By Amy Keller Laird, Women's Health
In case you needed proof that bangs do, as hairstylists always promise, make you look younger, how's this: At 17 years older than the legal drinking limit, I was carded the other night at a wine store! For the first time in Dionysus-knows-when. (Looking for anti-aging advice that works?
This isn't the first such bangs-take-off-years incident I've experienced: Several years ago, right after a haircut involving bangs, I went out for pizza with my friend Jolene—who had also gotten bangs, because, you know, that's what girls do when they're not having pillow fights—and the waiter asked if we wanted a drink: "Like a root beer or sumthin'?" he chirped. Uh huh.
But here's the secret: Not just any old fringe will do. The keys to young-looking bangs, according to hairstylist Matt Fugate of the Sally Hershberger Downtown salon (who snipped my bangs a few weeks ago), are as follows:
1
They should be thick.
Wispy pieces can make hair look thin. And anthropologically speaking, thick, lush hair is a sign of youth and fertility. You know, if looking fertile is your thing.
2
They shouldn't be totally blunt.
"I love my razor," says Fugate, who uses it to ever so slightly vary the lengths of the ends.
3
They should hit between the eyebrows and tops of your eyes.
Super-short bangs can be cute, but they have a retro feel…which, visually, can = old.
In case you needed proof that bangs do, as hairstylists always promise, make you look younger, how's this: At 17 years older than the legal drinking limit, I was carded the other night at a wine store! For the first time in Dionysus-knows-when. (Looking for anti-aging advice that works?
This isn't the first such bangs-take-off-years incident I've experienced: Several years ago, right after a haircut involving bangs, I went out for pizza with my friend Jolene—who had also gotten bangs, because, you know, that's what girls do when they're not having pillow fights—and the waiter asked if we wanted a drink: "Like a root beer or sumthin'?" he chirped. Uh huh.
But here's the secret: Not just any old fringe will do. The keys to young-looking bangs, according to hairstylist Matt Fugate of the Sally Hershberger Downtown salon (who snipped my bangs a few weeks ago), are as follows:
1
They should be thick.
Wispy pieces can make hair look thin. And anthropologically speaking, thick, lush hair is a sign of youth and fertility. You know, if looking fertile is your thing.
2
They shouldn't be totally blunt.
"I love my razor," says Fugate, who uses it to ever so slightly vary the lengths of the ends.
3
They should hit between the eyebrows and tops of your eyes.
Super-short bangs can be cute, but they have a retro feel…which, visually, can = old.
