Chapter 1 Parting

The only tool needed for this chapter is a comb. If you are looking for a comb to buy, get a seven inch comb with fine teeth on one end and wide teeth on the other. It is generally one inch wide. This is sometimes called a cutting comb or a styling comb. They are cheap and these will be used a lot in cutting hair.

Parting is necessary for accuracy in haircutting. It is often overlooked as a necessary skill at the beginning of haircutting. It is assumed that everyone already knows how to part the hair. Most people do have some experience making a part on the top of their head, but they have almost no experience making parts on the side of the head or making parts that are angled across the head.



Parts are used to let you separate a specific section of hair from all the rest. There will be a part on each side of the section. Having a specific section of hair to work gives you control over what happens to that part of your hair design.

Naming parts
Parts are named by several conventions. One is to call parts going up and down from the floor to the ceiling vertical parts. This can be useful for parts on the side or back of the head that go up and down. Another convention is to call parts running parallel to the floor horizontal parts.
Some confusion can happen in a long part. For example a part from the middle of the front hairline to the middle of the back of the neck. This starts as a horizontal part on top of the head and becomes vertical in the back of the head. It can be clearer to describe a part by the parts of the head it connects. For example, a part on the top of the head could be called a side to side part from ear to ear.


Another major group of parts is the diagonal parts. These are frequently subdivided into diagonal forward and diagonal back parts. Parts are diagonal if they are not horizontal or vertical. Diagonal forward parts are parts where the lower end of the part is closer to the front of the head than the top of the part. For example a part going from the occipital bone ( the bump on the back of the head) to hairline behind the ear lobe is diagonal forward. The lower end is closer to the front of the head than the higher end at the occipital bone.
Diagonal back parts are parts where the lower end of the part is closer to the back of the head than the upper end of the part. An example of a diagonal back part is a part starting at the front hairline at the height of the eyebrow and ending behind the ear. The lower end which is behind the ear is closer to the back of the head than the top of the part which is at the front hairline.

A special kind of part is the horse shoe shaped part. As the name implies it is shaped like a horse shoe. This kind of part goes around the head from one side to the other. It generally is placed near the top of the head connecting the two sides of the head. The arms of the horse shoe shaped part will start in the front hairline on each side of the head. The connection of the two arms of the horse shoe shaped part is in the back of the head.
The horse shoe shaped part can have horizontal or diagonal arms.

Making a part
The first thing in making a part is to comb the hair in the direction the part will go. If the part is to run from the front hairline to the back top of the head, comb the hair back from the forehead toward the back of the head. If the part is to be made up and down on the side of the head, the hair is all combed straight down on the side. The wide teeth of the comb are usually used for this kind of combing.

The second thing to do is to look at where you want the part to start and where you want the part to stop. Doing this will let you know where you need to stand to make the part. Parts are frequently made by drawing the comb to you. Rarely will you make a part pushing the comb away from you. The other thing to do is to see if the part will be visible in the mirror. If it will be, use the mirror to check your placement
Going back to the example of the part from the front hairline to the back of the head, you will notice the part will be visible in the mirror if the client faces the mirror. If you face the client to the mirror you will be standing behind the client facing mirror and facing the back of the client's head.

The third step is to insert an end of the comb into the hair at the starting point. Having looked in the mirror you will be able to see if the comb is on target for the beginning point.

The fourth step is to draw the comb end to the end point of the part.
There are several techniques to help with this.
The first is to take the hand not holding the comb and place the index finger on the end of the comb making the part line. This technique helps to stabilize the comb and to keep it on course. It also allows index finger to separate the hair away from the part on one side as the comb makes the part line.
The second technique is to move the hand not holding the comb to where the part is to end. Now place the index finger on the spot where you want the part to end. Some find that their brain automatically calculates how to bring the end of the comb to your index finger.

Either of these techniques will give you a part line.

Evaluate the part line
When you have the part line the next step is to see if you like it. Does it go where it is supposed to? Is it a clean line that lets you see the scalp ? If you don't like do it over.

For shorter parts, the same technique is used, but the shorter distances make them easier to complete.

As you cut more hair you will make so many parts they will become automatic.

Exercise
Divide the head into 4 sections by making a long part from the middle of the front hairline to middle of the hairline at the back of the neck. Follow this by a part from one ear to the other ear . Now make parts in each of the four sections. Make all horizontal parts in a section and then comb them out and make all vertical sections. Then comb these out and try making diagonal forward and diagonal back parts. Finally make horse shoe shaped parts around the top of the head. Try ones that are high up the sides right next to the top and ones that are halfway between the top and the top of the ears.