Beauty Blogger Habiba's Razor Bang Trim Video Has 3 Million Views

We will start out by saying we are big fans of Los Angeles-based Instagram beauty blogger Habiba. She may try crazy products, techniques, or trends, but she always does it with a lighthearted dose of humor that we find irresistibly charming. And her not-too-serious tone and irrepressible individuality is especially refreshing when we find our feed inadvertently taken over by Instagram beauty clones. That being said, homegirl posted a Instagram video just under a week ago that we felt compelled to comment on. You might be wondering what on earth could get us riled up about a fun Instagram video, but stay with us here for a second.

Last Tuesday, blogger Habiba uploaded a video of herself separating out a big chunk of her gorgeous auburn hair along the hairline. She tucks back the hair on either side with big duckbill clips, then takes what looks like a Gilette razor to slice into her strands, captioning the video, "Shaved my bangs to create a feathery appearance and volume in the front..." And we have to hand it to her—the after looks damn good. But we had an inkling that the ease of that instant bang technique might be a little too good to be true. And we weren't wrong.

According to Serge Normant at John Frieda hairstylist Tommy Buckett, while cutting your bangs with the same razor you'd shave your legs with—like maybe the —can actually wreck havoc on your hair. "It's just kind of a bad idea," he says. "The angled cuts of a razor splits the hair shaft, which leads to split ends sooner." As a reminder, split ends happen when the protective outer layer of the hair shaft, also known as the cuticle, is worn down leaving the delicate internal core prone to breakage, splitting, and dehydration. When you hit your hair with a razor, you're unevenly shaving away some of the cuticle, which ends up speeding up the process. Also, when the cuticle is compromised, moisture is able to penetrate more easily, and moisture is the number one culprit for unwanted frizz. Which is all a long way of saying unless you're all about that fuzzy bang life, cutting your hair with a shaving razor is probably not your best bet.

Of course, hairstylists often use razors in the salon, but the ones they use are sharper and wider, so they don't fray the hair. "Because the razors we use are made to cut the hair, it's easier, and you're not sawing away to make any cuts," he adds. (That sawing motion can further fray the cuticle.) Blogger Habiba, we love you. But in this one case, we're going to have to disagree with your fun at home hack.

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