Don't want my hair to part anymore

[NataschaB.]

Hi!

As as the title says I want my hair not to part anymore. I have had a right side part in probably 8 years now and I have heard that having the same part for a long time can result in a wider part or that the hair gets thinner in that area, which I want to avoid. Therefore I need advice on how to train my hair so that I don't have a part at all.

Thanks! :)

[frizzinator]

Use hair accessories to hold your hair in place, such as headbands and barrettes. A ponytail works and you might also consider putting your hair up with pins.

[Lyv]

Clipping it up where you want it to lay and adding some aloe vera gel to hold it in place when it's down may help. I've never gotten my hair to not have a part but I've retrained it a few times. It doesn't take too long but it can be a little uncomfortable at the roots.

[Synnovea]

Try repositioning your part after a shower, when your hair is wet. Then use the tools others have recommended to keep it there as it dries.

[HumanBean]

When wearing my hair down, one of the things I do is make a zig zag part throughout my hair, so it's different every time, looks a little messy and carefree.

[Dragon]

One of my parent’s friends who's a hairdresser wanted me to get rid of my part when I was a kid for some reason. She told me to keep on brushing it back and the part will go away eventually. I found it takes a long time and gave up. I like the idea of clipping it back since I'm guessing it will help train the hair quicker. What I do to avoid a wider part is rotate where I part it. I rotate between left, middle and right but I avoided my usual middle part for a long time to try and untrain it.

[lapushka]

I'm sorry but I've never heard such nonsense in my life. Everyone has a part. If they all got wider, we'd all have problems, which none of us do. If you're concerned about your part getting wider (which I'm *sure* it won't), part it differently each day, or each time you wash.

[vanillabones]

I switch mine from left to right about every 6 months. It naturally falls a little bit to the left but right now it is on the right going to the left... thanks for the reminder it's gunna be a pain switching it back! It takes only a couple days to adjust and I also advice changing it on wet hair then use a barrette.

[PrincessIdril]

I'm sorry but I've never heard such nonsense in my life. Everyone has a part. If they all got wider, we'd all have problems, which none of us do. If you're concerned about your part getting wider (which I'm *sure* it won't), part it differently each day, or each time you wash.

Thank you for this.
I see this "fact" about parts repeated around here a lot and honestly I've never seen any evidence of it in my life! I've had a centre part for 14 years and photographic evidence shows it is exactly the same width as it has always been. Same with my mum's centre part which she has had for 40 years!

[sarahthegemini]

I can't imagine what hair would look like without a part :confused:

[lapushka]

Thank you for this.
I see this "fact" about parts repeated around here a lot and honestly I've never seen any evidence of it in my life! I've had a centre part for 14 years and photographic evidence shows it is exactly the same width as it has always been. Same with my mum's centre part which she has had for 40 years!

Exactly. Besides, I'm just over 40. In all those years, you'd think my part would have gotten wider if such a phenomenon existed.

I'm thinking if your part *does* get wider, you'd have problems with hair falling out and shedding beyond normal, but that's a different story altogether. That's an abnormal situation. Not regular.

[ludwig20]

I try to switch mine from time to time. Clips can be very helpful.

[patienceneeded]

Huh. I've never seen hair that doesn't have some sort of part when it's worn loose. Worn up, sure...you can choose to have a part or not when you pull your hair up. You can retrain your hair to part differently when loose, but you will pretty much always have some sort of parting going on with loose hair.

I agree with Lapushka...my hair has a natural part that has been there over 20 years. Hasn't changed at bit over time. Sounds like a lot of worry over nothing.

[jeanniet]

Also agree with Lapushka. I have a strong center part and no thinning. I usually try for a somewhat offset part to the right or left, but it tends to migrate back to the center. If you're really worried about it, just change your part every few months, but honestly, I think that's an old wives' tale--unless, of course, you're pulling your hair into updos really tightly. Then you might have a problem with traction alopecia, but that's really due to how the hair is handled, not the part itself.

[vanillabones]

All of you posting that do not change your parts are all 'iii' hair category :(
I don't think it's a myth because I work with someone that has my exact hair type and even the same color and her part is unnaturally wide. She pulls her hair up too tightly in pony tails and it is thin and breaking off all the way around the perimeter of the scalp. I know she doesn't do anything with it other than put in a too tight ponytail so that probably has a lot to due with it. I change mine from left to right out of fear.

[sarahthegemini]

All of you posting that do not change your parts are all 'iii' hair category :(
I don't think it's a myth because I work with someone that has my exact hair type and even the same color and her part is unnaturally wide. She pulls her hair up too tightly in pony tails and it is thin and breaking off all the way around the perimeter of the scalp. I know she doesn't do anything with it other than put in a too tight ponytail so that probably has a lot to due with it. I change mine from left to right out of fear.

....I've had a centre part for the majority of my 23 years, no widening of any sort. That is complete rubbish.

[vanillabones]

Maybe, but it is traction alopecia :/ and that could definitely be a game changer.

[sarahthegemini]

Maybe, but it is traction alopecia :/ and that could definitely be a game changer.

Traction alopecia from the too-tight ponytails. Nothing to do with the part.

[Joyce_Alison]

If your hair is thinning due to age, illness, medication, traction alopecia... then it is possible that your part could become "wider." But that would not be due to parting your hair in the same place all the time. The part is merely where the thinning of your hair would be most obvious. Changing your part may hide some thinning if there is greater volume at the root (when I change my part, I have more volume than usual).

[Sarahlabyrinth]

I am not far off 50 and have always had a centre part. It has never widened or altered, I am sure it would have by now if it was going to.

[truepeacenik]

I have seen wider parts. Usually on women >80. I'm assuming it happens a bit sooner but the poodle perms hide it.

Chemical treatments could cause breakage. Perms often broke a bit at the first curl. That can make an area look like it has shed out.

[Sarahlabyrinth]

Truepeacenik, your inbox is full and I am trying to pm you :)

[tigereye]

I found trying to move my part around never actually moved my natural one. Even in updos, my hair starts with no part, then half an hour later, it does. I guess the hair can move slightly since I don't pull any of my updos tight since I don't want traction alopecia. No sign of thinning at mine.

[PrincessIdril]

All of you posting that do not change your parts are all 'iii' hair category :(
I don't think it's a myth because I work with someone that has my exact hair type and even the same color and her part is unnaturally wide. She pulls her hair up too tightly in pony tails and it is thin and breaking off all the way around the perimeter of the scalp. I know she doesn't do anything with it other than put in a too tight ponytail so that probably has a lot to due with it. I change mine from left to right out of fear.

I'm not, my hair is ii

And interesting fact, my mum is on medication which causes significant hair loss. Her hair is now a lot thinner than it was when she was my age, but her part has not changed.

[lapushka]

My mom has F hair, like me, except she's a i/ii (maybe a ii), and I'm a iii. Her part isn't wider than mine. Just to put your minds at ease. No we aren't all "iii's"!

[Panth]

I agree - I think perhaps this is a myth based on traction alopecia from overly tight cornrows (the alopecia initially shows most at the edges of each braid, where the tension is highest, i.e. next to the parting) and/or based on the fact that general whole-head hair loss would show more at the parting.

As for trying to change your parting - if you want a DIFFERENT one, just keep parting it that way every morning and eventually it'll probably get used to it (though it will feel a bit odd at least to start with). You may need clips to encourage it. As for removing your parting completely, I've never managed it. I can't even do a part-free bun - within an hour or so my parting will be evident again, no matter how much I brush it back or how tight the bun is.

[bekahleigh]

I can't imagine what hair would look like without a part :confused:

It'd be like hair fresh from a shower 24/7, brushed back along your head. I imagine you'd need gel to maintain it.

[jeanniet]

All of you posting that do not change your parts are all 'iii' hair category :(
I don't think it's a myth because I work with someone that has my exact hair type and even the same color and her part is unnaturally wide. She pulls her hair up too tightly in pony tails and it is thin and breaking off all the way around the perimeter of the scalp. I know she doesn't do anything with it other than put in a too tight ponytail so that probably has a lot to due with it. I change mine from left to right out of fear.

But you said yourself that her problem is traction alopecia. It's not the part itself--it shows in the part, but the real issue is that she is damaging her hair by the way she puts it up. She'd still have the problem without the part.

Thickness of the hair doesn't affect whether or not you can get traction alopecia. It won't show as quickly with iii hair, but the damage is still there.

[vanillabones]

It must be all in my mind then because after about 8 months I realize I want to switch the part so it won't widen and/or be so see-through where the hair around the part is. I'm probably just super paranoid. I like to change it though because working against the part I've been wearing and pushing it to the other side gives me the tiniestttt lift in volume until the part adjusts after about 2 days. *sadsad*

[shutterpillar]

I'm going to guess this is a wives tale also. I'm ii thickness (on the low side of it, even) and I have never had a problem with my part thinning. I *have* had a problem with rubbing away the hair at my temples while I slept because I move so much, but wearing a sleeping cap for the past year and a half has helped with that and all the hair has grown back.

If it makes you that uneasy, try switching your part around. I'm not sure how you would be able to achieve zero part without the use of hair products to prevent your hair from parting itself. It seems to me that hair is just going to part itself naturally when it's long. Now that I think of it, my husband has a very short typical men's hair cut and even he has a part in his hair (which he does not put there himself... he combs all his hair forward and it always ends up to one side by the end of the day), so I'm not sure the length even has much to do with it.