Bangs, also known outside North America as a fringe, is a shaped cutting of the front part of the hair so that it lies over the forehead. Bangs are usually cut fairly straight at or above the eyebrows, but can also be ragged or ruffled, spiked up with hair gel, mousse or wax, swept to one side or the other, or cut longer to fall over the eyes.
The term bangs originally referred to hair cut bang-off (i.e. straight across at the front), although the term is now applied to diverse forms of hair stylings. It is probably related to bang-tail, a term still used for the practice of cutting horses' tails straight across. The term fringe refers to the resemblance of the short row of hair to ornamental fringe trim, such as that often found on shawls.
Straight-across or full bangs: The hair combed straight down with no interference, as opposed to the side-swept style. Can be a bit wispy or blunt depending on the cut.
Side-swept bangs: The hair is cut slightly longer than straight-across bangs, usually to a length that, were it not brushed/combed to fall to one side of the face, would cover the whole eye area . May be as thin as see-through bangs or as thick as blunt bangs.
Blunt bangs: The hair is cut straight across the forehead in a blunt manner. Similar to straight-across bangs but thicker and sometimes looking heavier.
See-through or wispy bangs: A type of bangs regarded as the opposite of the blunt style. The style is achieved by trimming thin layers of hair with thinning shears or a thinning razor. Usually, it acts as a versatile, less committed style and is considered by some as "suiting all types of face". It can be worn falling to the front or brushed to one side. Commonly, it is in the form of irregular point-cut (done by holding the shears vertically to point against the tip of the hair) rather than a horizontally-straight cut. Unlike the typical straight across or full bangs, see-through can easily be concealed by its thinness without the trimmed portion even being noticed. Unlike the straight-across or side-swept styles, which each have their respective lengths, see-through can be of eyebrow length or even as long as side-swept or peekaboo bangs, where the hair can reach eye level. Unlike typical bangs that require high maintenance, such as brushing while being heavily blow-dried, ironing, and/or styling, see-through bangs need just a simple light combing with a narrow-toothed comb after a shower and light blow-drying.
Arch or rounded bangs: A more rounded type of cut, in which the bangs form the shape on an arch, similar to a crescent moon shape pointing upward. The style is similar to full bangs but the bangs are longer as they approach the two sides of the forehead. Usually, it is achieved by twisting the hair on the fringe area using one's dominant hand and substituting it with the non-dominant hand to form a cross hair and underneath the fingers is the amount of hair that must be cut off. Usually, this style is thicker and looks heavier than straight-across bangs.
Parted bangs: The hair is parted down the middle or slightly off center. It is rather similar to side-swept in terms of length and to see-through in terms of styling and thickness.
Baby bangs: The hair is usually cut above the brows, normally bluntly across the middle of the forehead, but may be shorter. It usually compliments a child's short haircut or a bob cut.
Brow-skimming bangs: A style that falls below the brow and can look "heavy" or "light" on the face.
History and development
Bangs occur naturally in many styles of short hair-cuts.
Hairstyles that feature bangs have come and gone out of fashion as frequently as other hairstyles, and they can be worn in any number of ways. Influential people with bangs in modern times have included silent movie actress Louise Brooks, 1950s glamor model Bettie Page, the Beatles, and actress Elizabeth Taylor in the role of Cleopatra.
In the 1980s and early 1990s, curly, teased bangs were in fashion, often held high in place with copious amounts of hairspray. In 2007, bangs saw another massive revival as a hair trend, this time thick, deep and blunt-cut. In October 2007, style icon and model Kate Moss changed her hairstyle to have bangs, signalling the continuation of the trend into 2008.
In the 1970s, English actress and singer Jane Birkin helped establish the iconic look of brow-length bangs combined with overall long hair.
