Fringe Evolution: Transitioning from Curtain to Bottleneck to Wispy – Cut

It’s less common that someone with one-length hair asks for fringe than it is to have to carve out a fresh set on existing bangs.  Ellen Devine (@Ellendevinehair), Sam Villa ArTeam and Master Stylist at Lunatic Fringe, demonstrates how to evolve fringe from simple curtain to more face framing bottleneck to wispy.  These techniques are at the heart of renewing guests’ looks without having to change the entire cut.  See all three techniques here.

Curtain Fringe – A center part with a slight swoop in the middle that are not completely blunt and not totally layered.  They are soft curtains that frame the face, fall about chin length and can easily be pushed off to the sides, tucked or feathered.  Overdirection, slight elevation and diagonal cutting are used to create a nice soft swoop when they fall.  And, because they are cut compressed, they have a nice chewy texture. 

Bottleneck – Fringe within fringe, the center of is cut shorter to open up the eye area.  It resembles a soda bottle shape (narrow, wide, narrow) that frames the face beautifully.  The longer hair on the sides is disconnected and the new shorter middle section is cut without elevation, overdirected to the side and point cut in a shallow manner for softness.

Wispy – Disconnected longer sides are cut with a Sam Villa Classic Series 14 Tooth Cutting Shear to be closer to the length of the middle.  They are used to release weight and create a wispy effect on the entire fringe area.  Shears can be used horizontally on a larger section for a point cutting effect or vertically to chip away on smaller sections with more control.

“Make sure to ask your guest how they style their hair before you determine a length for the fringe…you don’t want to cut it short and then find out that they use a large round brush for styling.  In that case, the fringe would pop up too much,” explains Devine.