Butterfly Bangs Are The Next Step In Curtain Fringe Evolution

Thinking about it now, the term ”curtain bangs” is a pretty apt name for the much-requested salon special of the past year. And we're not just referring to how the bangs are shaped to frame your face like a curtain; we're also referring to how these bangs were so internet-famous you couldn't pull the curtains on them. But after months of cutting our bangs to have the inner hairs shorter than the wisps by our temples, it begs the question: What do we do with our curtain bangs now? The answer: Let them grow out and indulge in the next rung of the curtain bang ladder with butterfly bangs.

Butterfly bangs are similar to curtain bangs, with the face-framing graduation from short fringe hairs to the longer strands along your ears. But unlike curtain bangs, butterfly bangs are longer and wispier, and they're cut to contain many more layers. Due to this difference, getting butterfly bangs is an excellent recourse after months of wearing and growing out your curtain bangs. And thanks to the plentiful layers, these bangs offer you a lot of movement, framing your face perfectly while giving you an almost whimsical bounce, just like butterfly wings. If you're looking to grow out your beloved curtain bangs but with low effort and maximum bounce, these butterfly bangs are what you need this season.

From rich curls and bright colors to nearly-perfect crimps, butterfly bangs work great with every hairstyle, including lob-length straight layers. Unlike most bang choices that incorporate long waves and lots of layers, go a different route and try your butterfly bangs with straightened, flipped-out layers. These layers could go as short as a shoulder-length lob or long enough to be flipped around your lower back.

Aside from the tons of movement and play you get with this hairstyle, colors are also a great way to play with the feathered layers. You can indulge in some color with rich highlights to catch the light with every shake of your bangs, fancy balayage for more definition, or an all-blond moment with babylights while incorporating some extra wispy butterfly bangs into the mix.

From curtain bangs to shaggy wolf cuts, you can never have too many layers. So, take the movement up a notch and mix your butterfly bangs with another much-loved layered look called the octopus cut. Like the eponymous animal, the octopus haircut features a more oversized, round-shaped top with a slimmer tail of layers, almost like a mullet but with more body at the top. And with rich layers like that, butterfly bangs are the perfect way to add body and bounce to the top of your octopus cut.

So far, we've seen how to make butterfly bangs work on straight hair, how even the starkest color is the best with the cut, and how to mix it with other layered looks. But what if you can't seem to make up your mind on what option to go with? We recommend trying everything — well, almost everything. Try incorporating wispy waves and flipped-in ends with butterfly bangs for an over-the-top mix of loose, distinct layers.

Whether it's some blond babylight bangs, gold highlights against brunette hair, or red-toned balayage, there are several ways to accentuate butterfly bangs with color. But if you're looking to skip the decision-making — and the lengthy coloring process — we recommend a good dose of dark, face-framing layers for a versatile look.

If your butterfly bangs aren't face-framing enough for you, some money-piece highlights will do the job. The money piece is a coloring technique where the front parts of your hair (along your hairline) are colored a lighter shade than the rest, so, for a high-impact butterfly bang look, adding these highlights can provide a crisp contrast while shaping your face even more. Or, you could even go the reverse money piece route and make your bangs much darker than the rest. The result is a rich, versatile look with twice the layers and twice the fun.