The New Year is the perfect time to reinvent your style, starting with your most important beauty accessory: your hair. There is no better way to take five years off your face or perk up a boring, out dated haircut than with bangs. From bold and blunt to long and side-swept, or short and ingénue-like, this New Year is all about bangs. With fashion’s hottest ‘it’ girls and A-listers all rocking the chic look, celebrity hair stylist Richard Collins is here to tell you how to get and maintain the most-wanted bang styles of the season.
The first thing to do before deciding on bangs is to do your research. Richard suggests looking through high fashion and celebrity magazines to see what kinds of hairstyles with bangs your favorite fashionistas are wearing. You can even take a trip to a wig store with your girlfriends and try clip-in bangs to see what you like. Once you have a vision, make your salon appointment and be ready to discuss your options with your hair stylist. Your hair texture and cut, as well as your face shape, will determine what type of bangs are best for you.
When it comes to haircuts with bangs, one classic look that never goes out of style – and Richard’s personal favorite – is bold, blunt bangs. This heavy brow-skimming style works best on long, straight cuts and makes oval faces appear thinner. Ask your stylist to cut heavy bangs right at your brow line. Then prep wet bangs with Schwarzkopf Superb Volume Mousse and blow dry with a medium boar bristle brush, making crisscross motions to eliminate your natural part. Finish by quickly sweeping a flat iron over the hair in an arc, which helps the ends lay flat against the forehead. If bangs begin to separate later in the day, spritz with Schwarzkopf Volume and Vitality Dry Shampoo and massage through them with your fingertips.
Long and side-swept bangs are ultra-sleek and flattering for every face shape. The most important thing to get right with this look is making sure they blend in with the rest of your hair, so have your stylist cut long bangs at an angle. Then tuck your wet bangs behind one ear and let them air-dry. If they aren’t quite long enough to tuck, comb Schwarzkopf Crystal Shine Polishing Cream through wet bangs, pop your attachment onto your blow dryer, and direct the airflow straight down from the roots.
Finally, you can also complement short hairstyles with bangs. Short bangs work especially well with pixie cuts, making them appear more feminine. They also slim a round face and can help to elongate a small forehead. Ask your stylist to cut blunt bangs two inches up from your brows. Let them air-dry, and then use a pea-size amount of Schwarzkopf Crystal Shine Polishing Cream to create an undone texture and control flyways. To finish, push your bangs to the side.
It’s official, bangs are back in a big way this season, and no matter what type of hair you have, there’s a style that will work for you. Whether you go for bold and blunt, long and side-swept or short and simple, adding bangs to your hairstyle will instantly upgrade your look. Just remember to keep your beauty arsenal stocked with your favorite Schwarzkopf products and you are ready to take on the New Year!