When cutting hair with a side part, the struggle to create even layers is real!
Now that side parts are trending again, it may throw off stylists who became accustomed to creating layered cuts with center parts. "Carving layers is easiest with a middle part, because everything falls perfectly symmetrically," says Ellen Devine, a master stylist and Sam Villa ArTeam educator.
With a side part, the section will fall a bit longer on the side with less hair, versus the side with more hair where the section goes over the head and sits higher and shorter.
Devine says the following technique has truly changed how she cuts layers with a side part:
- Figure out the difference between where the side part is located and where a true center part would be. This is done by laying the spine of a long cutting comb from the center of the nose to the hairline, and placing a sectioning clip for reference where the middle part would begin.
- Measure the difference between the two parts.
- Cut that much more off the side with less hair.
This can be done on both wet and dry hair, says Devine, who suggests finishing up the internal layers before adding face-framing and texturizing.
She suggests going in with texturizing shears to break up any hard lines. A couple snips will mimic point-cutting in far less time than it takes to point cut!
Learn more about Ellen Devine and how to book an in-salon class with her here.