How to Achieve the Messy Fringe Look

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Plus, how to decide if this textured style is right for you

Co-authored by Annie Johnston Reviewed by Jasmin Todd

Last Updated: September 30, 2024 Fact Checked

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Overview

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What to Tell Your Barber

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Styling

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Deciding on a Messy Fringe

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Video

The messy fringe screams "just rolled out of bed" (in a good way) with casual coolness. This men's hairstyle involves a tousling of your fringe for a relaxed and effortlessly chic appearance. Perfectly suited for those who will love an undone, carefree vibe to their hairdo, the messy fringe can add an element of rebellion to your everyday style. Read on to learn more about the messy fringe, how to ask your stylist or barber for one, and how to style it.

How to Create a Messy Fringe

Wash and towel-dry your hair, then work a sea salt spray into it focusing on your fringe. You can opt to either let it air dry or use a blow dryer with a diffuser attachment to give it extra volume and texture. Finish off with a volume dust for an even edgier look.

Section 1 of 4:

What is a messy fringe?

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A messy fringe is a disheveled version of the classic fringe cut. A fringe is a men’s hairstyle that involves the top portion of the hair falling down across the forehead—it’s actually the same thing as bangs. When a fringe is “messy,” it is typically textured with choppy layers and tousled to give it a “I tried but didn’t try” type of look.^{[1]
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- While most fringes are angular and swept to the side, others can be rounded, hang straight down, or be pushed completely to one side. A messy fringe can take on any of these silhouettes, as what makes it messy is how it’s styled.
- Typically, you’ll need about 2-4 inches (5.08-10.16 cm) of hair length to be able to create a fringe.

Section 2 of 4:

Asking Your Stylist or Barber for a Messy Fringe

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Messy fringes can be rounded, angular, come straight down, or be swept diagonally across the forehead. Search pictures of the messy fringe and decide which look you’d like to go for. Having a photo reference will help your stylist or barber better understand your hair goals.
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Ask your stylist or barber to cut the sides low and blend them into the top. For the messy fringe, you’ll need to ask your stylist or barber to keep a strong focus on the front part, the fringe, while shortening the length around the sides and the back. The shorter you opt to clip the sides, the more edgy and dramatic the look will be.^{[2]
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- Be sure to specify how long you’d like to keep the top portion before they start cutting. This will help with better blending.
Most stylists and barbers should already know what a fringe is, so when you let them know that you’d prefer yours to be textured, choppy, and disheveled, they’ll understand that a messy look is what you’re aiming for. Using specific reference photos of exactly how textured you’d like the top to be is the best option for conveying your goals.

Section 3 of 4:

Styling Your Messy Fringe

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Styling a messy fringe involves preparation when the hair is wet, so going through your normal shampoo and conditioner routine works just fine for this style. Towel dry your hair after washing.

Jen Atkin, Celebrity Hairstylist

Choose your hair products thoughtfully. "Most people buy their shampoo and conditioner from the same product line (Volume, Repair, Clean, etc.) and don’t realize that you usually need a different shampoo and conditioner variety for each. Fixing this common mistake can be the key to achieving your hair goals."
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Spray your damp hair with a sea salt spray. Misting sea salt spray all over your head is a great way to add texture and body to your hair. Using your hands, tousle and work the spray into your hair evenly while massaging all over.^{[3]
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- Make sure to work the spray in while your hair is still wet, as the water will combine with the sea salt product and already begin to create some of the messiness we’re looking for.
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Blow dry your hair with a diffuser attachment. Using a diffuser attachment is a great way to blow dry your hair while adding body, volume, and definition.^{[4]
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Research source} If you already have a blow dryer, a universal attachment should be able to fit, so don’t worry about buying a whole new blow dryer.
- Aim the diffuser directly at your hair and keep it as close to your head as possible. Do this until your hair is about 50% dry.^{[5]
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Scrunch your hair with your hands while blow drying. As you continue to dry the hair, take handfuls and squeeze them in a scrunching motion. This is going to begin building a lot of volume and definition in the pieces of your hair. Continue to scrunch your hair until it’s fully dry.^{[6]
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- The more you lift and scrunch at the root, the more volume you will get in the finished look.
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Finish off with a volumizing dust (optional). By this stage, your hair should be dry, piecey, and defined. You may want to leave it as it is, but if you have thin hair or it’s just not at the volume you’d like it to be, sprinkle a small amount of volume dust powder all over the hair. After tapping the product over your entire head, work it in with your hands until no more white powder is visible.
- Volume dust will add more texture aside from volume, so make sure a super textured look is what you’re going for before adding it.

Section 4 of 4:

Is a messy fringe right for you?

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Because a messy fringe does require some effort to get it looking, well, messy, you’ll need to keep in mind that it’s not a completely fuss-free style. You’ll need to restyle it after each wash, so only go for this look if you don’t mind adding a few extra steps to your hair routine.
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Anyone can rock a messy fringe if it’s cut to flatter their face shape. While you can wear your fringe in whichever style you’d like, certain angles and textures look better on various face shapes. Here are the styles that work best for each face shape:^{[7]
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- Round: If your face is round, your fringe can step in to make it appear a bit longer. By going for a very angular, side-swept fringe with lots of texture and volume, you’ll be able to add extra height to the top of the head.
- Oval: People with oval faces are pretty lucky because they rock just about any messy fringe cut. Whether you prefer your messy fringe rounded, angular, side swept, or straight across, it will look good no matter what.
- Square: Fully textured, side swept fringes are best for square face shapes because they help to soften up angular features.
- Heart: A side-sweeping messy fringe will draw the eye up toward the forehead and distract from any smallness around the chin and jaw.
- Diamond: Shorter, wispier, messy fringes are best for those with a diamond-shaped face. Too much hair can close off the face, so keeping your fringe a bit higher on your forehead allows for some openness.