Reese Witherspoon (source)

Halle Berry (source)

Heidi Klum (source)

Liv Tyler (source)

Confession: last week I officially broke my 15-year stance against bangs and made the cut. I haven’t had bangs since I was a little girl (and those were heavily feathered to match my thick plastic glasses), so it was a hard move for me. However, I think that my bangs are super cute and love them much more than I thought I would.

Another confession: I was inspired by celebs. It seems like every time I turned around another celeb was sporting some cute fringe, and I just didn’t want to be left in the dust. No, seriously, it seemed like a simple solution to change up my stagnant style without severly cutting, dying or otherwise ruining my hair.

I have a round face, so I chose sideswept bangs (plus, they are easy to pin back and will grow out quickly if I decided I didn’t like them). But if you want to get red carpet bangs, then you need to do a little research first.  Here’s how to get celebrity style bangs:

1) Consider your face shape: Anyone who has ever opened a magazine knows how important your face shape is when it comes to haircuts, and bangs are no exception. If you have a long face (like Liv Tyler) then you can do the heavy, blunt cut bangs. If you have a heart shaped face (like Reese Witherspoon) then lighter sideswept bangs are more your speed.

2) Try some on for size: If you are really unsure of how this look will suit you, then get thee to the mall and buy some hair pieces to try out the look first. I used my own hair and pinned it in place (I have longer hair) and took some pictures to see if I liked the effect first.

3) See a stylist: DON’T try to cut your own bangs if you want to get the best results. I cut my own, and while I think they are cute, I’ll probably have to go in and have my stylist clean them up in a few months. A stylist can also recommend hot new bangs and textures to suit your face shape. Be sure to bring pictures for inspiration!

So that’s how to get celebrity style bangs…don’t be afraid of the shears if you really want to try this look, after all, it will grow back eventually. Good luck!