need style idea for holding bangs (fringe) back

[susiemw]

hi all,

My neice is 16 and a musician.
Her hair is beautiful and shiney and healthy but bangs are at an
awkward length... probably a little below chin length.

the problem is that when she leans forward her bangs
fall forward creating a wall in front of her face. They aren't long
enough for her to just have them stay behind her ears.
When she plays the keyboard this is a particular problem.

She doesn't particularly like that side of her (beautiful)
face so doesn't want to pull her bangs straight back off her face. She wants a little camoflage. :)

any ideas?

I thought I remembered seeing a pic where bangs were in a loose lace type braid where the
bangs fell loosely but were still braided but now I can't find a pic. I think it was inspired by the lord of the rings movie.

Thanks in advance! Any ideas are most appreciative

Susan

[Speckla]

I divide my bangs into three sections. I pull the middle straight back and secure in place with 1 or two bobbypins. I then twist the over two (not together) and crossed them over the middle section and secure those with bobbypins. It makes a really interesting look and I don't have to worry about them poking me in the eye. I almost looks like a X with a line down the center. I don't have any pictures to share.

[jasper]

You might take a look at what Torrin Paige does with a perimeter braid in this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rx1wl8fNvto
It could be adaptable.

[Tiina]

I recommend decorative combs. They're usually more secure than just pins and the hair jewelery can take attention away from the face. Plus you can do all sorts of flips and turns with them. :)

[frizzinator]

As Tina suggested, my favorite way to hold back growing bangs is a side comb. I used to part my hair on the side so that only one comb is needed, then twist the bangs once, allowing them to be the opposite of flat and tight so that they cover the face somewhat, then insert the comb at the twist, upside down with prongs pointing toward face, catching some scalp hair, then flip over and push in place. The twist plus the method of insertion will hold it in fairly well.

The comb can only work where there is scalp hair for it to tuck into, so she may not get as much face coverage as she would like, but if she plays around with just the most eye offensive pieces of the bangs, then she might be able to leave some of those bangs out of the twist which might give a bit more face coverage.

Try a couple of different sizes of combs, because the heavier ones will require more hair in the twist to stay in the hair, weight is the big problem with decorative combs.... if she can get away with pulling back just a little of the bangs, then a small lightweight comb might hold better.

A small barette could be used to hold back a tiny portion of the bangs, in some cases, even better than a side comb.

[susiemw]

Thanks all! I appreciate the suggestions and will pass them along to my neice.

Susan

[Rini]

I love these suggestions (and Speckla, I'd LOVE to see a pic of your method!). I also have a suggestion: headbands! I'm a big fan of headbands even if I don't need to wear them to hold back any stray hairs. I love the many different colours and designs you can get and they always add interest to an upstyle. I rarely go out without some sort of headband on :D

[bellawave]

Seconding the headbands suggestion. You can also let the bangs drape in front of the headband a little, catching the ends back under the band, so that they're not pulled straight back. I did that a lot when I was growing out mine.

[GRU]

I remember an episode of Sex in the City when Carrie had just the smallest bit of the center portion of her bangs pulled straight back, over her center part, and clipped with a barrette of some sort. This kept the hair out of her face, but she still had hair down the sides of her face.

I know that when I first started growing out my bangs (which I'd had literally from birth into my mid-30s -- it was all I knew!) I absolutely HATED pulling my bangs back b/c I thought it "looked funny" on me (it wasn't funny-looking, really -- just "new to me" and unfamiliar). My hairdresser took tiny bits, maybe half an inch each, and twisty-curled them back and fastened them with mini-clips. My forehead still felt "naked" but the twisty-curl gave it some lift, so that it wasn't as severe as pulling my hair straight back (which, now that I'm used to, doesn't bother me in the least!) Another idea would be to take that center piece that is pulled back and give it a little pouf/quiff for height in the front.

Maybe something like that would work for her, a trade-off of pinning some of it (the very center) back, but still leaving some of it on the sides to "hide behind".

[spidermom]

The lace braid from ear, across the top of head above forehead, to other ear is a good style for growing out bangs.

[morguebabe]

I just pull them back and use four of those oval clips to hold them.