Bangs (North American English), or a fringe (British English), are strands or locks of hair that fall over the scalp's front hairline to cover the forehead, usually just above the eyebrows, though can range to various lengths.
What culture started bangs? More than 1,000 years ago, an influential musician by the name of Ziryab popularized bangs in Medieval Spain. Ancient Egyptians were onto this trend even earlier than that, using blunt styles cut across the forehead for natural hair and for wigs.
The word bangtail, which means to cut the hair of a horsetail horizontally so it has a flat, tassel-like end, is the origin of the word bang—the term we use to describe the fringe on your forehead.
French-girl bangs are thick, full, and long (grazing your eyebrows or even slightly longer, depending on your preferences), and they lay across your forehead perfectly.
It is probably related to bang-tail, a term still used for the practice of cutting horses' tails straight across. The term fringe refers to the resemblance of the short row of hair to ornamental fringe trim, such as those often found on shawls.
As celebrity and editorial hairstylist Neil Moodie explains: “A wolf haircut is a mix of the shag haircut and a mullet, but generally created on longer hair. It has shorter choppy layers on the top and longer choppy layers around the sides and back.”
fringe in American English
(frɪndʒ) (verb fringed, fringing) noun. 1. a decorative border of thread, cord, or the like, usually hanging loosely from a raveled edge or separate strip.
The words fringe and bangs are essentially interchangeable. Fringe is just another word for bangs. Depending on where you live in the world you may use one term or the other.
But just remember that it means exactly the same thing. To clarify further, bangs and fringes both refer to strands of hair that fall over the forehead. They can be of various lengths and shapes, from side-swept bangs to blunt-cut fringes.
Typical Native American Hairstyles – Women
Navajo and Pueblo women typically wore their hair tied at the nape of the neck in a twist style known as a chongo. Others cut their hair to the shoulders in a blunt cut, often with bangs.
One of the most popular styles in South Korea is the air bang, also referred to as “see-through bangs” for their wispiness and the way they show glimpses of your forehead.
Regardless of the exact origins, “getting bangs” as a shorthand for “needing therapy” is exemplary of the paradoxical way women so often find themselves talking about themselves and one another online.
If You Have a Long Face and/or High Forehead: This face shape is similar to the oval-shaped, but the forehead, cheeks and jawline are all the same width. To complement this face shape, don't get baby bangs because they will further elongate your face.
Side bangs tend to soften facial features that get harsh with age and bring attention to your eyes. This style of bangs will also help you to avoid your hair from falling flat.
Bangs can add a youthful quality to your face by making it appear smaller. But be careful to not have a bang that is too short. You want your bangs to come down long enough over your forehead so they don't accentuate any fine lines around your eyes.
The answer to the question is a resounding yes! Bangs are fun and youthful, sure, but they're also sophisticated and look good on everyone, whether your hair is curly, straight, short, long, or in between. The important thing is to find a style of bangs that works for you and your lifestyle.
For long and narrow faces, "blunt fringe that hits below the brows will make your face look fuller," explains hairstylist and co-founder of R+Co, Garren. If your face is round or square, try bangs just above the brows, he says.
"Fringes can soften facial features, and help conceal an aging forehead, so yes, in a way they can make you look younger," confirms stylist Barney Martin, hair director and owner of Barney Martin salons, NSW.
'The Celtic fringe' commonly denotes those parts of the British Isles whose population is predominantly of Celtic stock, namely Cornwall, Ireland, Scotland and Wales.
Curtain bangs are a type of bangs that frame the face on both sides. Such bangs are cut shorter on the inside and become gradually longer outside. Most often a curtain fringe is center-parted.
In London, the fringe are small-scale theatres, many of them located above pubs, and the equivalent to New York's Off-Off-Broadway theatres and Europe's "free theatre" groups.
Similar to a mullet, the style features more body and volume at the crown of the head (the head of the octopus) and then longer, thinner, shag-like layers from the mid-shaft to ends (the tentacles). Though the octopus haircut is inspired by both the mullet and shag, it is neither.
Dipper Bangs
Basically, it's a long layer that swings across the forehead and ends below the cheekbone, level with your lips. Yes, it's a faux bang, but it's the best choice if you're on the fence and prefer easing into change.
The jellyfish haircut sports disconnected layers that resemble a short bob with longer layers underneath. If the name is any giveaway, it truly resembles the round body and longer, billowy tentacles of a jellyfish.