Long hair curtain bangs have a higher probability of being a positive outcome than almost anything else I can do with hair in this line of work. Positive outcomes are rare with trends. I have seen feathered layers come and go, blunt bobs, and micro bangs, and then watch the trends change again while clients come back just weeks later to remove whatever a different stylist convinced them to try. Curtain bangs have a different reputation. They blend into the hair and the style instead of fighting against it, and you don’t have to fight because curtain bangs give the effortless “I woke up like this” look that so many styles claim to.
I had a client, a teacher, who had the same long, one-length cut for as long as she had been in college and hadn’t changed her hair for around twelve years. She was scared of bangs because of a middle school trauma with a straight-across fringe. I got her to try some curtain bangs. She was literally tearing up as I was about to turn her around to see the result. It was a very understated cut but it was the first time she looked how she had pictured herself. That’s the beauty of long hair curtain bangs. They don’t change someone completely. They simply do something that has been long overdue. I can’t wait to show you some of my favorite looks.
#1: Long Curtain Bangs with Layered Body
This option works well if you want the bangs to be long enough to tuck behind your ears. It works for days you want to avoid your bangs. If you want to wear your bangs down, they sit around your face nicely. The ends are layered to add movement and prevent the hair from looking like a heavy curtain. When your hair is thick and straight, this option works best. A round brush and blow dryer is recommended for a polished bend. If you want to do an air dry, it’ll look good either way. If you’ve been considering dyeing your hair a shade or two darker, a cut like this will show it off nicely.
#2: Flowing Curtain Bangs with Soft Curls
You will definitely have people asking where you got your hair done because of how good this hairstyle is. The bangs blend in with the hair so well it is almost impossible to tell where they end, and the loose curls make the hair look so much more lively. If you don’t want to damage you hair, you will have to use a heat protectant. For more relaxed and beachy waves as opposed to tight ringlets, I would suggest using a wider barrel. The majority of the work is being done by the layers in this cut. To avoid the triangle effect, proper layering is essential with this thickness!
#3: Sleek Curtain Bangs with Long Flowing Layers
If you want to look effortlessly polished, this cut is one to consider. The layers make the hair look like it is moving as you walk, and the curtain bangs add softness to the look that a blunt cut would not. There is a lot of different styles that you can create with this cut – you could blow it out smooth for a work look, and on the weekend you could add waves for a casual look and it would read completely different both ways. That kind of versatility is hard to find in one haircut.
#4: Soft Curtain Bangs on Long, Low-Maintenance Hair
Here’s what I love about this cut. Even though it looks like it would take a lot of time to style, it really won’t! The bangs hit at the right spot, so they will look good sliding to either side without having to train them each morning. Movement is so easy with a bit of texturizing spray on the ends! If you’re looking for something that feels fresh without having to sit in my chair for 3 hours, this is a great option! Sometimes a little change can do way more than a full restyle.
#5: Voluminous Long Hair with Curtain Bangs
There’s some underlying subtle layering that is going to create a really nice bounce to the hair as well as some light reflection that you will notice, but may not see. When blow drying, use a lightweight mousse and apply it to your roots. The bangs are doing exactly what curtain bangs are meant to do: frame your face without covering your features. The outfit goes from Saturday brunch to a nice dinner, so you won’t even have to change anything!
#6: Soft Curtain Bangs with a Hint of Balayage
I especially appreciate how well the color and the cut work together. The mid-lengths warm up the color and the finer texture prevents it from looking flat. The addition of a balayage is subtle. The bangs are light and wispy which fits the density well. If the bangs are too thick on fine hair, they lose too much volume. This achieves that balance very well. Just keep in mind that you’ll need a round brush to style the bangs after washing to maintain that swoop.
#7: Polished Long Hair with Curtain Bangs
This look is most definitely a safe and timeless option. Straight hair is layered for a fresh feel, and curtain bangs are still easy and understated. The ends are kept moving through layers, so no curling iron is needed to create that bouncy look. This style also won’t fall flat before lunch. If you want bangs like these to look fresh, you will need to get regular trims every 3-4 weeks, but the maintenance is worth it!
#8: Graceful Long Layers with Curtain Bangs and Balayage
The way the balayage is positioned is amazing, it starting right at the bangs and going warm through all the layers gives the entire look a sun-kissed vibe that doesn’t look too salon-y. Balayage looks best on finer to medium textures as it gives that effortless unfinished look, caused by the fact the layers fall instead of clumping. What a lovely finishing touch! The bangs and the angled face make a perfect round finish.
#9: Wavy Long Layers with Curtain Bangs and Highlights
Your hair has great texture! Here’s why this cut will work for you. The layers are designed to shift with the haircut and allow the balayage highlights to fall how they want. This provides a unique look, and it’ll never look the same way twice. If you have thicker hair, the layering will be more than enough to allow the style to breathe. On air dry days you may want a wave enhancing spray, but that’s about it.
#10: Warm-Toned Long Hair with Curtain Bangs
This cut really stands out thanks to the rich color. The color adds depth to the different layers and makes the whole cut look three-dimensional. For the bangs, I prefer to cut to the longer side. This goes for clients who are trying out curtain bangs for the first time since it feels less committal. Once you’re used to it, you can always go for a shorter cut later. The soft waves here look like second-day hair, which is a compliment, of course.
#11: Bohemian Waves with Soft Curtain Bangs
The cut is likely what gives this it’s undone, lived-in quality. It probably means you’re going to have to spend quite a bit of money to replicate it, but with the right approach, it could be a good value. In this case, the undone bohemian look comes from the texture throughout the lengths and face-framing bangs, as well as the blended layers. Rather than looking highlighted, the warm, sun-kissed tones are rich and beautifully located. If this is the look you’re going for, tell your stylist to avoid firm blended layers and to go for softer, more natural looking, disjointed layers.
#12: Warm Brown Long Hair with Soft Curtain Bangs
This style is great because I know it will look great in photos and in real life, which is not something that is always the case. The warm brown base with subtle highlights is very natural. The bangs are a great touch. If you have long hair and are feeling bored with it and aren’t ready to take the plunge and do something drastic, this is a good option. It is a change that you will notice a lot but other people probably won’t be able to tell what is different.
#13: Textured Long Hair with Effortless Curtain Bangs
These curtain bangs will help to face frame with no added bulk and the thick texture will help the layers hold their shape and won’t need to be touched throughout the day. I’d keep a smoothing serum for humid days but otherwise this really is a wash-and-go for anyone with this level of body in their hair. The thick layers will mean the cut will help thickness work for you rather than weighing everything down.
#14: Relaxed Layers with Curtain Bangs on Wavy Hair
I appreciate the relaxed sophistication of this. Waves are uneven, and layers are not even and that’s the point. To achieve this look, you have to have gotten a really good haircut. It kind of looks like you just ran your fingers through your hair and walked out the door. The curtain bangs are just grown out past the cheekbone, and that length on wavy hair moves really beautifully because that texture stops it from looking lifeless. This style would look great in pictures at a wedding or a barbecue. The versatility is everything.
#15: Classic Long Layers with Soft Curtain Bangs
My favorite thing is the soft layering of the hair. It looks really nice when the ends have some movement but the soft layer looks more gradual. There are no hard lines or really choppy sections. The curtain bangs are softer and longer so they will be more forgiving when it comes to your hair growing out. If it’s usually a struggle for you to get trim appointments (No judgment, We’ve all been there), You can get a haircut that looks good as it grows out. The density is just medium so it’s never going to be too heavy or too wispy.
#16: Long Hair with Curtain Bangs and Dimensional Highlights
The highlights look lovely! They are concentrated around the face and the mid-lengths which adds some visual texture to the cut especially when the hair is worn straight. The bangs have a natural sweep that coincides with the slight wave and everything flows really well. If you already have highlights, you can request your colorist to add some around the bang area. It can definitely change how your face is framed!
#17: Movement-Rich Long Hair with Curtain Bangs
This haircut is about flow and movement. Each layer moves independently as you turn your head, the bangs perfectly center part, and your color highlights shine from all angles. This is a style best for medium to thick hair. You need enough density so the layers have enough weight to hang properly. I always tell clients, the best cuts are the ones you forget you’re wearing because they just feel like you. This is one of those.
#18: Light Blonde Layers with Soft Curtain Bangs
Blonde hair and curtain bangs are a great combo, especially with colors this good! The highlights are done with a soft hand, so they create depth in the hair making it go from flat and washed-out (which can happen with lighter colors) to dimensional and bright. The gentle wave in the body of the design adds so much more to it. The bangs are very face-framing and are a great choice to go with for fine hair since you definitely don’t want to overwhelm the look which is common with finer hair in the bangs section. This look is what a lot of people would consider expensive and they are right because good blonde is definitely high-priced. Once it is put in place, the cut requires low styling effort.
#19: Wavy Long Hair with Youthful Curtain Bangs
Curtain bangs, along with thick wavy hair, create one of my all-time favorite styles to cut. With the right texture to the hair, it does most of the styling for you! Loose waves look great for that effortless natural beachy vibe. The bangs give a little more structure so it does look messy and unrefined. Root volume is coming from the wave pattern, not product. This style will endure weather that flattens most blowouts. If your hair does this naturally, go with it!
#20: Long Layers with Face-Framing Curtain Bangs
It’s obvious someone is maintaining this hair really well and giving the layers and bangs a healthy look. The shine suggests that the cut was done well and shows at every angle and every layer. The curtain bangs add a lot of volume without weighing the hair down, and the layers give just the right amount of dimension to be worn straight or wavy and look intentional. To keep that shiny look, a gloss treatment every few weeks should do the trick.
#21: Full, Fluffy Long Hair with Curtain Bangs
This is big hair done correctly! The volume is not from teasing or heavy products, which means it actually moves instead of sitting there like a helmet. The texture and intelligent layering is what gives it all that volume! The curtain bangs ground the whole look and give it direction. Without the bangs, all of this volume could begin to feel shapeless, but with the bangs, there is a focal point. I’d probably thin out the interior layers a bit on most clients to keep it from getting too heavy at the bottom, but that depends entirely on your individual hair.
#22: Polished Long Hair with Subtle Layers and Curtain Bangs
The ends of the hair have very subtle layering, but it’s what prevents the style from looking like a long curtain of hair. There are some textures that make it look nice at the bottom, and the curtain bangs finish it off from the top. If you have dense hair and you want to keep the length, this type of invisible layering is perfect for you. It removes volume from the right places without looking like you’ve lost any length. The styling possibilities are limitless, whether it be waves, low ponies, or hair that is completely straight.
#23: Highlighted Long Hair with Styled Curtain Bangs
The highlights provide some extra dimension and appeal to this cut. The lighter framing pieces around the face + curtain bangs boost brightness around the features – very photogenic! The hair also had serum which contributed to the overall polished effect. This is very achievable for finer hair types due to the layers creating an illusion of volume vs. natural density. The bangs will need maintenance every few weeks, but the rest of this cut is pretty low maintenance!
#24: Natural Texture Long Hair with Wispy Curtain Bangs
This style looks great because of its natural looseness. The bangs are wispy, and the waves look natural which makes everything work together perfectly. If you have fine hair, and are concerned about curtain bangs being too chunky, this proves that they don’t have to be. When the bangs are kept nice and feathered, they create the illusion of more volume. Once you blow dry your hair, a small amount of product will be enough to hold the bangs in place.
#25 Copper Long Hair with Textured Curtain Bangs
I love the copper color; it really makes the bangs pop. Going for such a warm vibrant color takes confidence and the cut with soft lightweight layers is great because it lets the color flow and change as the hair moves. The bangs are really choppy and messy, which helps keep the look from being too polished, and if you’ve thought about trying some shades of copper or auburn, long hair with curtain bangs would be a great way to do it.
#26 Full-Bodied Layers with Soft Curtain Bangs
This hair also has a natural body that a lot of people have to use styling aids to achieve. The curtain bangs add softness to the look and do not compete with the volume below. The layers are designed to add more movement rather than just reduce bulk. This is the heap of hair goodness that we want to keep so I recommend a nourishing treatment once every couple of weeks. It is intensive because the hair is so thick, long, and shiny. Regular trims on the layers will keep the ends from getting scraggly.
#27 Shoulder-Length Waves with Face-Framing Curtain Bangs
This style is a little shorter than most of the other haircuts here, just around the shoulders, and honestly, that’s partly why I enjoy it. I like that this shows you really don’t have to have waist-length hair for curtain bangs to work amazing. With this length, the wavy texture and medium density give it so much personality, and the bangs direct attention to the eyes. If you are transitioning away from longer hair and feel nervous about the change, this is a really nice middle ground that still gives you the feel of having some length to work with.
#28 Warm, Rich Long Waves with Curtain Bangs
The look has many elements to appreciate. The color, the motion, and the way the waves fall with the hairstyle. Those curtain bangs frame the face without crossing over it, and the long layers allow the waves to develop freely throughout the length, instead of forcing them into a set pattern. The color of the hair and cut go together nicely as a cohesive look. For medium to thick hair of this length, this type of layered wave looks incredibly flattering. It also looks good as it grows out.
#29 Airy Long Hair with Perfectly Placed Curtain Bangs
I appreciate how light this style is. I feel nice and free without the hair and bangs, and the whole look has that light feeling from the perfect amount of layers and density. For this specific style, the balanced medium density hair is the easiest to work with because it falls just right, not too thick, and not too thin. This is the type of versatility you want from an everyday haircut, because it will look just as good at an event as it would at your desk job on a Tuesday.
#30 Flowing Long Hair with Gentle Curtain Bangs
If you’ve never had bangs before and you’re not convinced about getting them, I would recommend this haircut. Curtain bangs are longer and softer bangs that can be compared to face framing layers, so it’s not a huge commitment. These bangs will blend into the rest of your hair so well that on the days you don’t want to wear bangs you can just sweep them to the side. I created a subtle wave throughout the ends to add visual interest, and the soft, understated elegance of the look is a style that is flattering to everyone who sits in my chair.
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