The UK's coronavirus lockdown has brought with it a lot of challenges, and one of the more trivial - but nonetheless painful - to endure has been our inability to go to the hairdressers.
Across the country, women with fringes are having to practically sweep their hair out of their faces in order to see straight, and there's more than a few of us walking around looking like The Grudge.
While we wouldn't usually advocate cutting hair yourself, we appreciate it's a long road ahead, and people are getting pretty desperate.
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Since lockdown begun, Cosmetify notes that searches for 'How to cut bangs' are up 251.5%, and it's clear that people are clearly giving at-home haircuts a go, whether we like it or not.
So, for those in absolute dire need of a trim, we've asked a hairdresser to give the DL on how to master a fringe and maintain your bangs in lockdown.
Speaking to Tyla, salon owner Ruby Hook says that, while she wouldn't advise cutting a fringe for the first time at home, there are certainly some tips to make maintaining one a little easier.
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To start with, she says, "always cut straight, curly and/or frizzy hair dry and in its natural state.
"If hair is wet you could risk cutting your fringe too short and it will shrink."
With each hair type, the hair does need to be treated slightly differently, so we asked her to break it down below.
Cutting a straight fringe
"First I would straighten the fringe down keeping as straight as possible at the ends," she tells us. "Take a section from the front of the fringe and tie the rest back to keep it out the way and be able to work each section separately.
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"Then, pull the hair down and take a very (and I mean very) small amount off the ends to start.
"Take another small section from the pinned back hair (fringe) and again take off a very small amount, but it should be slightly longer then the first section you have cut."
Ruby advices you simply repeat this process trimming small amounts of the ends off each time.
"By doing this, you will achieve a good level fringe, with each layer being slightly longer than the one underneath," she says.
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Finish off by brushing and straightening your freshly trimmed fringe to soften the ends.
Cutting a curly or frizzy fringe
"Always cut curly and/or frizzy hair dry," Ruby says.
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While the tips above largely apply, there are some important distinctions.
"When it comes to cutting especially for curly or frizzy hair I would recommend cutting vertically rather then horizontally," she says. "This can create a soft edge finish".
Plus, she warns: "Take care and not get scissors happy as when you are ready to style hair, [as] it could be much shorter than you may have wanted.
"Always take the little amounts off and give a trim then a full cut, unless you are trained!"
And what about bangs? Again, Ruby doesn't advise trying to achieve this look from scratch.
But if you want to maintain bangs which you already have, she's got some tips, too.
How to cut bangs
Firstly, she tells me bangs are harder to maintain than a fringe.
"To trim bangs you would need to straighten your hair," she says. "Then to get a good cut on your bangs, you will need to angle cut (which is cutting at a slant).
"If you are going to start by cutting the left side, you would need to pull it to the right and then cut downwards so that it is slightly slanted/angle. Then repeat on the same process on the other side, so if you are cutting the right side, pull to the left.
"To make sure that both sides are even take a piece of your bang from each side and pull it into the middle and then point cut, Taking a really small (I mean minimal amount) off - and keep checking".
Ruby adds that if you have thick hair you may want to do this in a few sections for best results.
Voila!
Featured Image Credit: UnsplashTopics: Beauty, Style News, Hair,