Tutorial: How To Trim Your Own Bangs

Quite a while back (when I still had pink hair!) I created a video teaching you how to trim your own bangs/fringe. Though I think it may be the best way to learn in this case, I understand that not everyone can or wants to watch a video (personally I hate watching videos and do it really selectively.) So I decided to make a non-video tutorial on how to cut your bangs, for the rest of you.


Though this is specifically for how to cut blunt straight across bangs/fringe, the same techniques and principles can be applied to side bangs or any other way you may want to wear them.


Make sure you have the sharpest scissors you can possibly find. If you have dull ones it’s not going to work very well, especially for blunt bangs. If you have dull scissors, then when you close them, the blades are just going to push the hair out of the way instead of actually cutting it, and you’re going to get really frustrated and end up with a wonky haircut. If you usually flat iron your bangs, make sure to do that before you start.

Always, always, always cut your bangs only when they are 100% dry. If you cut them while they are wet, or damp, they will shrink when you dry them and end up much shorter than you anticipated!


- First section off where your bangs are, and pull the rest of your hair back so that you don’t accidentally cut in to it.


- Now clip up the majority of your bangs, leaving just a thin layer down. Comb your hair to where it’s supposed to fall.


- Start in the center and work your way out, cutting horizontally. Keep combing your bangs to their natural fall if they get pushed aside.

Make sure to cut your bangs as they naturally fall, without tension, resting the back of the blade on your skin – If you hold them out, you’re going to create layers, and if you are holding them down, then when you let go, they’re going to spring up and be shorter than you wanted.

- When you’re done cutting that section, let another thin section down and comb it to where it should be.


- The section should be thin enough that you can see the line you just cut through it. Use that line as your guide and cut the same way.


- Keep letting down thin sections and repeating until you are finished.

If you want your bangs to look a little softer and not have such a harsh line, you can go back in and cut into them holding the scissors vertically, which is called point cutting. The more vertical you hold them, the less hair it’s going to take out, and it’s going to create a softer look.


If you start holding the scissors at an angle, it’s going to take out of a chunk of hair and create a choppier bang, so it just depends on the look that you want. Be careful though, since once you take it off, you can’t put it back on.

Well there you have it. There’s my advice on how to trim your bangs at home between salon visits. I hope you found that useful! If you have any trouble following, you may want to give watching the video a go after all.


If you liked this tutorial, please share the link with your friends on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, Tumblr, etc. And let me know how your bang trim turned out (or send me photos!)