Once you get bangs, there's no turning back—until you decide to grow them out, which can take anywhere from four to six months, according to Susan Williams, a Washington-based and StyleSeat hairstylist.
Thankfully, the grow-out period doesn't need to be miserable, but you do need to have a plan. First, take a look at the type of bangs you have (curtain, side-swept, choppy, etc.) so you know what you're dealing with. According to Williams, the hardest style of bangs to grow out are blunt or baby bangs, so be prepared to be a wee bit frustrated as you won't have enough length to style them differently while you wait for them to grow. Additionally, if you have naturally curly hair, it can take longer to grow them out, but they're much easier to blend in with the rest of your curls, she adds.
The next step is to take action. There are plenty of easy and fun ways to style bangs while you wait out the growing-out process. Williams and Elidona Pjetraj, a Manhattan-based stylist, break down the six best ways to successfully grow out bangs.
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1. Keep Your Hair Healthy
Pjetraj says the best way to grow out your bangs is by maintaining a nourishing hair regimen. She recommends doing hair treatments at a salon and at home. The Fekkai CBD Scalp Calming Hydrating Mask ($28, ulta.com), for example, helps hair grow healthy and strong. On the flip side, if your hair is weak, it'll be more prone to breakage which can elongate the grow-out period.
2. Trim the Center of Your Bangs
This may sound counterintuitive, but Pjetraj says trimming your bangs actually helps grow them out. She says your stylist should trim them between the eyebrows or use a thinning shear to texturize and lighten them up. "By doing this, the bangs will fall more lightly and start taking the shape of a curtain bang or face-framing, depending on how long your bangs are."
3. Get Face-Framing Layers
Once your bangs have grown out enough, Williams says to ask your stylist for face-framing layers so that your bangs can seamlessly blend into the rest of your hair. She adds that cutting a few shorter, internal layers will help support the extra volume and lift the overall look.
4. Add Some Texture to Your Tips
Williams says that texturizing the tips will soften them and help them blend into the rest of your hair. She recommends using a dry shampoo or texture spray at the roots for lift, but you can also use a medium-hold hairspray to do the trick. Something like Ouidad Going Up! Volumizing Texture Spray ($34, ulta.com) will give your hair some grit and hold. Pro tip: Williams says spraying product from underneath will give it a tighter hold.
5. Pin Them Back
When in doubt, pin your bangs away from your face. Williams says that your bangs are hardest to style when your bangs are 1 to 2 inches longer than how they started, so she says to get them out of your face by styling your hair into ponytails, braids, or pinned-back twists.
6. Amp Up the Volume
Another way to keep bangs out of your face while waiting for them to grow is by giving them volume. Williams says giving your bangs more body and texture will help lift them above the brow bone while keeping the length. Pjetraj adds that blow-drying is very important for any kind of bangs, and says that you should blow hair in front of the face and in the opposite direction for volume.
