Why new mums like Kate love to hide behind a GRINGE
(THAT’S A GROWN-OUT FRINGE)
WHEN I saw pictures yesterday of Kate Middleton’s flattering new fringe, I i nstantly smiled in recognition. The 33-year-old, seen in her first public appearance since the christening of Princess Charlotte in July, had her brunette hair cut slightly shorter than usual, with a sweeping fringe framing her face.
It is thought to have been cut by Richard Ward, the hairstylist she turns to for her flawless, bouncy blow-dries.
This look is hugely familiar to me. Dubbed the ‘ gringe’, or the ‘ grown-out fringe’ by hairdressers, it is a classic tried-and-tested style for new mothers such as Kate.
Just bold enough to feel like a new look in that confidence-sapping first year, yet still simple enough to be easy to style, it covers a multitude of sins.
As hair can thin after pregnancy due to fluctuating hormones, a gringe can also hide a sparse parting or limp locks, while concealing any stray greys. And hair stylists all over had better make sure they’re up to date with how to cut it.
Just as her dresses sell out in seconds, the Kate-endorsed ‘ gringe’ is sure to be the hairstyle of the season.
And as a hairdresser for more than 30 years, with direct experience of cutting the royals’ hair — from Princess Diana to Princess Anne and the Duchess of York Sarah Ferguson — I know that a whole lot of thought has gone into Kate’s revamped do.
As a perpetually tired young mother of a toddler and a four-month-old, she was in dire need of a style update — especially having been out of the public eye for a while.
Yet those flowing, chocolatey locks have become her trademark, so it’s understandable that she didn’t want to go for the chop.
Getting a gringe is a clever way to update her hair without doing anything too drastic. It’s practical — she can whip the rest up into a ponytail or sleek chignon while leaving the fringe loose — and perfect for keeping long hair out of her eyes.
Though she normally wears her hair down for public occasions, she probably ties it back most days at home, and a feathery fringe will stop her looking too severe when it’s slicked off her face.
The gringe is especially good because it’s versatile. While a shorter, more solid fringe makes quite a statement, the gringe gives Kate’s hair stylist far more options.
Her recent pregnancy and the strains of motherhood will have had a huge impact on Kate’s decision to go for this particular chop.
Because she has always worn it long, the longest strands of her hair will be around six years old, given the time it takes hair to grow. It’s lasted through two pregnancies, meaning the ends are likely to be brittle.
You’ll notice she’s had an inch or so taken off the length — this is to remove the worst bits — but the gringe also distracts from any unhealthy ends and focuses attention on her face.
It looks to me like she may have suffered from post-partum hair loss, too, which is a very common and natural thinning of the hair around the temples that occurs 12 weeks or so after giving birth. Normally, we lose 50 to 75 hairs a day, but during pregnancy women don’t lose any hair at all. Until, that is, their child is a few months old and suddenly big clumps can start gathering on the brush.
Many women have fringes cut in to disguise this hair loss, and the gringe certainly has the effect of making Kate’s hair look thick and fuller around her hairline.
Actress Emily Mortimer had a sweep fringe cut eight months after giving birth to her daughter May Rose in 2010 and Sienna Miller had a strong fringe cut nine months after giving birth to Marlowe in 2012. You can see by the way it’s been cut that it’s being used to camouflage thin, wispy hairs that were there before. Perhaps, even, to blend in with shorter hairs that fell out and are gradually growing back.
If she’s breastfeeding Princess Charlotte, her hair may have become quite dehydrated and so getting a fringe removes any dry or split ends around her face. All those hormones can also cause the hair to lose its vibrancy and colour — and Kate has been spotted with a few greys in the past — so this is a shrewd way to draw attention away from her roots.
The gringe doesn’t suit everyone, and Kate is lucky that she has an elongated, heart- shaped face to balance out the long sweeping strands falling over her forehead.
And it can work for any length of hair, though it’s most popular for mid-length to long cuts like Kate’s. This i s because a blunt, thick fringe — in the style of Vogue editor Anna Wintour — would look awful on longer hair, hanging down like saggy curtains.
The style is more suited to certain types of hair, too — thick and straight rather than thin, which could look straggly. It can also be difficult to maintain on curly hair, as too much of a kink can distort the effect. Saying that, when I styled Sarah Ferguson’s hair for her wedding to Prince Andrew in 1986, I gave her a soft, wispy fringe to go with her corkscrew curls — and she looked great. She prefers her hair all one length these days, but I maintain that she looks younger with a gringe, which lifts the cheekbones, widens the eyes and defines the features.
Kate’s gringe makes her dark brows look even more defined, while it thins out her nose and makes her cheekbones look razor-sharp, not unlike Brigitte Bardot in her Sixties heyday.
She also appears younger and more fresh-faced, as the gringe directs the eye to the apples of her cheeks.
It’s no surprise that the style has also been dubbed the ‘Botox fringe’ — because of the number of women who resort to it instead of surgery when they see lines appearing.
Actress Jane Seymour, 64, famously said the reason she has had a fringe like this for so long is because she wants to cover up her wrinkles without using surgery.
Of course, Kate is far too young to worry about that. Indeed, the gringe has the effect of showing off her perfectly smooth, line-free complexion, like a frame around her forehead. But f or those days when she f eels baggy-eyed and sallow-skinned, it can also hide a multitude of sins — just what a young mother needs.
The gringe is easy to maintain — just a quick blow dry with a round bristled brush to give it plenty of volume. I’d recommend getting it cut every three to four weeks, though if Kate changes her mind, it won’t take more than a few months to grow out entirely.
To stop her gringe turning to grunge, she may also be using a conditioning treatment and taking supplements to strengthen it. But if she doesn’t find the time it doesn’t really matter. For the beauty of the gringe is that it will look good whatever the weather, whatever her outfit (hats included), and however little sleep she has had.
Stylish yet straightforward, it’s perfect for a princess in the public eye. And having the bounce back in her hair is sure to restore that spring in her step.
Women often have fringes to hide hair loss
It’s an easy alternative to having Botox