by Danita Jolly

Created on: June 11, 2008

This is a professional guide on how to cut your bangs. Your hairdresser does it in seconds and makes it look so easy. Trimming your bangs can be easy, with a few guidelines. If not done properly, you will soon remember what it's like to feel twelve again because you've cut them too short or crooked.

It is often recommended that you need sharp shears to do this, I disagree. As long as you are not using toe nail clippers, you will be fine. On the average you will only cut your bangs 6-12 times a year, at the most. Specialty shears are not really necessary for such a part time service. These are needed for a stylist that calls themselves a professional.

Be aware of what every mother does to their child, that I don't recommend for you. Combing everything from the crown of your head forward and cut at the eyebrows. This will give you one big bang section, and will take many months to grow out.

How to Cut Your Bangs:

Regardless of what type of hair you have (straight, curly, fine or thick), never take your bang section back farther than 2" from your hairline. Next, what kind of bangs do you have? Is it only a few wispy pieces, does it lay across your forehead to the side, is it straight down and blunt? However you wear it, you will always part the section you will be trimming into a triangular section prior to cutting.

Depending on where you part your hair, will determine where you begin. The tip of the triangle starts towards the back and angles down to the hairline. Look in the mirror, lift up your bangs and find on each side of your forehead, a place where your hair has a natural recession. These two recession points on either side of your forehead will be the base of your triangle.

If you part on the right, start somewhere from hairline back to no more than 2", the farther back you begin your triangle the thicker the bang will be. You can use a comb to help with this process. Divide from your part over to the point of recession. You now have half your triangle separated from the rest of your hair. Keep this section separated, using a clip. Now go back to the beginning of your triangle, where you began your last section and follow it to the other side of your forehead to the recession point. You now have a triangle section, ready to be trimmed. If you wear your hair parted in the center, you will have a perfect triangular shape. The more you hair is parted to one side or the other, you will have an irregular triangle shape.

You may cut your hair wet or dry. Take into consideration that wet hair will dry shorter than originally cut. Comb down the section, keeping it held between your two fingers. Considering that this is only a bang trim, you should hopefully be cutting a minor amount of hair, keeping it easy for the beginner. I now recommend point cutting vs. straight across. This will leave the most natural looking cut. Because the section is pulled down, it will cause the middle section to be cut slightly shorter than the sides, which are traveling farther to the middle, leaving some extra length on the sides. This is a basic technique for a beginner and works well for the majority of bang styles. As you become used to cutting your bangs, you will pick up ways to create slightly different techniques altering the finished style.

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