What are Bangs?
Men and women have for centuries worn bangs. Bangs are a fringe of hair cut across the forehead. The use of “bangs” describing this fringe of hair has murky origins. There is no clear word etymology suggesting why this term is used for this hairstyle. However, There are Roman sculptures featuring men with short bangs, and bangs for women came into vogue, it is thought, with the stylings of Ziryab, a resident of ninth century Islamic Spain, and who owned a beauty parlor. From then on, bangs have come and gone out of style. In 15th century Europe, women wanted such high foreheads that they would shave their hairlines in order to properly wear the henin, the cone-shaped headdress popular in that time. The gabled hoods and cauls of the 15th and 16th centuries also necessitated a high forehead look, so bangs didn’t truly come back into vogue until the late 18th century and early 19th century. Fashions were changing and so were hairstyles. Bangs, in fact, are mentioned throughout women’s lit
