Where Does the Part Go?

Some haircuts have the hair parted and some do not. It all depends on the cut and the hair growth pattern on an individual's head. Some people want a really formal hairstyle with every hair in its place, whereas others like a more casual approach and allow the hair to lie where it wants to.

For some reason, years ago it became a tradition that men parted their hair at the left with the hair combed off toward the right. However, the hair should always be allowed to lay the way the hairgrain wants it to lay. Going with the hairgrain means the part is located somewhere on the top, usually on one side or the other. It could also be in the middle or a bit off to one side of the middle or the other. The part must be between the 2 receded parts of the front hairline.

If the hair has a center cowlick, the hair could be parted on the left side, right side, the center, or a little off-center, just depending on how the hair wants to lie. Look very carefully at the hairgrain before making your decision.

Typically the hair will be parted on the same side of the head as the cowlick. If you have a cowlick on the left, usually your part is going to be on the left. The same goes for the right side.

Parting the hair on the same side as the cowlick allows the hair to lie where it wants at the top of the head. This is because typically the hairgrain that has a cowlick on the left will have the hair wanting to move out toward the right. This works vice versa for the right where a cowlick on the right will have the hair wanting to move out toward the left.

About 5% on the population has an unusual hairgrain where the cowlick is on the left side and the hairgrain also moves of to the left. With this unusual type of hairgrain, you would have to part the hair all the way around the back and down on the right side.

If this same type of unusual cowlick is on the right side, you would have to part the hair around the back of the head and down on the left side.

The average and usual way to part hair is very easily done. Just comb the hair forward from the cowlick and place the hair where it agrees with your part. When the hair lays well and doesn't stand on end (even when it's dry), you know that you've put it in the right spot, having the hair lie where it wants to.

How to Deal With Cowlicks in the Neck and at the Front Hairline

Everyone has a cowlick in the crown area, but some people also have one in the nape of their neck or along the front hairline (or both). We'll start off with looking at the cowlick at the nape of the neck.

Ducktail

Someone with a cowlick at the nape of his/her neck has what's commonly called a ducktail neckline. When the hair is short enough in the nape area, you can see the hairgrain growing up and to the side in some areas. As the hair grows, it can start flipping out in the wrong direction, not lying neatly with the rest of the hair. There is nothing you can do to change the hairgrain - that is just the way it is going to grow.

Some people have only one cowlick at the back, so it looks as though the hair sort of swirls over all to one side at the bottom of the hairline. Others have 2 cowlicks, making the hair on both sides swirl toward the center, looking like a duck's tail.

When cutting a ducktail neckline, you don't really need to do anything out of the ordinary. Just cut as though it wasn't there when dealing with fine or medium hair. However, if the hair is very coarse and straight, it may prove to be a problem. You will need to cut it very short and taper out to a long length further up the back of the head. You can do the taper either scissor-over-comb or clipper-over-comb to get the ducktail area really nice and short.

Font Hairline Cowlick

This particular type of cowlick is not entirely in the hair itself but the center of it is in the finer, transparent "peach fuzz" at the top of the forehead. The effects the hairgrain along the front hairline and is found on 5 - 10% of the population.

The best way to deal with a cowlick at the front hairline is to let the hair lie where it wants to. If you don't want your hair to lie in the direction that it wants to, you are going to need extra length. You can do this in 2 ways:

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  Cut the entire top section 1 inch longer than you usually would.


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  Leave the first 2 inches of hair (behind the front hairline) longer. Blend it in with the rest of the top when you've finished cutting.

The easiest way, of course, is to go with the natural hairgrain of the hair rather than try to fight it. The famous model, Claudia Schiffer, has not one, but 2 cowlicks at her front hairline. She deals with it by wearing her hair longer and having it styled to compliment, rather than trying to hide the little erratic hairgrain areas. So ..... go with the flow, don't fight it!