How to Style Bangs: 10 Ideas That You Will Love

There are many ways to tweak your bangs without making a trip to the salon. We’ve put together a list of ways how to style bangs.

You wake up one day and decide you just HAVE to get bangs.

It makes sense, really. Bangs are a great way to change up your hairstyle without making a dramatic chop. The only thing is that once you pick a way to cut your bangs, styling them can get a little redundant. I mean once you cut a thick, blunt bang that’s basically how it’s going to look every day, right?

Wrong.

There is a bunch of subtle ways to tweak your bangs without making a trip to the salon. We’ve put together a little list of ways you can style your bangs so you no longer feel limited to just one look.

Now, we know that certain styling methods don’t necessarily work for certain types of bangs. So, we’ve chosen five classic bangs here and two ways to style for each. But we definitely encourage you to get creative, combine some techniques and play with your hair a bit!

How to Style Side-Swept Bangs

A side-swept bang is both glamorous and low-maintenance – but that doesn’t mean you still can’t have fun styling!

1. Use a Round Brush

This is the classic way to style side-swept bangs. Use your round brush to curl your bangs toward the back of your head while hitting them with the hottest setting on your blow dryer. Then, give them a misting with a flexible hold hairspray (we love OUAI Medium Hair Spray) and let them fall naturally to the side. Pretty easy, huh? You’ll look fresh and breezy in under five minutes.

2. Add Some Volume

If your bangs are feeling a little deflated, add a tiny amount of volume foam to the roots of your side-swept bangs. Not too much though – you don’t want them to look greasy. Then, flip your bangs in the opposite direction of your part and blow-dry them at a slightly downward angle. Once dry, you can put them back in the usual direction and spritz them with a light holding spray.

Not sure which volume foam to use? Try this AG Hair Weightless Volumizer. It provides thermal protection and contains ginger and ginseng extract.

How to Style Blunt Bangs

Blunt, straight-across bangs are insanely chic – if styled properly. If done wrong, you can end up looking like you did in your 1st-grade school picture. So read what we are about to tell you very carefully.

1. Make the Most of Your Dry Shampoo

Did you know that dry shampoo is great for more than just skipping a hair wash? It’s an excellent texturizer for almost any type of hair – including your blunt bangs.

First, you’re going to need to mostly dry your bangs by combing your wet bangs forward and then blow-drying them downwards. Next, blow your bangs to one side and then the other until they rest naturally in the middle of your forehead and are completely dry. Then, finish them off with a misting of your favorite dry shampoo to add texture and create an effortless, beachy look.

2. Pins, Pins, and More Pins!

If you want a very edgy, think-outside-the-box style for your blunt bangs, then pull out your box of bobby pins. Exposed bobby pins have been an ongoing trend over the past few years. So why not pin blunt bangs away from the face for a “fresh off the Prada runway” look?

The key to this look is to eliminate as much frizz as possible. You want your pinned bangs to be sleek, smooth, and securely held in place. To achieve this, combine a bit of L’Oréal Professional Tecni. Art A Head Glue and Redken Outshine Anti-Frizz Polishing Milk in your hands. Then run the mixture through your wet bangs (and your entire head of hair if you want!) to create a smooth, shiny, wet look.

Next, part your blunt bangs however you’d like and get creative! You can part them off-center or down the center, and pin them with just a few pins or pile them on. The more pins you have, the edgier it will look. You can even play around with different colored bobby pins.

For inspiration, see: Rihanna.

How to Style Long Bangs

You may be growing out your bangs, or maybe you like your hair in your eyes. Either way, long bangs create the ideal canvas for some retro looks.

1. The Curtain Bang

The key to creating a curtain bang is not to overwork it. Too much-misdirected effort or product use on your long bangs will make it nearly impossible to achieve a natural, nonchalant look. Instead, you’ll just end up looking like a member of Hanson in the ‘90s.

A beautiful curtain bang does require an excellent cut by a stylist, but even if you have long bangs and want to try something a little different you can use some styling tricks to get the look. First, you have to decide where to part your bangs. Most curtain bangs are parted down the center, but you certainly don’t have to adhere to that rule.

Once you’ve picked a flattering place for your part, you can use a light styling mousse for a little hold and give your bangs a nice airy look. You can also gently blow-dry the parting into place once you’ve applied your styling product – just remember to never use a round brush with a curtain bang.

For the most part, however, you want your bangs to air-dry so they fall around your face in the most effortless way. Keep it simple, and you’ll walk out the door looking just like Brigitte Bardot in the 1970s.

2. Backcomb Your Roots!

To avoid having a heavy, weighed-down long bang, give your roots a little lift by backcombing and creating texture. For this style, you will want to work with dry hair. So either work with second-day hair or rough dry your bangs before beginning.

First, you will want to spray your bangs with some sort of texturing spray with a medium hold. We suggest using Drybar Triple Sec 3-in-1 spray. It creates volume, adds texture, and provides a soft, matte texture, which is ideal for this look. Then, take a comb or bristle brush and backcomb at your roots for a little extra oomph.

You can wear your hair down with this bang, or in an up-do for a retro vibe.

How to Style Bangs: Baby Bangs

Baby bangs are perhaps the hardest to create a variety of styles with, simply because they’re so short. However, here are a couple of tricks to elevate your bold, short fringe.

1. Add Shine & Straighten

For a baby bang, you will want them to be silky, shiny, and stick-straight. To produce high shine, you will want to use some sort of shine-boosting heat protectant, like the AG Hair Smooth Firewall Spray. You may also want to consider applying a teensy bit of a frizz-fighting serum. Then, straighten your mini bangs with an equally mini flat iron. Easy as pie!

2. Create Choppiness

Another great option for a baby bang is to create a piece-y, rock-n-roll look. We would suggest following the steps above – and then adding a couple more products.

Pull out your favorite texturizing paste or cream and rub a dime-size dollop between your fingertips. Then, create some separation with your bang stands to add a whole lot of dimension. For guidance, check out Emma Watson’s 2018 Oscars look.

How to Style Bangs: Curly Bangs

We love a curly bang! Forget all of your notions of frizzy, curly bangs from your mom’s 1980s high school yearbook photos. A properly styled curly bang can be fun, playful, and adorable.

1. Use Curl Definer

The trick to a perfect, curly bang is to minimize the amount of heat you use. Though you can blow them out, we love adding a couple of key products and then air-drying. You will want to use an anti-frizz product of some sort with curly bangs no matter your end goal. So pick your favorite serum or cream to eliminate any and all flyaways.

Next, you will want to add some sort of curl definer. This could be a cream, gel, or mousse depending on what works best with your specific texture. We will leave this up to you since you know your hair best! Then, just let them air-dry. You can also twist little pieces around your fingers as they are trying to get nice, bouncy bangs.

It’s super easy to get a cute bang this way. As long as your curly bangs are cut well, you’ll be golden.

2. Braid Your Bangs

Your bangs will need to be on the longer end for this style to work, but if you nail it, you’ll create a unique and artsy half up-do.

Split your bangs into three or four sections. You will want to apply a small amount of smoothing cream or pomade for the hold to each section. Then, create two-strand twists with each section of hair, and pin them to the side in whatever way you’d like. You can get as creative as you want with this styling method! Play around a bit to determine which braid placements will flatter your face.

Bang-Up Job!

Well, there you have it – 10 different ways to help your bangs reach their full potential!

Just remember that the key to any style of bang is a technically precise cut. So make sure you talk with your stylist to figure out what will work best for your hair.

From there, just enjoy your bangs!