5 tips for giving good fringe

In the interests of getting with the lingo I’m about to embrace in the U S of A, I should be calling this post, So you want to try bangs?

… but it just, you know, makes me giggle uncontrollably.

As does the thought of getting a blowout when I arrive in New York. Which has nothing to do with exploding tyres on a highway but has everything to do with someone else washing and styling my hair. Something I’m very much looking forward to as I’ll be jetlagged like nobodies business.

The good people at the blowout bar I’ve booked will have to contend with my newly created fringe.

Yes, if you follow along on Instagram, Facebook or Twitter, you would have seen me make my Fringe Friday announcement.

I’m not sure what came over me but there I was sitting in the chair at my salon, admiring the newly created fringe my stylist and girlfriend Maria was sporting, who meanwhile was at that moment creating a fringe on another client, when I thought … I want what they’re having.

I really am a marketers’ dream.

Now, I am no stranger to the fringe. In fact,over the course of my 40-plus years on this planet, my hair has sported a fringe more often than it has not.

There are fringes and there are fringes.

And boy, oh boy, have I had my share of shockers (see below – can you pick the era from which they came?).

• The fringe that looked like my brothers’ fringe.
• The fringe frozen in the ’80s courtesy of hairspray abuse (if right now you’re imagining doing the rubbing-your-fringe-in-a-circular-motion-after-spraying thing, you were there with me, weren’t you?).
• The permed fringe. Some people in the ’80s had just their fringe permed. True story.
• The home-cut fringe. Best not attempted without knowledge you are within reach of a professional.
• The too-much-fringe-is-never-enough fringe. This is a fringe that doesn’t start out this way but ends this way when each successive hair cut broadens and deepens the fringe to the point where you feel like your hair style is all fringe and mullet. Not good.

So, as I sat there on Friday, watching my stylist’s eyes light up (have you noticed how excited they get when you give them free reign on change?), I too got excited about the change.

As she started chopping, I remembered why I’ve had so many fringes in the past … it takes years off. Truly. Cheaper than Botox

But I also remembered why I always end up growing out my fringes. They require maintenance and respect.

Which is why before leaving the salon, looking like this:

… I asked my stylist (Maria Faulder at Suite Three) for her tips on giving good fringe between salon visits:

1. Blow dry your fringe before the rest of your hair. Use a thermal protector (L’Oreal Professionnel Iron Finish).
2. Keep it “slim” or flat using a straightening iron. Section out, rather than try to straighten in one section.
3. Carry a comb with you in your handbag for “touch ups” throughout the day.
4. Make time every two to three weeks for a fringe trim. Book an appointment so your stylist can allow up to 30 minutes to do this precisely.
5. Want to stretch out the time between full shampoos? Fringes love a high pony … just shampoo the fringe and leave the rest.

Lastly, this was her best advice:

Beware of imitations. There are fringes and there are fringes. This season’s fringe is long, deep and sexy.

50 Shades of Fringe, anyone?

Do you have a fringe? Have you ever had a fringe? Which do you prefer on you, non-fringe or fringe?