I’m going to make no apologies for the seemingly frivolous nature of this post.
We are deep in the middle of January and I need me some lighthearted frivolity!
I got my current fringe on the 21st September 2017, so it’s entering its fourth month as part of my look.
Overall I love it but there are some downsides too. I’m going to share with you the good points and bad points about getting a fringe/bangs.
I’ve had a fringe, or bangs as they are called Stateside, twice before. Once when I was about five and then again aged about 27. The first time I have no memory of and the second was when I had much longer hair, with no grey and no highlights. The time in my late twenties was just before I had kids too, which could’ve been the reason it didn’t last long.
The good points of having a fringe, or bangs are;
- You look younger. I’m totally serious about this. I couldn’t believe how different I looked when I first had my fringe put in. A fringe hides forehead lines, which can be as much to do with dehydration, and lack of sleep as they can be about ageing. And I’m not bothered about ageing really, but it was nice to have this trick up my sleeve.
- Now I’m not that grey, but 90% of my grey hair is around the hairline at the top of my forehead. The fringe camouflages that too, as I’m pulling hair the opposite way to how I used to wear it, and my brown hair is covering my grey. BTW, I totally love grey hair, but I’m just not keen on the pubic hair type that seems to grow at the front of my head!
- It gives your style an edgier feel, the shorter the bangs the edgier the result. Whilst simultaneously being a timeless look too (see Ann Karina) I love these illustrations of different fringes/bangs.
- It frames your face, highlighting your eyes and cheekbones. I’ve rediscovered my cheekbones and had forgotten how good they actually are!
- It makes you do something about your appearance every single damn day. This is both a blessing and a curse. See below for the latter, but as for the former, it encourages me to make more of an effort. I work from home, I get lazy with how I look sometimes. I was always just putting my hair in some kind of ponytail and that was it, done for the day. Now I’ve got to do a little more unless I want to look like Cameron Diaz in *that scene. It makes me feel good though, doing this for myself, a little self-care goes a long way.
Bad points about getting a fringe;
- The washing of hair. I’m a once a week kind of a girl. My hair is thick and there’s lots of it so washing it once a week was perfect for me. Then I got the fringe and I was like, what the heck, it gets greasy way quicker than the rest of my hair! I don’t have time to wash my hair more often as it takes ages to dry so it just isn’t an option. Luckily this time around, my third time with a fringe, there are so many more dry-shampoo’s to help. I found the best one for me is No Drought by Lush. It’s the only one that I’ve tried that doesn’t irritate my scalp.
- Skincare. I’m 37 and I have a semi-regular skincare routine. Most of which happens at night, when I have the time to myself to do it. So for a while, I just stopped putting skin care products on my forehead (don’t laugh). I just couldn’t figure out how to put cream on my forehead and not have to then wash my hair in the morning, because my fringe has grabbed some of the cream. I spoke to a fringed friend who (after laughing) said I just needed to clip it back. Still concerned for my fringe 😉 I thought it would then end up sitting at the wrong angle once I’ve taken the clip out. It does sometimes but now I’m armed with a water spray for any stubborn kinks; a spray and a quick blast with the hairdryer and I’m done.
- Length management. I should go to get mine trimmed (free as most hairdressers do) every 6-8 weeks but I’ve trimmed it myself a couple of times now so I kind of have this one nailed.
- If my kids were both very little I doubt I’d have the time to deal with a fringe. It is a bit more high maintenance especially if you are generally a low maintenance type.
I do love my fringe. I’m interested, do you have a fringe or bangs? What are the good and bad points for you personally?
Hope you are getting through January with lots of leftover Christmas chocolate, purely for the feel-good endorphins obviously.
*this Cameron Diaz scene
susan earlam ~ horror author 
I would love your input