“Don’t do it. I don’t think you’re a bangs type of girl,” my former boss, MEGA’s Beauty & Features Editor for print, told me one afternoon when I asked her if going back to bangs was a good idea. Her reason behind this was simple: “Because when you have them, you’re supposed to wear them.” You’re supposed to wear them, the words echoed in my head in the days that followed. A few people pointed out the same thing, saying that there were days I seemed impatient with growing them out.
Despite this, I knew I still wanted them. And being the stubborn person that I am, I booked another appointment with Jude Hipolito and Rose Velasco at JuRo Salon Exclusif, but this time, with a new mindset. I hope.
Wispy, noncommittal, can appear or disappear by simply being pushed away depending on the wearer’s mood—those were a few ways in which I described what I wanted. I provided a few pegs, such as images of the perfectly disheveled fringes of Dakota Johnson and Brigitte Bardot. I knew a middle part flattered my face shape, but it was starting to get boring. There was comfort in knowing that if all else failed, my hair would grow pretty fast anyway. This was the very same thing I told myself when I made the mistake of getting a pixie cut back in high school.
“This will grow out really nicely,” Jude told me as he snip snip snipped. I asked him whether or not one should cut their own bangs, as this was what majority of the people I knew did. “I recommend going to your hairdresser, of course, but if you must, I advise my clients to cut them with their scissors pointed, not straight across,” he replied as he transformed the shorter layers of my hair into a fringe. Meanwhile, I was starting to like what I saw in the mirror.
A realization: the first time you get bangs and actually like them is the start of a vicious cycle. You get them cut, they look amazing, you fumble with them as they grow, you start to question whether your life would be so much better without hair that grazes past your eyes, and just when you thought you were over them, you want them back in your life. The same can be said for an on and off fling, but obviously, this is not the place to expound on that.
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The truth is, no matter how noncommittal they may seem, ultimately, bangs are a commitment. This was the same thing Basement Salon’s Creative Stylist Joe Almakdesi told me when I asked him about them: “Like it or not, it was a decision you made. So it is a commitment.” True to his words, when you have a fringe, you simply must trust the process. Some days, you might find yourself lusting over your bangs while there might be times when you feel your love for them ebbing away. But like all important decisions in your life, you have to constantly remind yourself what brought you there in the first place. And when the day comes when you’ve had enough? Then simply be patient with growing them out and watch your hair evolve. The first time I had my hair colored by Rose, for example, I grew to like my color even more as the months went by, as my highlights would subtly change as if they had a life of their own. If your cut and color is good enough, the growing out process shouldn’t be too painful.
Yes, my fringe may make me appear more youthful, but for the first time in a while, I feel like I am growing up and sticking to more of the decisions that I make, both big and small. And for today, my decision is simple: enjoying my bangs.
