It’s been said that this is the year of “the bang”. The New York Times recently wrote a story about the bang come-back, and super cute Zooey Deschanel has the perfect set of thick bangs (have you seen this YouTube video called Bangs Like Zooey?). With all this bang talk it got me thinking that a set of bangs might be just what I need to switch up my look for summer.

The supplies:

– Some legit hair-cutting shears (I found mine on sale for $18. Here is a similar pair . I used household scissors for my How To Cut Your Own Hair post and these new ones made such a difference!)

– A narrow toothed comb with a pointed end (similar here )

find the steps below…

How To Cut Your Own Thick Bangs…

Some tips: I found that cutting my hair while dry worked great so I could have a good grasp on how much hair I was cutting. Also, don’t rush; make sure to give yourself plenty of time.

1. Find the very top of your head (this point can be modified depending on the thickness of bangs you would like. Move the point forward, towards your face for thinner bangs, and farther back for thicker bangs). With the pointy end of the comb, make a part that is straight down from the top of your head to the front of your ears. Since the top point of my head was father back than the front of my ears a triangular shape was formed. Secure the hair that is on the back of your head with a clip so it is out of your way.

2. Now you will create 3 sections. This will give you bangs that are higher in the center with wispy longer bangs on the sides. Put the pointy end of the comb at the end of your eyebrow up into your bang area. The hair above the comb will be part of the center bangs the hair below the point will be part of the wispy side bangs.

3. Comb the hair smooth.

4. Secure the hair between your pointer and middle-finger on your right hand. Line up your fingers with the bridge of your nose. Then, rotate your right-hand to the left side of your face to create a twist. Then, use your left-hand to grasp the hair. The twisting motion will create a high point in the center and longer sides. You can see what the twist looks like in #5 below and what the high center longer edges in #6 below. (This Sam Villa video explains the Twist-Cutting Fringe Technique very well.)

5. With the hair secure between your left-hand, at the bridge of your nose (and not elevated away from your face) begin clipping slowly and steadily straight across. I rested my left fingers against the bridge of my nose the whole time I was cutting.

6. Here you can see the high-center longer edges cut that was created by the twist.

7. My bangs were very long after the initial cut so I went in to do some additional trimming. I wanted to keep them long (like Zooey Deschanel’s) so I trimmed them just above my eyes so I could see. Keep the bangs combed smooth, and clip vertically into the bangs.

8. Now, it’s time for those side bangs. Use your comb to smooth the sides towards your face and with the scissors at an angle, clip diagonally.

9. Use a flat-iron to create the slight curve in the bangs. To do this, do not close the flat-iron completely with the hair inside. Instead, rest the hair inside the iron and slowly move the flat-iron in the shape of your forehead. This will create a nice shape without giving you those wild stick-straight ends.

10. Since I already had the scissors out and the rest of my hair really needed a cut, I decided to lop off about 4 inches from the rest of my hair (using this hair-cutting tutorial). It’s hard to believe what a difference it made with how healthy my hair feels now.

Just so you know, after a shower my bangs ended up shrinking about 3/4″. It was fun to see my hair go from long and unruly to tidy and sleek! The hair-cut and bang cut made such a difference!

Cost: $18 (for the scissors)

Photographs: Aaron Jones