PDA

View Full Version : Question about growing out part of a fringe/general fringe woes



palaeoqueen
May 6th, 2012, 11:04 AM
So I've finally figured out that the reason I haven't been liking my fringe recently is that not only is it cut too wide on the left-hand side but it's also too heavy. I have small face but big forehead and a fringe that starts from too far back just emphasises this whereas a small, short one balances my features. The unevenness speaks for itself I guess :lol: I'm so frustrated with stylists being unable to get my fringe right, even after I carefully explain and show them what I want :(

So basically I need to grow out small parts of my fringe but how on earth do I a) keep trimming it in the same place each time (I'm doing it myself from now on) and b) keep it looking neat? I did a small trim just now and I'm really pleased with it but of course if I don't clip back the surplus bits they just fall in my face and look weird. I don't mind the clips while I'm just hanging out around the house but I can't really go out with my hair like this...

I'd love to hear any advice, tips or even just shared stories of fringe woes!

Arashi
May 6th, 2012, 11:15 AM
Oh, I'm doing the same thing! I love my bangs/fringe and have no desire to get rid of them, but at some point I cut them in too thick, and now I'm growing out little sections on both sides. It's finally getting past the most awkward stage right now.

What I do/did:
-When trimming it, I put up a tight ponytail and used a headband to pull back absolutely every bit of hair I don't want to cut
-To keep the awkward growing-out bits out of the way and looking acceptable, I make use of bobby pins and aloe vera gel
-When they were a bit shorter and so still somewhat near the length of the rest of the fringe, I trimmed those bits in the smallest possible amount on an angle so that they blended in better and for a while looked intentional (sorry, not sure how to better describe this)

My two growing-out bits on each side are finally getting close to being long enough to tuck behind my ears, and I must say they're so much easier to deal with now. Hang in there!

palaeoqueen
May 6th, 2012, 11:23 AM
Thank you! It's good to know I'm not alone and those are some really good ideas. I will definitely try to blend the sides in a bit, I might even go for a slight face-framing shape actually. At the moment it's a sweetheart shape, so the sides are curved upwards, which is a pain so I guess I need to aim for straight across and then I can start to blend downwards as it gets longer.

jacqueline101
May 6th, 2012, 11:25 AM
I cut my fringe today and I'm not sure if I like it or not others say its okay.

palaeoqueen
May 7th, 2012, 06:34 AM
Do you have any pictures jacqueline101?

Quick update on me; I trimmed using the guide that BlondieHepburn kindly posted for me and I'm so much happier with my fringe now. The extra bits are actually staying out of the way much easier than I'd anticipated. It's almost like they never wanted to be part of my fringe in the first place ;)

brave
May 7th, 2012, 09:24 AM
Quick update on me; I trimmed using the guide that BlondieHepburn kindly posted for me and I'm so much happier with my fringe now. The extra bits are actually staying out of the way much easier than I'd anticipated. It's almost like they never wanted to be part of my fringe in the first place ;)
Can you link to the guide? That sounds interesting.

I use this (http://search.ulta.com/cosmetics/Accuredge%20Bang%20Trimmer) to help trim my bangs, because I have cut them crooked too many times. It helps quite a bit.

palaeoqueen
May 7th, 2012, 12:46 PM
Here you go:

http://www.thevintagewife.com/2009/09/12/how-to-cut-your-own-bangs/

CurlySasha
May 7th, 2012, 04:34 PM
My bangs are the daily reminder of my stupidity. Long story short, I got a comb terribly, terribly, irreversibly tangled in my face-framing layers, and had to cut them into a fringe a few months ago. Pulled straight, they touch the very top of my lip :( Otherwise my shortest layers are at my shoulder. I am so upset with myself for making that stupid mistake and my mom taunts me about it very often!

BeckyAH
May 7th, 2012, 04:38 PM
My advice would be to let it all get as long as you can possibly stand, so that when you do cut part of them, you can just cut the 'right' part, and there'll be an obvious enough difference to section appropriately - ie: put back the longer part.

...I'm also playing this game right now, to get rid of bleach in my bangs. I think. Maybe.

palaeoqueen
May 8th, 2012, 06:55 AM
I'm so sorry that other people are having to live with bad fringes!

BeckyAH: Yes I think I will leave it for a bit now so that when I next trim there will be a decent length difference between the fringe and the other bits. Good advice :) I'm also trying to get rid of the bleach from my fringe (mini goal on the way to growing out bleach completely), I think I'm almost there actually, fortunately I have a very short fringe so it's not too difficult.

Dorothy
May 8th, 2012, 08:02 AM
I've been growing out the outside parts of my bangs for a year now, and they're finally longer than my chin. The beginning was rough - over 25 years of having bangs and cutting them myself due to negative experiences with hairdressers, I'd gradually cut more and more, and they were using up too much of my updo hair. I wanted more poof in the front of my updos, and I needed more bang hair to do that. I grew out 2 pieces from the top - i.e. the bangs that were cut from hair closer to my crown. To make sure I cut the same hair every time, I grew all of my bangs longer than usual (irritating) then chose as markers the inside corners of my widow's peak - I grew out everything outside those markers and more than 3/4 inches back from my hairline at the center. The beginning was quite a trial, and I used clippies to hold them back and wore updos for months. I also used scarves to cover the clippies in a headband and bun sort of look, used aloe vera gel to stick them down, later moved on to using a japanese comb called a Kushi comb to hold them near my buns, and then was finally at a place they'd stay in a bun on top of my head. They look ok down now too, they curl under my jaw. I didn't cut them at all, and won't, I don't want to lose any ground. That's my experience - I had to tolerate a lot of awkwardness to get where I want to be, but now they do add pouf to the front of my updos, avoiding the skinned back look.

ArienEllariel
May 8th, 2012, 08:50 AM
Been there, done that. I just clipped the parts back for a while until they grew out more.

Chetanlaiho
May 8th, 2012, 09:30 AM
This is why my blunt fringe currently touches my chin xD I figured I'd grow all of it longer and then only cut the right parts back. Let's hope the hairdresser understands that >_< (I want a tiny amount of FFL to so I'm going to the hairdresser, I hope the one I like is still there :fingerscrossed:

Tabihito
May 8th, 2012, 09:32 AM
I find the worst part is when they start hitting close to shoulder. You'll want them to fit in your updos at that point, but they still won't. It's mighty frustrating.

But mostly, it's being very careful when you trim to ensure that you don't inadvertently cut the parts you wanted to grow out.

palaeoqueen
May 10th, 2012, 01:57 PM
Oh more replies, sorry I missed these :)

Looks like letting my fringe grow longer than I'd like before trimming is the way then lots of clips and even more patience!

Dorothy - I like the idea of actually measuring how far back I cut, I was worried a bit how I'd keep that consistent so thanks for the idea.

Tabihito - I *may* keep them as face framing layers once they're that long, too severe updos don't work well for me, we'll see though, I'll probably be back here complaining in a year about these bits not going up :lol:

ArienEllariel
May 10th, 2012, 02:19 PM
I'm so happy... my grown out bangs are now long enough that they pretty much stay up with the rest of my hair without pins. They're almost lip length now; not long enough to reach the elastic in a high ponytail but long enough that they blend in with the rest of my hair and will mostly stay on their own.

palaeoqueen
May 10th, 2012, 02:29 PM
ArienEllariel - that must be such a relief, I bet it feels like a huge milestone :D

ArienEllariel
May 10th, 2012, 02:35 PM
It is. I'm so sick of hair flopping in my face

Five of Five
May 10th, 2012, 04:19 PM
I am also in the process of growing out part of my fringe, and I very much agree with BeckyAH. Part of the reason my fringe got so thick in the first place was just by going to salons where they would accidentally cut a little extra into the hairline each time, until it just got ridiculous. This problem persisted even while I was growing it out, so I just decided to make it as easy as possible for them/me to cut it, and waited until it was almost long enough to go behind my ears.

Clips have been my best friend during that time. It is really nice to be able to just forget about your fringe during those early stages :). Good luck with whatever you decide. I put it off a long time because the original stylist said a thinner fringe would look bad with my thick hair, but I decided to just go with what I think suits me. Now I'm really happy as I'm reaching my goal in just a few months.

palaeoqueen
May 12th, 2012, 11:43 AM
I can't leave it until it's long enough to tuck behind my ears, I look really terrible without a fringe and I really can't face it. I am however just going to trim once a month by as much as I can (I like it short) so each month I should be increasing the difference by a good half inch. This will help immensely.

tori93
May 12th, 2012, 01:02 PM
i am doing the exact same thing. I have a full fringe but it was cut to wide and far back so i am growing out parts of the sides and top.
I either just tie my hair up and use a head band to keep the peices of fringe back or just pin the back with some hair on the side.

Valfreyja
May 12th, 2012, 03:25 PM
I am fed up with my fringe! It keeps being cut too wide, short, long, you name it... I was growing out parts of it but then hacked off in frustration the portion I wanted to keep... really, really short. A few commented that it looked cool (in a punk-y sort of way), a few said it looked quite scary but I realised then that I just wanted the whole thing gone, just off my face... It's a few centimetres away from my eyebrows, it almost looks presentable! I shall enjoy it while it lasts but this'll be the last time I grow it out for a good while, I think.

ETA: Forgot to add, I just wanted to say all that so you *don't* do as I did! That was kind of the whole point of my ramble. haha.

Five of Five
May 13th, 2012, 12:59 AM
I can't leave it until it's long enough to tuck behind my ears, I look really terrible without a fringe and I really can't face it. I am however just going to trim once a month by as much as I can (I like it short) so each month I should be increasing the difference by a good half inch. This will help immensely.

That sounds like a great solution, especially since you're cutting it yourself. I'm sure it will look wonderful! A short fringe really brings out the eyes, IMO.

I know what you mean about feeling self-conscious without a fringe. When I first started clipping my fringe back, I felt really exposed and kind of ugly, because my face is so pale and I have a huge forehead. My co-worker said that I looked different that day, but she couldn't tell why. When I told her, she said that I actually looked better without the fringe - and I have had other people tell me the same thing (though I strongly disagree). I don't know what they can see that I don't.

I guess the point of that story is that a fringe doesn't necessarily make a huge difference to how you look to other people (since people didn't even notice I had it clipped back for the first time) but it can make a huge difference to how you feel about yourself.

palaeoqueen
May 13th, 2012, 04:35 AM
i am doing the exact same thing. I have a full fringe but it was cut to wide and far back so i am growing out parts of the sides and top.
I either just tie my hair up and use a head band to keep the peices of fringe back or just pin the back with some hair on the side.

I sympathise! Are you going to be cutting your own fringe from now on or will you brave the hairdresser again?


I am fed up with my fringe! It keeps being cut too wide, short, long, you name it... I was growing out parts of it but then hacked off in frustration the portion I wanted to keep... really, really short. A few commented that it looked cool (in a punk-y sort of way), a few said it looked quite scary but I realised then that I just wanted the whole thing gone, just off my face... It's a few centimetres away from my eyebrows, it almost looks presentable! I shall enjoy it while it lasts but this'll be the last time I grow it out for a good while, I think.

ETA: Forgot to add, I just wanted to say all that so you *don't* do as I did! That was kind of the whole point of my ramble. haha.

Lol, I like the ramble! I promise I won't do anything crazy ;) And yes... why is it so hard for professionals to get fringes right?



I guess the point of that story is that a fringe doesn't necessarily make a huge difference to how you look to other people (since people didn't even notice I had it clipped back for the first time) but it can make a huge difference to how you feel about yourself.

I think this is a really good point actually and one well worth bearing in mind. I know that in the past I have spent far too much time worrying about what people will think of me (being afraid to leave my hair natural without straightening being a good case in point) but the truth is that people notice these things far less often than we might think. A good lesson to be learned I think.