Where Should You Part Short Hair?

Where should you part short hair?

I get asked all the time where the part should go. On a pixie or a short crop, the part is not a line you draw on at the end. It changes the face, and it has to work with the cut.

A center part narrows the eyes and lengthens the nose. That can be beautiful when the eyes are already wide and you want a longer, cleaner line down the face. It is not kind when the eyes are close-set, or when the nose is already the feature you notice first. I move the hair around before I cut and watch what the part does to the eyes and the nose. If the center makes the face look longer and tighter through the eyes, I move it off center.

Most of the time I follow the hair. A cowlick at the crown or a swirl at the hairline will fight a part you force the other way, and on short hair there is nowhere to hide that fight. I comb it wet, then again once it is dry, and I put the part where it already wants to live. That is usually a soft side, a little off center, or no hard part at all.

Sometimes I do the opposite on purpose. If the hair is flat and we need volume, I will part it against its nature and let it stand up. The hair pushes back, and that push is the lift. It only works if the cut is short enough and light enough to hold that lift. Heavy length on top just falls back down and looks like a bad part.

Cowlicks are the whole game in short hair. A cowlick in the crown can give you a little spike that makes the shape yours, if you cut with it. The same cowlick will stick out or split the part if you pretend it is not there. I would rather use it than plaster it down.

A few placements I use all the time:

• A soft off-center part for a textured pixie that still looks polished.
• A deeper side when I want the fringe to sweep and the eyes to open up.
• No fixed part on a piecey crop, where a hard line would fight the texture.
• Against the growth, only when we need the hair to stand up and give volume.

If your hair only behaves when it is wet, the part is in the wrong place, or the length around it is too heavy. Bring it in and I will set the part with the cut.

Ready for a short cut that actually parts the way you want? Give us a call at (480) 607-6544.