Bangs (hair)

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. While most people cut their bangs straight, they may also shape them in an arc or leave them ragged.

Terminology[edit]

The term bangs originally referred to hair cut bang-off (i.e., straight across at the front), although the term is now applied to diverse forms of hair styling. It is probably related to bang-tail, a term still used for the practice of cutting horses' tails straight across.^[1] The term fringe refers to the resemblance of the short row of hair to ornamental fringe trim, such as those often found on shawls.^{[citation needed]}

History[edit]

Bangs were worn by both men and women in ancient Egypt, ancient Greece, and in the Roman Empire. Hair styles that included bangs can be seen on men and women in artwork of the Middle Ages. During the Elizabethan era and the Renaissance, European men continued to wear bangs, but they were out of style for women. Clergy cautioned against bangs in the 1600s as a sign of a vanity and "a slide into mortal sin".^[2]

Bangs, often curled, regained popularity among women in the Victorian era. The "Alexandra fringe", a mass of short, frizzy bangs named for Alexandra of Denmark, became popular in the 1880s.^[2] In the United States during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, bangs were popular among young female immigrants because the hair covering the forehead helped hide skin blemishes such as smallpox scars and acne which, popular magazines assured them, prevented them from looking like authentic Americans.^[3]

Bangs continued to remain popular through the twentieth century in various styles, such as the "Dutchboy bob", Mamie Eisenhower's short waved bangs, and Audrey Hepburn's pixie cut. The hairstyles of popular musicians in the 1960s such as the Beatles included bangs and became popular with men.^[2]

In 2007, bangs saw another massive revival as a hair trend, this time thick, deep and blunt-cut. In October 2007, style icon and model Kate Moss changed her hairstyle to have bangs, signaling the continuation of the trend into 2008.^[4] Fringes also had another revival during the 2020s, particularly self-styled curtain bangs, mainly on social media apps such as TikTok.^[5]^[6]