For me, side part all the way. I’ve always had one, even back when I was a kid.
The evidence…
Try for a second to not be distracted by the terrible hair or the short-shorts (what can I say? It was the ’80s), and focus on the hair part. It’s slightly off center. We’ll call this the early beginnings of a side part.
And years later, during my hair bear phase (again, I have no excuse, other than the fact that it was the ’80s), the side part cemented its reign by dominating my bangs…
This was my eighth-grade school picture. From what I can recall, I was very disappointed with my hair that day because the bangs were not nearly high enough.
Please note the braces and full, lush, untouched brows.
What I wouldn’t give to have those brows back…
But this post isn’t about brows! It’s about parts — and I want to know about yours: do you have a side part or center? 🙂
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
Agata says
I always part my hair to the side. It used to be centered till 8th grade when I cut my hair shorter and got my first fancy haircut.
Kwmechelle says
Side part all the way. And I second the days of yester-year with full, lush brows. Even as a youngster you were serving all sorts of over-the-shoulder-side-pose action. And were bangs ever teased high enough? Eat your heart out Cindy Lauper.
Astrild says
Side part forever. I think is more flatering. In my opinion, certer part hair only looks good in very simetrical flawless faces.
Astrild says
Oh, and looks good with bangs too.
Jane says
I have worn a side part to the right for the last 25 years but recently, as I have been growing my hair longer, I have been wearing my part in the center (it brings me back to my hippie days ofvthe 70’s).
Jane says
That should read “of the 70’s). I sometimes hate using the IPad.
Rachel says
Side part! I look like a freak with a center part!
PS love the old photos of you, they had me laughing so hard! No offense!
Kiss & Make-up says
I had a side parting for the longest time but recently I switched to a center parting again. Just to mix things up a bit.
Kim says
Side part, for sure. I think I’ve always had a side part, except maybe when it was feathered to a duck’s butt in the back. Early 80s so I’m using the same excuse as you. HAHA!
Chelsea says
I’ll be the first center partner! I look ridiculous with a side part – it makes my forehead look enormous. My hair naturally parts in the center, do I just roll with it.
Ruchita says
I’ve always had a side part and some sort of bangs. I love that 8th grade picture! Your bangs look awesome. That is exactly how I did my hair back then. The bigger the better! 🙂
Jessica says
Side part allllll the way!!
I love those retro pics! Hairspray bangs!
GP says
I usually part in the middle or slightly off center. I’m in the minority that i think side parts look bad on my face. Everyone else I know loves side parts though. My friend thinks I’m crazy but I think a hair part can make a big difference. You look awesome with a side part!
I hear you on the brows. I miss my young brows from middle school. Wish I didn’t pluck and wax for so many years.
Chris25 says
I love side parts on me. I always loved that 90s side part that looked like a wave, a la Kelly Bundy.
Dani says
Side part! I tried for so long to part it by the center because my mother is obsessed with symmetry o.o But now I don’t care anymore, so I let it part naturally 🙂 I actually tell my hairdresser to cut to one side of my part short and leave the other side long, so I have a funky side-parted do XD
Fancie says
You were always so cute growing up!! And I swear you haven’t aged at all. Lol you look exactly the same as your childhood pics! I’ve always rocked a middle part but I’ve grown to like side parts more as I’ve gotten older. I feel like they flatter my big forehead a little more
Tiffany says
Those pictures!! So great! Side part foreva!!!
Shannon says
I was a center part baby for a long time! Sometime in Jr. High or High School I started sporting a side part, and I haven’t looked back since.
Tulipthecat says
If it were up to my hair it would be a center part but I’ve been training it to be a side part.
Kalli says
Side part! In middle and high school, it was center part all the way, because that was the cool thing to do. Also, my mom would always want me to part my hair to the side and I thought it looked dorky.
Until I got my first gray hairs at 19(!) right in my center part, towards the front, then I started parting on the side and haven’t looked back since! But now I’m 31 and my grays are starting to migrate out of the center of my head!
Lena says
good lord, karen, those could be my pictures!
and lol ralph macchio – that’s the hair alright.
Rachel P. says
I have been rocking the center part for a few years now! I did when I was a kid, too- then in high school and college, I side-parted every single day, for 8 years basically. Now, post-grad, I have re-committed to the center part. I do have an extremely symmetrical oval face (or so they tell me), so that must be it. Although if I’m doing a dramatic hairstyle or something, sometimes I’ll switch it back up to the side for fun 🙂
Emme says
I usually part my hair to the side…with the part on the left side. Love the photos. LOL. Thanks for sharing.
Angela Bonanza says
Love the old pics haha! I naturally had a center part as a kid, but I never liked it and when I was in middle school, I slept with my hair pinned to the side at night to try to train my hair into a side part lol! it mostly worked, though I still often to need to twist my hair from the side part so it’ll stay side-parted. I personally think a middle part is HIDEOUSLY unflattering on me, to the point where in college, if my hair somehow settled into a side part due to wind or whatever, my best friend would tell me immediately so I could fix it because she knew how much I hate it on me hahaha.
LindaLibraLoca says
Side part these days, center part up until I was 13. These days I wear center part every now and again if I want to change my appearance, but I feel most comfortable with a side part.
Makai says
Hi Karen, I think we’re sisters separated at birth. Cuz I’d like to pull out some pics from the 80’s and I swear i look like your twin in that Grand Canyon pic. Thnx for the fun post. And oh, sometimes I do the side part and sometimes a middle part. My hair does what it wants. Lol!
Erin says
My hair looks great with side or mid parts. Side parts look a little better now that I’m overweight. Though a mid part slightly elongates my face which can also look good. I guess it’s all about styling and how puffy my face is that day!
Those bangs! I never had bangs in jr high or high school. I had hair like Cher. Sleek and slick with no wave down to my waist. As I got older my hair got hella wavy but it’s almost the same now. Right about my waist and parted in the middle today! Just a hint of oil for frizz control.
Rachel R. says
Great throwback pics. 🙂
My hair naturally parts on the side, so I’ve usually gone with a side part. I think it suits my round face better, too.
Katherine M says
I used to center-part mine as a kid, but I love a good side part. I think it is sexy and I love having peek-a-boo layers. I do the hair flip to one side (usually towards the right), so I don’t always part it. I like just running my fingers through it to that side or straight back to smooth it. I went from having very structured, hairsprayed hair as a kid (for horseback riding), to now loose, more relaxed hair as an adult.
Rhia says
I’ve always been a side part person. My mom nearly freaked me out though telling me to change it once in a while or else it’ll thin out where I normally part it. Really, mom? I’ve since been rotating between center and my usual (right) side part.
Nicole - Beyond the Pale and Freckled says
I prefer a side part, but I have a strong cowlick at the front of my hairline that while giving my hair lift it also causes it to separate and expose a weird bald forehead chunk if it’s not pinned or shellacked in place. So I’ve been doing middle more often lately.
TrippyPixie says
Center part all the way! I have a widow’s peak, so that’s where my part naturally falls. My hair gets very stubborn if I try to do a side part — it never sits quite right and my hair just ends up flopping back to a center part anyway, so I don’t try to fight it.
Kelly B. says
Loving the throwback! I part mine on the side but I’ve only been doing it for the last 10 years or so-and boy, was it a good decision 😀
Sarah says
I LOVE the picture of you looking back at the camera, serving face! WERK IT, GRRRL!!!
I usually part my hair on the side. If I’m curling my hair I like to part it in the middle though.
Tatiana says
Side part!
Used to be center until I went in for a model hair cut (the ones where you get a discount because a student under supervision is cutting your hair) at the Sassoon salon in NYC. The teaching stylist told me that since my face was not symmetrical (one side is slightly wider than the other) a side part would look better. Haven’t gone back to center in many, many, many years.
Megan says
With naturally curly hair – definitely a side part…but i don’t do a huge part – I do a side part of about 2 inches and then kinda let the curls go wild beyond that.
Iris says
Side part for me. I used to center part when I was a child. I think side looks better for me.
Gloria says
Hmm, I constantly change it from left to right to center cuz I found that if I keep it the same, that part will get too much stress. (I generally like to tie my hair). btw, the wave looks so nice. my hair currently is the same lenght. do you mind sharing your secret of big wavy hair? 😛
Sissi says
What cute photos! I gotta say I like to switch it up once in a while. Most of the times it is side- but sometimes the middle gives me more lift or even switching to the other side.