On the fringe

Fringes are everywhere at the moment, but if I have one, I find I struggle to style mine correctly.

Last week, I took the leap and let David Gillson from Carlton Hair chop me a fringe. Few people have been allowed lose on my locks after the tragic purple boy cut of 2007 (don’t even ask), but I trust David with my hair, so am always more willing to give new looks a try when he is at the helm. I asked him for a step-by-step guide to styling beautiful bangs.

“Rough dry your fringe first”, says David. “If you don’t, it’ll go 80s crazy on you!” (Think Meg Ryan’s ma-hoosive one in When Harry Met Sally!) ‘But the 80s are back, David!” I teased. “Fine,’ he retorted, ‘ don’t rough dry it then, but I’ll have nothing to do with it!” So rough-dry first, got it!

Once it’s 95% dry, you can then take a brush to it. “A large barreled one is best for making your fringe hang close to your forehead. A small brush will create too much of a curl,” explains David.

If you like neat hair, then leave it here. But why not try a new take on a fringe? David says that, “Messed-up, relaxed hair is very ‘now’, so once your fringe is dry, mess it up a bit with your fingers before applying some shine spray.”

My new fringe was teamed with new (much) shorter hair. Mid lengths are the cut du jour this season, and I have to say that I’m loving my shoulder length hair – still long enough to tie-up, but easier to manage when it’s down.

But sadly, even though I can now style my fringe like a pro, it won’t be around too long. You see riding helmets and fringes just don’t work together. In fact, they go out of their way; it seems, to work against each other. I ride at least 4 times a week; so keeping my fringe looking good is just not an option.

But if you’ve wanted a change, give a fringe a try – just make sure you have the time to style it. Go on, be brave! And let me know how it goes!