Even If You Have Fine Hair, You Can Still Get Bangs

It can be scary to get bangs. First, you need to make the daunting decision to switch up your look, change your part, and cut into your perfectly grown out hairstyle. That’s phase one. The second part is actually deciding what kind of bangs to cut, and that largely depends on your hair type.

For those with fine hair, we talked to Richard Mannah, senior global artistic director for Joico, to discover where to start. “When executed correctly, bangs can actually make fine hair appear fuller,” Mannah tells ELLE. “The modern fringe is all about creating a versatile lived-in look that enhances the haircut rather than dominating it.”

So how does one create this look? “By framing the face, creating soft dimension, and directing the eye toward the features, they give the illusion of greater density and volume exactly where it’s needed most,” Mannah says.

But before we go into what exactly to do, it’s important to address the common mistakes people make first.

What Not to Do

There is, hands down, nothing worse than bangs that have been cut too short. “One of the biggest mistakes I see is taking too much hair into the fringe,” Mannah adds. “With fine hair, the bangs section might have to be slightly bigger for density as every strand counts; however, it’s also important to preserve density throughout the overall haircut and maintain balance between the bangs and the rest of the shape.” For fine hair, you’ll also want to avoid sharp, blunt bangs, as these require thicker hair to give fullness to the look.

That aside, the best bang hairstyles for fine hair await.

The Best Styles to Consider

Longer Curtain Bangs

Commonly known as “Bardot” or bottleneck bangs, these are face-framing fringe that are shorter in the center and longer at the sides. You’ll want to start longer, as Mannah noted, because “you can always take it shorter, but you can’t put hair back.”

Seamlessly blending into longer layers, curtain bangs work with almost every hair texture, and they’re a low-commitment intro to the bang world.

Side-Swept Bangs

Side bangs are cut so that they fall diagonally across your forehead, and similarly to curtain bangs, they also blend into the rest of your hair. Starting from the side part, they are designed to soften your features. Side-swept bangs are also known as one of the most universally flattering, as they elongate round or square face shapes and balance out more prominent foreheads or sharper jawlines.

Light Bangs

“I prefer a lighter, softer fringe that is tailored to the individual’s natural growth pattern, face shape, hairline, and any cowlicks,” Mannah tells us. “A well-cut fringe should feel effortless and seamlessly integrate into the haircut.” This is exactly what soft, wispy bangs achieve.