Trying a
new hair colour or haircut fills many of us with trepidation—will we love it? If we don’t, our options include either asking our stylist or colourist to make it better somehow (fingers crossed) or investing in a slew of hats and hair accessories to help mask the botched job until it grows out.

But this season’s hottest trend –
parting your hair differently – is as non-committal as you can get when it comes to updating your hair style. And yet it’s something many of us don’t even experiment with. “Lots of people get stuck in a certain way, and usually follow their natural hair part, but just change your part and you have a whole different feeling to your hair that day,” says Carla Pisegna, a senior stylist at Blyss Salon in Toronto.

“The slightest shift will change it up, and yes, at first, it might feel awkward or even lopsided,” she says. “But have fun with it—don’t over-think it too much.” Read on for how to switch up your hair styles this spring with the
slightest change in your hair part.

Styling tools you’ll need

All you need in terms of tools is a tail comb. “You can use your fingers, but if you want the line to really show and be obvious, you need a tail comb,” says Pisegna. Pick one up, stat, to start creating different hair styles.

Hair products you’ll need

For product, depending on your hair style, you need a medium-hold hairspray or gel. “If you’re doing a side part and leaving your hair loose, for example, you want a hairspray that is pliable and will allow movement, but if you’re parting your hair and tying it back into a ponytail, you’ll want to really flatten where the part is, and to keep it very neat and clean, so use a gel,” says Pisegna.

More expert tips for how to part your hair plus new hair styles to try on the next page …

Different parts and hair styles to try

Spring hair style: The deep side part

“A side part is dramatic and will emphasize one side of your face,” says Pisegna. She recommends not just parting the hair to the side, but pulling all of your hair to the heavier side of the part and pinning back the side with less hair with a pin or fascinator. As for placement of the part, it’ll depend on if you have a cowlick, for example, but she recommends just trying different placements. As you style your hair, clip it down in sections as you style your hair and spray it, so that flyaways are kept under control. As for how deep to go, she suggests reserving parts past the outside tip of your brow for evenings. “It’s not an everyday look when you part your hair this far over to the side.”

Spring hair style: The center part

Often, people feel the center part is too serious, but you can make it more carefree and less dramatic by placing it slightly off centre, says Pisegna. “It’s more youthful and fun this way.”

Spring hair style: The diagonal side part

Have a chic soiree? A diagonal part is great for a dressier affair. “It fancies up your hair style, even if you’ve just pulled it back into a ponytail,” says Pisegna.

Spring hair style: The zig zag part

Pisegna suggests this part more for those with curly hair to help give balance to the hair, or if you have some roots that you’re trying to camouflage a bit. She also suggests doing it in more of a messy zig zag. “When it’s too neat and too structured in real life, it can look too harsh. It’s fine for editorial or magazines, but in real life it can be too severe on most people.”

Read more:
The top products for gorgeous second-day hair
Hair products: Our favourite hair care miracle workers

Top 2013 hair trends

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