THE UNKINDEST CUT
Put down those scissors before you do something foolish
06:11 PM CST on Sunday, February 13, 2005
By DARLA ATLAS / The Dallas Morning News

Cutting your own bangs is like hiring someone to build your house but then deciding, hey, you'll tackle the roof all by yourself.

As illogical as it is, most of us have at one point or another figured that we have the skills required to cut our bangs – only the most prominent part of our entire hairdo. We see that they need cutting, and because we own scissors, we go for it. All the while hoping that our stylist won't be able to tell."

I tell most of my clients, 'One of us is going to stop cutting your hair,' " says Sara Rice, a stylist at Salon Pompeo in Dallas. "I find it funny that a lot of people are horrified to tell their hairdresser they did some chopping. I'll say, 'Is this some of your handiwork right here?' And they say yes, like a dog with its tail between its legs."

Such handiwork is painfully obvious to the trained eye, agrees Stephanie Lindsey, spa director and director of education at Seventeen Studio Spa Salon in Plano.

"You can't lie to us," Ms. Lindsey says, adding that sometimes the results are more catastrophic than others. She recalls one client who possessed entirely too much confidence in her clipping abilities.

"Her hair was very thick, so she decided to buy some texturizing shears, with the teeth spread apart like a comb," she says. "She decided to use them on her bangs and made the biggest disaster. She called me one night, crying: 'You've got to fix my hair tonight! I can't go anywhere looking like this – fix me!' "

So it seems that we aren't skilled hair laborers after all. But what is a desperate person with hair in her eyes to do? Stylists say to put down the scissors, walk away from the mirror and head to a salon, most of which offer free bang trims to clients.

Still, Eric Ogle, stylist and manager of Shelton's Salon and Day Spa in Bedford, knows that task is easier said than done.

"Maybe they've got kids and things going on, maybe it's not the most convenient thing to do," he says. But the outcome will be the difference between cut-rate amateur hour and a first-rate face framing.

For those who can't resist pretending they went to cosmetology school, the stylists say don't worry – they can fix virtually any mess. One of Ms. Rice's tricks is to create a "double bang" by taking more hair from the back: "It's slicy and sexy, and it grows out neat."

Besides the hair itself, there are other things to keep in mind when creating perfect bangs.

"Forehead size is very important," Ms. Rice says. "Some people need to have bangs above the brow, and some at the jaw bone. Whatever – it's stuff like that that the average bear doesn't take into consideration."

"It does take a little more talent than we thought," Ms. Lindsey adds.

"People assume it's very easy to cut it across and be done, but you have to be strategic. That little piece can become a big piece."

Darla Atlas is a Fort Worth freelance writer. Her e-mail address is darlajatlas@yahoo.com.

Thou shalt not cut thine own bangs

But if you just HAVE to ...

Cut it dry. "There won't be any surprises that way," says Anna Nguyen, a stylist at L'Image in Plano. She's referring to the inevitable shrinkage; nobody wants to look in the mirror later and think, "Wow, I resemble Julius Caesar. And I'm a woman." To get them dry, blow the bangs straight so that the root is lying down, suggests Sara Rice of Salon Pompeo.

Use quality equipment. "Do not use the kitchen shears with the orange handles," says Ms. Rice. "You know, the same ones you opened the chicken with the night before. That's gross." Scissors of decent haircutting quality can be found for about $6.99 at most grocery stores, she says.

For wispy bangs, Stephanie Lindsey of Seventeen Studio Spa Salon recommends point-cutting into the hair vertically, rather than cutting straight across. But again, you have to know what you're doing to achieve the right look. This is especially true for blondes with straight hair: "They're the hardest – it shows every scissor mark," she says.

Study your head. "One thing to be very cautious of is a receding hairline," says Ms. Lindsey. "If they don't leave enough hair forward, they'll leave a huge hole in the receding areas."

If you do mess up, "everyone will see it," warns Ms. Nguyen rather ominously. "The bangs are right there in front of your face." Still, you can always use a clip to hold them to the side of your head until they grow back anew – and you can start clipping away again.




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