The Pros and Cons of Having Bangs

I have had bangs of every style and color. My first memories with bangs include my Mom using tape to cut them straight for school pictures. I’m one of those people who, when I pin back my bangs, it scares others. I look like a different person and constantly get looks which suggest“WHOA, who are you?!” Luckily, I have cooled it with my obsession over the appearance of my bangs.

However, when I was a naïve teenager, it was a different story. I believed the world noticed if my bangs were flicking the wrong way as much as I did. As I spent hours on my appearance trying to impress god knows who, my mother would always be in the background yelling, “It’s not a fashion show, ya know!” It got so bad that I would leave school on my lunch break to make sure my fringe was in perfect order.

As I made new friends, I would have to confide in them. “Lydia, I think we have gotten to a point in our friendship that I trust you enough to tell you this. . . I come home at lunch to wash and blow dry my fringe.” They laughed at me but accepted my problem. My teenage skin caused my hair to get greasy and NOT look the way I had styled it in the morning. Now that I am older and I like to think I’m a little less self-obsessed. I just leave my fringe to do it’s thang and be who it wants to be without stressing.

I know what you are thinking: “Just grow them out and don’t have bangs at all.” But guys, it’s not that simple. After inheriting my father’s receding hairline, I am someone who cannot live without forehead coverage. I have endured the many pros and cons of being a fringed female and now I want to share them with you.

PROS

• They can be cute as hell. Side swept, straight across, short, emo whatever style suits you. Like the beautiful Zooey Deschanel, Taylor Swift and Hannah Simone have shown us, bangs (when done correctly) can frame and soften your face.

• They are the ultimate coverup. Any crime scene that’s going on up there on your forehead can easily be covered and corrected with bangs. Pimple? Bangs. Eyebrows a mess? Bangs. Receding hairline? Bangs. No one has to know.

• Versatility. Bangs give you options. Don’t feel like having a full, straight across fringe today? Move it to the side. Feel like having your eyebrows on display? Chop them a little shorter. Don’t feel like having bangs at all? Pin ‘em back.

• You can express yourself through your bangs. With so many different styles of bangs, you can easily choose one to go along with how you want to be seen. They are a great way to change things up and reinvent your look.

CONS

• Bangs can be stubborn, like at your birthday bash, on a first date or job interview. When they decide to part in the middle instead of to the side there is nothing you can do, you just gotta work with what you’ve got.

• This is the biggest pet peeve for me, and you ladies with side sweeping bangs will know all too well what I’m talking about here. I call it “The Flick.” When the long part at the end of your bangs decides to stick out like a turn signal. No matter how many time you straighten that thing, it ain’t going down.

• Working out. Depending on the length, bangs can be a bitch when working out. They get sweaty and stick to your forehead, causing you to look like a hot mess. Currently, mine are at the awkward stage of too long to leave out but too short to pin back without using a million hair clips. Ah, first world problems. I suggest a head band as the answer—sweeping all that hair out of your face effectively.

Like every difficult situation in life, making a pros and cons list can help you visualize the outcome and see what the best decision is for you. Hopefully this list can help with the never-ending issue of whether to get bangs or to let your forehead be seen in all its glory. In my personal opinion, bangs have their downside, but when they look good, they look GOOD. I’m sure you’ll make the right decision.

Stephanie Mitchell is a lady of travel currently residing in New York. Obsessed with television, music, comedy and tattoos, she shares her thoughts at www.insidestephshead.com and on twitter @Hey_Stephy.

(Featured image courtesy of FOX)