On The Fringe: 5 Things To Consider Before You Get Bangs
Ah, the humble fringe.
Have you ever had a quarter-life crisis is you haven’t impulsively stormed into the hairdressers and demand they cut you the fullest, bluntest bangs featured on the bag pages of any of the crap magazines sprawled across the coffee table in the waiting room?
Everyone knows that once you exceed the age of 10, the likelihood that you will be able to pull off a fringe gets exponentially less likely as you age. A good fringe is one of those things reserved for a special breed of person, likely a supermodel, with just the right face shape and bone structure to suit a blunt cut.
Yet, despite the notoriety of this hypothesis, in my friendship group alone, three out of five of us have succumbed to the spontaneous temptation to get a fringe – most recently, it was myself who made the misguided decision last year in the hope it would revolutionise my life and change my perspective.
From my experience, any haircut chosen on a whim is an erroneous mistake. Getting a fringe, however? That’s on a whole other level. Here are five things I wish I’d done instead of getting bangs.
1. Buy a New Outfit
Maybe you’re at a loss when it comes to your wardrobe, your style, and your appearance, and it was that that brought you to the conclusion that a fringe was the only way to switch up your look. If you can hold down the compulsion to tear open the cutlery drawer and reach for the kitchen scissors yourself, you’ll immediately call the hairdressers for their earliest possible appointment for a complete overhaul of your locks.
If you wouldn’t rush into a committed relationship, don’t rush into a committed haircut. A fringe will most definitely change your look, but the question of whether it will change it for the better is altogether another matter. Rather than going for the chop, why not treat yourself to a bit of retail therapy? At least you can return it the next day if you wake up overwhelmed with regret.
2. Take Up a New Hobby
Or maybe you’re just bored. Maybe you’ve misinterpreted your dissatisfaction with the everyday mundane with dissatisfaction with your hair, and that why you’ve gone out with a bang(s).
I mean yeah, if you’re feeling playful, get a fringe. Fringes are playful… and uh, youthful. But you know what else is playful and potentially less damaging to your self-esteem? Playing a sport, or playing board games, or painting. When it comes to re-invigorating your lust for life, maybe go for something a little more temporary than a frivolous fringe-cut.
3. Redecorate Your Room
Another alternative to going under the bowl is to beautify your surroundings. After blocking the ‘fringe’ tag, scour Pinterest for some interior design inspiration to give your sanctuary a new lease of life, whether that’s with some houseplants, some fairy lights or a lick of paint.
If you’re not looking for a full DIY SOS style job, clean up what you do have. Tidy home, tidy mind they always say. And hey, making your bed in every morning requires less time and effort than styling a fringe!
4. Dye Your Hair
Whilst this might seem like a bit of a contradiction upon the whole ‘don’t touch your hair on an impulse’ angle of this piece, I’m honestly an advocate for any alternative to taking scissors anywhere near your forehead.
If it’s genuinely your mane that has become the bane of your life, then go to your nearest Boots and pick up a box dye. Take the opportunity to do something reckless and wild, maybe pink – no. BLUE. Just make sure it’s temporary.
5. Address Your Problems
Time for some tough love. If you’re genuinely considering chopping your sacred strands into a fringe because you think you’ll look like Zoe Deschanel, you’ve got issues, and they need addressing stat. Take this from experience: a fringe ain’t gonna solve anything like a bit of counselling will.
