Growing Out Bangs

Jersey #1 has decided that she no longer wants bangs.  She wants to grow them out.  Apparently, this is the current style.  Most of her friends, and her older cousin, have long bangs to the side, or are growing them out completley.  I had no idea the trend had changed.

I think bangs look good on her....and usually look good on most little girls.  Bangs certainly looked good on Jersey #1 as a little girl...  

But, she is growing up now, and wants a say in her hairstyle.  I am Ok with that.

But, I am NOT OK with hair in the face.

I cannot stand to look at hair in the eyes.

I can't stand my own hair in my own eyes.  I keep my kids' hair cut away from their eyes.  I can't even get a sheepdog for a pet, because I would not be able to see hair in a dog's eyes either.  

Colored hair, tattoos, or whatever the teen cultural trend moves toward, does not trouble me near as much as hair in the eyes.  I am prepared to go round and round in battle with my children, just to keep their hair out of their eyes.  I can't handle it.

I am too sensitive when it comes to eyes.  My eyes water any time I see someone cry.  It can be in real life or a movie, and I will still tear up.  I can't have contact lenses, because there is no way I am putting my fingers....or a lens....near my eyes.  I can't even watch other people mess with their contacts, without it causing me to cry.  If I am speaking to a person who has longer hair in their face, near or covering their eyes, it takes all of my strength to look at them to make polite conversation....but it is very brief, and I have to turn away before the tears fall.  I hope I never have to witness an eye injury, as I am sure to pass out.  The thought makes me shiver.  

So, I told Jersey #1 that she could grow out her bangs, ONLY IF she kept them out of her eyes.

At first, she laughed at my request, and brushed it off.  She had no idea just how serious I was.

She now knows I mean business. 

We go round and round about those growing bangs in her eyes.  They do not bother her.  She thinks it is funny that they bother me.  Thankfully, she is a compliant enough child that she is not going to make this a battleground issue.  She just laughs and shrugs, and gets a hair clip or a headband each time I say something.

One time, I made her get out of the van, and return to the house to get something to put her bangs back.  That was when she realized just how serious I was about this issue.  We were running late, and I had already locked the house.  She was stunned when I got back out of the van to unlock the house so she could grab a hair clip.  From that point forward, she does not forget to clip back her bangs.

At church this week, I made a comment about her growing out her bangs, and how much it stresses me out to see hair in the eyes.  A friend jumped right up and said she would show us how to manage growing bangs.  Her actions were incredible!  I had no idea such a cool trick existed.

Even looking at this starting picture makes me want to cry...

Take a section of bangs on one side, and twist...

Grab the next section of bangs and twist it in with the first.  This is very similar to the idea of a French braid, only it is twisting the hair instead of braiding it.  Adding a section at a time to the main twist is what keeps it together and looks like a cute style (so much cuter than a unicorn-looking ponytail in the front of the head).

Continue twisting in a section at a time, until you get all the way across the forehead.  Clip the end to the side of the head with a bobby pin.  Insert the pin in one direction, then turn it and slide it up a perpendicular direction, to have it hold real firm.

THIS is a hairstyle I can totally embrace while still allowing my daughter to have the independence of growing out her bangs.  My friend has no idea just how much she has solved a major Mother---preteen Daughter battle, with a win-win solution...