How to tell if you're parting your hair the right way as a guy

It seems like such a dumb article post.

It’s parting your hair, how wrong can you possibly be?

Well, you’d be surprised just how wrong you may have been all this time. According to celebrity hairstylist Britt White, who works with Paris and Nicky Hilton, Alexa Chung, Lily Rabe among others, most guys have been parting their hair in the wrong direction their entire lives.

“Most of the time guys are one-hundred percent parting on the wrong side,” the celebrity groomer and stylist tells us. “The funny thing is most guys don’t know this and they get frustrated that they can’t get the part right or their hair isn’t staying in place or the volume isn’t there. It’s all because the part isn’t on point.”

White says that for guys who’ve had trouble getting volume or maybe even getting it to stay in place, not to mention those pesky cowlicks that won’t stay down, the hair part could have been the culprit this entire time.

So you mean all of those years when you wanted to slick it back and wanted your hair to have more volume like a pompadour but it laid there flat like a sad sheet of stale tortilla it was because of a simple misguided hair part?

“Yes, yes and yes,” White says. “It might sound crazy, but if you’ve only been parting your hair one side for your entire life, try changing it up and seeing if it’s better the other way.”

Test it out:

Don’t stop the feeling. The easiest trick in detecting your hair’s natural part is the Forward and Back method. White says to comb your fingers backwards in your hair and then move it left to right. “Your hair will fall in the direction that it grows in. When that happens, you know that that’s the way you should go.”
How many (Cow)licks to get to the center? Everyone has one. And if you’re blessed, you have two. The cowlick is the outward spiral of the hair towards the back. When you look at it, you can find which way it naturally grows (it’s where your baldspot is). If the spiral grows clockwise, comb to the left, if it grows to counterclockwise, comb to the right. If you have two, comb whichever way, you handsome man, you.
When in doubt, ask your barber. If you’re still confused (and trust us, this is something we’re still trying to figure out), ask your barber friend. “You wouldn’t believe how many guys are amazed when I tell them their true higher part calling,” says White. “Their lives are changed.”

Now that you’ve parted your hair in the correct fashion, it’s now time to style it back. For different styles, White had her recommendations.

If you’re going for …

The natural look, White’s favorite product is Baxter of California Clay Pomade. “This is a very matte fry clay and I wouldn’t blow dry with this unless you want a lot of volume and texture,” she says. “But a little bit goes a long way.” Take a tiny nickel-sized amount in one finger and rub your hands together to spread evenly throughout your palms. This goes on dry hair FYI. Run your hands from back to front and style as you wish.
That shiny ‘do, the stylist suggests Layrite’s Super Hold Hair Pomade. “This product works with blow drying for that extra sleek hold,” she says. Put two finger scoops into your hands and start from back to front. “Works best with dry to semi-dry hair.”
A messier style, White says to go with Bumble and Bumble’s Sumo tech. “Take two fingers and scoop some product out,” she instructs. “Rub palms together to evenly spread across hands as you do with every product, and go back to front.” Then blow dry slowly from back to front the added texture.

BRB, my favorite part is on. Shirt by ASOS, Jacket by Saint Laurent at Mr Porter. (Photo by Carolyne Teston/Very Good Light)

Hair by Joseph Carrillo; Makeup by Britt White; Styling by David Yi; Market editing by Christopher Kim; Photos by Carolyne Teston; Produced by Liz Denton; Special thanks to Donna Kang and Team Timo Weiland