Beauty Maintenance Day 1: Cut Bangs

My friends and family may not believe that I'm vain, in the appearance department, because I generally don't do anything - no make-up, no bra, no hair coloring. They'd be surprised at how much effort goes into my looks!

For example, I am committed to cleansing and moisturizing my face twice every day, and I use lotion on my hands and arms almost non-stop. I am meticulous about my cuticle care. Bottom line, if someone bumped into me in a dark room, they'd probably think I am soft and, extrapolating from that, younger. HAH!

This "stay at home" order has prompted me to do things I can't get done by professionals. Today, I'm cutting my bangs.

I have done this before and have made many mistakes. Because my bangs are so thick, I thin them. The trick is to use the thinning scissors in a layer below the top layer; otherwise, when the thinned bangs grow out, I look like the Barbie Styling Head toy where you pull out the ponytail to make it longer. It's a hunk of hair on top of another hunk.

Cutting bangs straight across makes you look like Moe of the Three Stooges. It's unnaturally straight and has no transitioning into the rest of the hairstyle.

Finally, how much of the hair should be bangs? Unfortunately, several attempts ago, I cut more bangs than I would like. To fix this, I'd have to let it grow out and make adjustments. This would mean months of my bangs hidden in a headband. (I wonder if I have months before I see anyone?)

Once, my stylist twisted my bangs, cut across it and voila! it was perfect. I tried that technique and I had to cut around this messy, jagged line. Quite a long time later, I ended up with bangs that were many inches shorter than I wanted.

Another stylist snipped vertically along the bang line. My bangs were beautifully natural. Again, I tried that technique and it looked as if I had used pinking shears. My correction, again, resulted in too-short bangs.

My tried-and-true method is days of cutting. Today, I'll thin them and cut across (with a slight angled end) conservatively. Tomorrow, I'll check the results and snip, conservatively, at the tiny loose hairs that were hiding. I might have to adjust to curve them downwards at the end of the bang line because, years from now, it might become less bang area.

Update: The first cut is made when my hair is wet. The following cuts are done when the hair is dry. At that time, I "style" my bangs (brush them as I normally would) before I cut. This way, I can see where I've missed cutting the loose hairs.

Let's remember to tip our stylists well when we see them again! They are miracle workers and even small things like bangs are so easy for them.