Whenever summer rocks around, I get the overwhelming urge to do something awesome and bold with my hair. I think it’s that combination of knowing that I’ll be out heaps more often than usual, wearing far fewer clothes than winter, and wanting to really kick up my look a notch to stand out and just look as amazing as I can be.
Last summer I went fire engine red and got familiar with backcombing for that big, messy bed head look. The year before it was a pixie crop. This year I’ve decided that its time to get myself a cool fringe again, so it was time to delve into a bit of research.
A bit of a background in my hair, and a disclaimer. So, my hair is naturally what you would call a very light ash brown, wavy too curly, and quite thick. Whenever I find that I over process it with a colour, I’ll give it the chop and go darker, sometimes throwing in some extensions. The last couple of years I haven’t used heating elements like blow dryers or straighteners, just because I wanted to get my hair into great shape again, so scrunched and air dried a lot. And it is now in great shape. What that means is that I’m free to break out the heat again.
I’ve decided to go with the Ariana Grande school of thought this summer and give the micro bangs a whirl. Recently Ariana ditched her signature brunette pony and went platinum, and now she’s added some micro bangs to her look too. And. It. Look. So. Darn. Cute.
So, with the micro bangs look, the first thing that you have to know is that this needs your hair to be straight. If I had my natural and wavy with this style, it’d just look stupid. So it’s commitment if you don’t already have straight hair. The other thing to know about this look is that you need to go to a skilled hairdresser. If they do a blunt cut across the front of your forehead, you’ll probably end up in tears.
If you’re not so keen on micro bangs though, there are heaps of other styles that you can try out. If you have wavy hair like me and don’t want to be straightening every day, you can try out a layered side fringe, ala Nicole Ritchie. While she often wears her hair straight, a longer side fringe can work just as well, and you can go au naturel with your waves. This look works well no matter what colour or style the rest of your hair is, too.
A favourite of girls rocking the balayage brunette to blonde look in the long choppy fringe. If you’ve had your tousled beach hair Balayage worn without a fringe for a year or so, then it could be time to mix it up. Have a look at Behari Prinsloo’s hair for inspiration for this fringe cut. It’s below the eyebrows down to the eyes, so don’t go quite so long if this type of cut irritates you.
For long, mainly straight and not so layered hair, such as Jessica Biel, a long, sweeping side fringe is a very easy to wear style that won’t have you crying that the hairdresser messed up your hair or that you never should’ve got a fringe in the first place. This kind of fringe can be quickly put behind your ear or pinned back should you decide you don’t like it – it’s super easy to grow out.
One of the best things to do when considering getting a fringe is to go to your hairdresser for a consultation – not the cut itself. Head down there and have a talk about your options, flick through some pictures together, see what they think would suit you well and what you’d be comfortable with doing. Don’t commit to anything on the day, instead, go home and have a think about it and do a little more research yourself. If you do it this way, you can be sure of the decision that you’re making, before you dive in there and go for it.
So go ahead, start thinking about which fringe is going to be the best one for you this summer. I’m loving my Ariana micro fringe at the moment – and getting a lot of compliments on it too! And you know what they say, don’t you? Change is as good as a holiday.
