Image Source: Getty / Karwai Tang [1]
Like many people my age, I had side bangs for quite a few years [2] back in middle school. I remember the day I got them like it was yesterday: upon arriving home from the hair salon with my mom, I went upstairs to my bedroom to take mirror selfies with my Motorola Razr. When I was finally over the style — and continually having to brush them out of my face — it took me years to grow them out, during which I pulled them back with bobby pins into another classic look: the infamous bump [3].
For the last decade, if you had asked me if I'd ever consider getting side-swept bangs [4] again, I would have responded with a firm no, but from the looks of a handful of Hollywood's hottest celebrities, they may be making a comeback after all. Kris Jenner, Megan Fox, Zoë Kravitz, and Megan Thee Stallion have all recently sported the retro hairstyle [5]. Following the resurgence of the '70s curtain bang [6], side bangs may just be the newest old haircut trend to make a return.
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In April, Fox debuted side-swept bangs [9] on Instagram while promoting fiancé Machine Gun Kelly's new album. Then, later that same month, Jenner wore swoop bangs [10] along with a new pixie haircut to the Kylie Cosmetics x Kendall Jenner launch party. Kravitz also wore side bangs of the micro variety [11] to the premiere of "The Batman." Then there's Megan Thee Stallion, who rocked the look at Coachella with a cotton-candy-pink and blue wig.
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In 2020, we began seeing quite a few Y2K beauty trends [14] make their way back to the mainstream: claw clips, pastel eyeshadow, lip gloss, french manicures, Juicy Tracksuits (that last one isn't beauty-related, but it was worth a mention all the same). César DeLeön Ramîrez [15], celebrity hairstylist and Unite [16] brand ambassador, previously told POPSUGAR he could see "short bangs becoming a 'swoop bang,' [17] bringing the side part back to centre stage and replacing the centre part." Though the middle part is still dominating [18] in the hair world right now, it's only a matter of time before the trend shifts back to its slightly off-centreed place [19] and the bangs follow. When that happens, the question is: would you get side bangs again?