About a year ago I was just walking around, minding my own frilly business when suddenly I was gripped by a powerful notion; I needed to get a fringe cut into my natural hair and I needed it done now! I'm sure I'm not the only lolita this has happened to, with the industry standard being that of full, blunt cut bangs it's almost "un-lolita" not to have them!
I spent a couple of days mulling over the pros and cons of changing my hair so drastically, as a child I always had that hair style and when I grew it out I spent an agonizing year suffering from bad hair days. Growing out bangs is a total pain in the petticoat. However I felt that the pro's (cute, loli hair) vastly outweighed the cons (possibly not liking it, up keep, growing it out) so I had my girlfriend cut them in for me that night, complete with Misako Aoki style chin length strands.
At first I loved it! I felt that I had moved up in the lolita ranks and had somehow proved myself to be a real, dedicated loli. Even my coworker from Japan volunteered that my hair style was more "gossurori". I felt that my coordinates looked a hundred times better and wondered why one earth I hadn't thought about getting a fringe sooner. After having my fringe for a couple of weeks though I was singing a different tune.
I have many talents but styling hair is definitely not one of them. I take a shower at night, let it dry as I sleep, brush it in the morning and get on with my day. Bangs did not work out with this routine. My hair is normally stick straight and that's what I'm used to, however as I'd sleep my bangs would dry in a little cowlick and I'd wake up looking like Justin Beiber. Brushing didn't help at all so after a while I tried using my roommates straightening iron. One frazzled fringe later I discovered how uncool a frizz ball on your forehead was.
I quickly got tired of the hair monotony that my bangs provided. Sometimes I like to pin back a bit of hair at the front and push it forward to create a little bump, but my fringe was so small that it looked weird. If I went to the gym or went out dancing with my friends I had to leave my bangs down, let me tell you the sweaty, stringy look is not attractive.
Besides that my other major pet peeve was how fast my hair grew. This of course varies from person to person, but if I cut it to the level I liked I found my fringe in my eyes after about a week. To lengthen the time in between hair cuts I started to have it cut higher than I liked it, but then I spent a week of dissatisfaction with the way it looked until it grew to the level I liked.
After about six months I decided that a fringe just wasn't for me so I decided just to grow it out. Well the fast speed my hair grew before is history and now it's a painfully slow process. The last time I cut it was December of 2010 and only now am I able to tuck my hair behind my ears.
I'm not writing all of this to put you off getting bangs, to be honest I really like the way they look and think that they really add something to a lolita coordinate, however I think it's important to consider the real life upkeep of a fringe before you get too excited with the scissors. I personally didn't realize how much work they would be, and if you are anything like me they might become too troublesome. My solution for a quick fringe fix is to simply get a wig, that way you can wear it whenever you feel like donning lolita and it saves you a bunch of hair salon fees!
I'm sorry you had such an unfortunate experience with bangs! But you are right. Even though they are so simple, they do need a lot of upkeep.
ReplyDeleteI've always had some sort of bang. I grew it out once. As soon as I fulfilled my goal having my bangs the same length as everything else, I chopped them off. xD I just can't live without bangs.
Right now my hairstyle is such that requires a shower in the morning and then styling. However, when I had a blunt bang and showered at night I had your same problem. I found it was helpful to wet them down with a spray bottle in the morning and then quickly blow dry.
As you explained it at the beginning, was just like what happened to me... I do struggle with my bangs a lot, but I need them :P
ReplyDeleteIt's always an annoying thing when hair just doesn't want to listen. My hair is very wavy and therefore very prone to frizz and poofy-ness. >.< The only way to keep it looking tame (when I haven't visited the hair salon) is to style it while it's still damp. Which is very bad I know, especially in bad weather. Plus I can't leave my hair down with cute little bows =(
ReplyDeleteBut I definitely agree with the wig idea. It's the best way to get any hairstyle you want (and in any color too~ ) without the epic battle of the lifetime with your hair xD
~ Kieli ~
http://rainbowstarcandy.blogspot.com/
It was intresting to read this seeing as I consider getting bangs one of the best decisions I've ever made. I've never had to stuggle with my bangs that much. The upkeep is annoying but having bangs taught me how to style hair.
ReplyDeleteI did a lot of hand-wringing when I was debating over whether or not to cut my bangs again for the first time since I was a little girl. Then I just went ahead and did it. I've been wearing them now for about 4 years and I swear I'll never look back.
ReplyDeleteI don't really mind the upkeep. I trim my own hair and since my bangs don't grow that fast I only need to trim them up every few weeks. I stopped going to sleep with wet hair and now I don't have to worry about waking up with them looking crazy. ^_^
My bangs have been driving me crazy lately, but my face just doesn't look "right" without them. I think I might buy fake ones, but it's always so hard to be sure of the right shade online...
ReplyDeleteoh wow, I've had some problems, but a frizz ball? That's terrible! :(
ReplyDeleteAbout 6 month ago I cut my own bangs(Bettie Page style: not quite a "v", more like a "U")I ended up having to trim every month, and use product to weigh down my random cowlick! Now I've grown them out and evened them out,like 1960's bangs, which are WAY lower maintenance! My cowlick doesn't even show! I guess it's about what works for you?
I feel the same way! I love the way they look, but mine just always looked greasy and my hairdresser cut them all uneven and ugly =| so I grew it out straight away! And it did remind me of being a child...I was trying to grow it out for YEARS because my mum kept saying it looked too scruffy when it was almost grown out and would cut it back in again, GRRR haha.
ReplyDeleteI have a huge forehead so bangs makes me feel more beautiful. When I was a child I had bangs and loved it, but the hairdresser made me grow it when I was in middle school. But after some years of hating my hair I decided to cut it again.
ReplyDeleteAnd this year I cut it in a mori style and I feel even better, like you with lolita at the start.
But as I'm quite lazy with my hair I know what you mean, I always have to be careful my bangs are clean and undivided and such, and sometimes it's a pain.
Hair clips can be used for getting bangs without having bangs! Of course, like with normal wigs, do some research before you go purchasing random hair clips.
ReplyDeleteI had bangs for a year or so, and even then, I'd keep pushing them off to the sides of my forehead. :/
ReplyDeleteMy hair, although curly, is really fine and can be prone to looking piecey when straightened in front of my forehead. And then there's the anti-frizz and straightening products necessary just on that one portion of my hair.... :|
So now, I've just got a basic side-part; it's flattering for my face-shape and is a million times easier to manage. @.@
Yeah, I have the same problem with my forehead getting sweaty and it is pretty lame! Plus my hair is naturally wavy, so I have to make time to straighten at least my bangs every morning, or I just flip them back and pin them down. I've had bangs since I was 8 so I think I've just gotten used to all the work.
ReplyDeleteYup!Bangs for sure require extra maintenance! My hair is naturally wavy. As much as I like a little natural curl I find that it flatters my face so much more to have ironed strait bangs! Hence I straiten them every morning. As far as them growing though... It isn't much of a problem since I've learned to cut them on my own. ...but, LOL! The first time I attempted to cut them myself I was all like "...ah, that's not gonna' happen again!" haha!! Still with all the trouble I go through with my bangs, I can't seem to part with them!
ReplyDeleteSorry you had a bad time with bangs!
ReplyDeletesee, I've had bangs for about 6 years now...I trim them myself and I blow dry them when I shower at night. I'm incredibly lazy/unknowledgable when it comes to hair and hairstyling and I don't have any trouble. :3
in fact, due to my excellent experience with bangs I gave myself a hime cut recently, another hairstyle with a "hard to maintain" rep. we'll see how that works out!
(my hair's slightly wavy for the record!)
I love bangs but I can't ever wear them. They always end up wonky and I'm better off with long bangs instead. On the bright side, there are lolita models with long bangs so I'm not completely alone.
ReplyDeleteI cringe as I read all these bad bang stories! I have very nice large ringlets all over my head which I've always adored until I decided to get the classic fringe bangs :/ My hair was a nightmare for awhile before I was introduced to the round brush (YAY!), for anyone with bad bangs get a round brush! A round brush + a hair dyer after a shower is literally the best thing ever. It takes like 3 minutes to dry and then you can straighten the ends and it's serriously magic, even on the curliest hair :D Also, don't be afraid to experiment with your bangs! straighten them into a swoop or muse them up to make a little triangle window over one eye :) I have found that I can actually do more hairstyles, not less with my bangs, but yes you do have to keep them trimmed! :)
ReplyDelete