of peek-a-boo curtain, these type of bangs are often a waystation as bangs are grown out from shorter length.  This type of bang is best for hair that is naturally wavy or curly since they are much longer than any other type of bang style and can be styled to merge into the side hair.

(Pictured: Lisa Wu Hartwell wearing side swept bangs with hint of wavess – The Real Housewives Of Atlanta -  Bravo Photo: Quantrell Colbert – All Rights Reserved).

Sideswept bangs may be stacked slightly so that they flow in a layered way towards the sides.  Or they may be all one length.  The decision to make then layered or not is personal preference and tied to hair type and texture as well as input from the hairdresser.

Because sideswept bangs open up the face, they will actually flatter most face types.

2.  Blunt cut bangs -  These bangs are cut and worn straight across the forehead like a thick veil of hair.  Depending on how thick and prominent the blunt cut bangs are desired to be, they are cut further back from the hairline than the Sideswept bangs.

(Pictured: Saleisha Stowers – America’s Next Top Model — “America’s Next Top Model Obsessed” — Oxygen Media Photo: Heidi Gutman – All Rights Reserved).

Whereas the sideswept bangs are cut approximately 1 1/2 to 2″ back from the hairline, blunt bangs, which are often favored by models, are cut 2 – 2 1/2″ from the hairline.

Unlike the sideswept bangs, blunt cut bangs consist of a curtain of hair that is basically all one length.

Because blunt bangs are dramatic, they will show off any facial flaws although they will also hide large foreheads or those with imperfections of wrinkles.

Blunt cut fringes are best worn by people with well balanced faces and can be utilized to showcase gorgeous eyes, cheekbones and lips.

Blunt bangs can be worn with any length of hair but they can look stunning with medium or short length bobs.

3.  Layered bangs -  Layered bangs are similar to blunt cut bangs by the fact they usually cover the majority of the forehead area but different by the fact the hair ranges from lightly to extremely layered.  Layered bangs are intentionally cut at various lengths to allow them to be worn either straight or shattered, texturized or super choppy.

(Image of Patti Blagojevich wearing layered bangs on I’m A Celebrity….Get Me Out Of Here – NBC Photo: Tyler Golden – All Rights Reserved).

Some layered bangs will have a slight separation throughout the bangs so that parts of the forehead peek through.  Layered bangs are usually cut 1 1/2 to 1 3/4″ from the hairline and often the bang edges are carefully cut into little V shapes to create subtle or stacked layers resulting in a tousled look.

4.  Baby bangs -  These bangs are very short generally ending halfway between the hairline and the top of the eyebrows.

Baby bangs also known as super short bangs can be cut straight in a mini-blunt bang or cut wispy, choppy, layered or angled with the ends longer then the middle.

(Pictured: Sharon Gless wearing short baby bang that are touseled as Madeline Westen on Burn Notice – USA Network – Photo: Justin Stephens – All Rights Reserved)

These types of bangs tend to follow fashion trends more than any of the other types of bangs.  They are also most flattering on round faces since they tend to create a more elongated and slimming look.  The baby bangs are cut 1″ to 1 1/4″ from the hairline.

Baby bangs are often combined with super short pixie haircuts.  They can be choppy or tousled depending on whether they are cut all the same length or with angled ends and shorter middle.

5.  Angled bangs - These bangs are cut so that have longer angles at either end near the ear lobes but slope shorter towards the middle and generally end right at the eyebrows or slightly longer.  They are cut approximately 3/4″ to 1″ from the hairline and often are softly curled through the edges.

(Image of Nicole Richie – DailyCeleb.com – All Rights Reserved).

Often the angled bangs, which are obviously different lenghts from the middle to the ends, have separation so that the forehead may peak through.  Sometimes these bangs are referred to as Boho bangs.

6.  Triangular bangs – Similar to the angled bangs where the edges are longer and slope down towards the ears, the triangular bangs form a soft triangle shape with the point forming between the two eyebrows.

(Pictured: Kandi Burruss – The Real Housewives Of Atlanta — Bravo Photo: Quantrell Colbert – All Rights Reserved)

They are cut approximately 3/4″ to 1″ from the hairline and often are softly curled through the edges. Often these triangular bangs are combined with asymetrical or dramatically angled short or medium length hairstyles.

Triangular bangs can also be cut so they are inverted with the point the opposite direction from the middle of the eyebrows.

7.  Wavy or curly bangs – Waves or curls can occur in any type of bang style from blunt where the natural texture is allowed to flow through or side-swept bangs where the edges have waves.

Tori Spelling is pictured wearing wavy side-swept bangs in the photo to the side.

(Pictured: (l-r) Dean, Tori of Tori & Dean:  Home Sweet Hollywood — Oxygen Media Photo: Michael Lavine – All Rights Reserved).

Curly bangs may sometimes occur as an array of ringlets across the forehead or they may form random ringlets.

8.  Shaggy Dog Bangs – These type of bangs look just like they sound.

They are extremely long extending 1″ to 1 1’2″ from the hairline down to either the middle of the eyeball or even to the bottom of the eye socket.

(Image of Aimee Teegarden with long sloping shaggy dog style bangs which extend below the top of her eyebrows – as Julie Taylor – NBC – Friday Night Lights – NBC Photo: Mitchell Haaseth – All Rights Reserved).

Shaggy Dog bangs may or may not be parted to give the person wearing the bangs an easier view to the outside world.  Shaggy Dog bangs can be worn stick straight, with texture, choppy or even wispy.  The key to these types of bangs is their extreme length and their full coverage across the forehead.

9.  Mohawk – Extreme bang styles – American Idol contestant Sanjaya wore his hair in an extreme Mohawk style while participating on NBC’s I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here.  Sanjaya had Mohawk bangs with a type of triangular bang extending down towards the top of his nose in a triangle shape.

(Pictured: (l-r) Janice Dickinson, Sanjaya Malakar – I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here – NBC Photo: Tyler Golden – All Rights Reserved)

Bangs can also be cut into just about any desired shape from a rounded bowl with the shortest section at the middle to inverted bowl shapes with the longest section in the middle.  The only limitation to extreme bang styles is the imagination.

Other Bang Options

Clip-in bangs have become a very popular option that allows anyone to have temporary bangs but not have to suffer through the bang grow out stage, which can be challenging at times.

Bangs can also be multi-colored, multi-textured or interlaced with a variety of materials including feathers, yarn or even bits of string.

Fashion models on the runways will often have very unique bang styles which are often clip-ins. Bangs can also be created temporarily from other section of hair so they are actually faux bangs.  Anythins is possible with an active imagination.

Bang References

For more information on this topic refer to:
Bangs Instead Of Botox – Simple Snips Hide Brow Lines

Blunt Bangs Create Hair Drama For Lindsay Sloane

Hair Bangs – Types & Face Shapes

Hairstyles: Growing Out Bangs

More Information

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, June 23rd, 2009 at 10:14 pm and is filed under Hair, Hairstyles, Hairstyling Tips, Women's Hairstyles. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.