We've all been there, scrolling through Instagram, looking at photos of Alexa Chung, Megan Ellaby and Sophia Rosemary, knee-deep in fringe envy and wondering just how we too can 'get the look', pondering whether we'll manage to nail that cool girl chic, or be transported back to the haircuts of our childhoods in an instant.
I for one agonised over the decision for months. My only recent recollection of life with a fringe takes me back about 9 years (eek!) when I had a full, blunt fringe, which I seem to recall took ~forever~ to grow out. I'll point out at this juncture that centre partings weren't really on trend back then, and so I opted to clip my fringe to one side throughout the regrowth process. Well you can just imagine how that worked out. If it wasn't so horrific, I'd try and dig out a photo, but I also had dyed brown hair back in the day, and those roots just topped off the look nicely. Needless to say, I won't be making that same mistake any time soon.
Anyway, after months of going back and forwards, I just decided to do it. New year, new me and all that. Nearly half a year down the line, there's a few things I've learned, and just in case you're in the same boat as I was at the end of last year, I thought I'd share them with you.
Yeah, I don't really understand this one either, but somehow it's like there's a secret that only you've been let in on. With all the best will in the world, it just isn't going to happen. Or rather, it hasn't happened yet, in my experience. I live in hope though...
Physical activity, or really anything that induces a sweaty forehead, is not your friend.
At risk of this being a bit tmi, I am a pretty sweaty person when I work out. Thankfully it tends to be localised and not my entire body leaking like Niagara Falls, but unfortunately for me, that excessive sweating tends to pool on my forehead. And that never used to be a problem because my hair was always tucked behind my ears anyway, but obviously I can't do that anymore, so physical activity = sweaty, flat fringe = guaranteed fringe wash and blow dry. You don't even want to know what the result is when the fringe dries naturally in said circumstances.
I do often wonder if I'm missing a trick here. Options currently include clipping fringe to the side and dealing with dents in hair, sweeping hair back with an alice band (sadly not a velvet one with my name on) or braving the sweatband. Haven't actually tested the latter option yet, but it's getting close. If someone could, in the meantime, invent a patch for your forehead to stop sweating, or some sort of invisible fringe shield, that would be fab.
It grows, quickly.
I'm actually very fortunate in this regard, as Harvey's mum can always be relied on to trim my fringe for me. Now that I work from home and therefore don't head into the city that often, it's actually somewhat of a godsend. Salons usually do free fringe trims, but when you have to make a special 2 hour round trip and gamble that your stylist is free, it's a dangerous game. You could always have a go at trimming your fringe yourself, but I don't yet trust myself not to also trim my eyelashes in the process. Ah, adulting...
Unless you get through hair spray like it's going out of fashion, give up on your idea of a permanently perfect fringe.
Because it just ain't gonna happen. When I first had my fringe cut in, this used to drive me mad and I would be constantly preening and trying to 'fix' my new forehead accessory. Thanks to the point below, I now prefer my fringe with a little windswept action. It looks better when it's more natural (in my opinion), and although it actually takes a lot of work, effortless being the intention, I think I've mastered it.
Avoid excess heat (i.e. straighteners) and invest in a barrel brush and hairdryer instead.
To say this revolutionised my fringe game would be an understatement. If you scroll through my instagram, all the way back to January, you can see a drastic difference between the styling, even though the cut was the same. I think the difference lies in the roots; when I used to use straighteners, I couldn't get them close enough to the roots to get any real lift, and even trying to recreate that with the straighteners just didn't work. Use a barrel brush and hairdryer, however, and that job becomes ten times easier. There's still a knack to it, but that Alexa Chung-inspired fringe is so much more attainable.
It also goes without saying that excessive heat equals damage, so the less you can get away with using, the better. My current hair dryer is looking a little worse for wear these days, and I was recently very impressed by the Dyson Supersonic hairdryer when I saw it in use at a John Lewis event the other week. It's the fact you can control the temperature that really gets me. When this one gives up the ghost, I will for sure be thinking about investing in one. £300 seems rather a lot right now though, so it can sit on my wishlist for just a little while longer...
So that's that! I could probably continue indefinitely, but they're the main things I've noticed over the course of the last few months. I have to say I think it's one of the best appearance-related decisions I've ever made, and for all the hassle, it's definitely been worth it in terms of the confidence I've gained.
As ever, feel free to send over any fringe-related questions if there's anything else you'd like to know! I'll link my instagram here, just in case you want to take a look at any more fringe action. Turns out there aren't that many blonde bloggers on my radar with fringes at the moment so I struggled to find anyone else to link... As it happens, I'm very happy to be corrected on this, so please also feel free to send over some recommendations.
I'm thinking I might start a series of posts along the lines of 'So you're thinking of...' based on my experience of all sorts of things (think lip fillers/LVL lashes/brow styling/personal styling etc...). I've gotten really interested in that sort of thing recently, so if you're also thinking about it, I thought it might be handy to share tips. Let me know what you think anyway!
Photos by Katie Jade Photography
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