You want Zooey’s new bangs? We can make that happen
By this point in the game, we all know that Zooey D. is the quintessential queen of bangs. Since the days of Almost Famous, young women have been flocking to salons with photos of her famous bangs—and with good reason. Where some bangs can look more “adorable junior high photo,” her fringe always seems to look more “sexy and classic.” The proportion is always perfect, the amount of hair doesn’t overwhelm her face and the way the sides taper into a nice frame rather than laying blunt and severe really creates the perfection we have all become used to. I really didn’t think it could get better. Zooey has had the bangs game on point for years and no one has come close to getting on her level.
And then I witnessed this new season of New Girl. To my surprise, I saw an even more modern, more unique and dare I say, even sexier bangs on my screen. You guys, Zooey D. has outdone herself and it is amazing.
As a hairdresser, it’s my job to stay on top of trends and be in the know when certain inspirations and ideas start to show themselves in American fashion. I religiously watch the runways in Europe and Australia. And one thing this fall that I’ve been waiting to see come around is the Brigitte Bardot inspired bangs, created for the modern woman. The style is flirty, feminine, classic and it has a touch of mystery—all important aspects for the best modern hair. I have yet to convince a client to try out the new trend, but when I wear my long bangs in the style, I’ve been getting tons of compliments.
So I was stoked when I turned on New Girl this season and saw Zooey rocking this style! Then, I started breaking it apart to figure out exactly why it was working so well.
The first thing I noticed is how much it opens up her face. I love being able to see part of her forehead and not missing half of her features hidden behind a curtain of hair, as great as that curtain is. I also loved how the bangs are parted pretty close to the middle, giving her a very symmetric shape and the illusion of an oval face shape. This change gives her a softness that pays homage to her signature sweet style, but still maintains a bit of playful sexiness. And lastly, the shape has volume and movement, but still enough weight that they lay how they should without bouncing around too much.
How do you get this awesome new bangs? Have no fear, right after I watched this season’s first episode I was so excited to teach my clients how to do this style, I filmed a video on Youtube. You can check it out here if you have five minutes to learn a classic sideswept bang blow-dry to rock this look. Or if you’d rather have some steps listed out, here they are:
- Blow-dry straight down onto your forehead and using your fingers, dry the hair back and forth across the hairline to get movement and force any cowlicks to sit down.
- Take a medium round-brush and blow-dry straight out from the hairline to get movement and body. Hold for a couple minutes until the hair has cooled.
- Then take your round-brush and blow-dry back away from the face, giving the ends a slight bend. Once that has cooled, bring your hair down around your face, parting where you’d like or pushing all hair to one side.
- The ends should bend and move around your face giving you a nice frame. The roots and mid-strands should have fullness and volume.
- Finish with a touch of hairspray and voila! You’ve got the new New Girl hairstyle.
