A second look at hair bangs

Here's a trend that has strengthened the revolution against aging. "Hair bangs for both men and women have been a great help to defy a person's age," Larry Dichos, a hairstylist at the Bench Fix Salon said. According to Dichos, hair bangs have been in existence for so long. Cleopatra even had these. It is actually a recurring trend since it has been re-introduced to the Filipino public just recently with a kick-off from famous stars like the trendsetter Anne Curtis and Kim Jeong Hoon or Prince Troy from the Korean novella "Princess Hours".

Twenty-six-year-old Lenie Ronquillo shares her story: "When I was in elementary and high school, I had bangs. It was only late last year that I started having these again because my hairstylist told me that I look good with bangs."

Girls are not the only targets of this hair trend. Member of the local dance group "Front Act," Jan Ray Torrefin, has been sporting bangs since he was seventeen years old. Now that he is nineteen, this hair style has grown with him. "There were instances that my bangs helped me in attracting girls," Toreffin confessed. Moreover, seventeen-year-old Bryan "Belinda" Orjelos uses his bangs as a source of confidence: "I have bangs to partially hide my physical disability, most especially my face."

Different kinds of bangs are meant for diverse kinds of people. For men, there are the "Raven" and the "Blunt". The raven is the kind with which the hair is cut sideways and is irregular in length. On the other hand, the blunt is the kind where the hair is cut straight across, just above the eyebrows. "It is very common to see Korean men with blunt bangs and very rare on Filipino men," Dichos pointed out. For girls, there are more options. The convex bangs are designed with the hair strands slanted outwards.

Renowned Hollywood actress Nicole Kidman has this style on her crowning glory. The asymmetric style is similar to the raven. This style is usually seen on teenage girls. Nineteen-year-old Al Marie Padayogyog said, "I have this style to cope with the trend and it also suits me." The blunt style for men is also meant for women.

There are only two things to remember with hair bangs, according to Dichos. When a person has a wide forehead, the short bangs are strongly recommended; the long bangs are for those who have narrow foreheads. Prices for this trend vary from 35 to 185 pesos, according to the salon. Nevertheless, there are also individuals who do their bangs themselves. Both Padayogyog and Torrefin admitted that they cut their bangs on their own.

Hair bangs do not only depend on the shape of a person's forehead but, most importantly, on the level f confidence a person has of himself. "If you are confident and daring enough, you'll look better with bangs!" Dichos advised.