Undercuts and fade buzzing techniques are all the rage lately, and its popularity has inspiredpeople to revive the hard part to better accent this look. Hard parts are versatile with a largeassortment of different looks, from side parts to comb-overs, pompadours, and slick backs, ahard part can be applied virtually anywhere.
What is a hard part though, and how can it be applied to your hairstyle? We’ll be answeringthese questions as we dive in and take a more in-depth look at the hard part and its resurgence into hair styling techniques.
What Is A Hard Part?
A hard part is a shaved line against the scalp that provides definition and gives a drasticcontrast to your hairstyle. This technique is more advanced, as a result, you’ll likely want abarber to do your hair for your first few times until you’ve gotten some familiarity with theprocess.
Even then, getting a nice, straight cut that accents your style well is usually something only aprofessional can do.
Getting a hard part requires a sharp razor that can give you a straight cut all the way to yourscalp. One false move and you’ll need to shave all of your hair off to rectify your look. When you go to your barber to have a hard part shaved in, you’ll want to let him know what kind ofhairstyle you’ll want to have promoted.
Having a hard part in your hairstyle is excellent, but they do require a lot of commitment to the look itself. If you’re not looking to go to the barber for touch ups regularly and if you’re not interested in styling your hair every day, then a hard part is not for you. Those who commit to going through the troubles of having it will sport an attractive and modern look.
Choosing Your Hairstyle
Before your barber can get started on your hard part, you’re going to need to choose a hairstyle that can display it. You might think that there are only a handful of haircuts that compliment this accent, but there are so many different styles and variations out there that you may have a hard time choosing what you want to do.
Thankfully, despite what you choose, you can quickly try out different hairstyles even if you’ve already gone to the barbershop for a hard part. Most of the looks that we’ll go over below are versatile, and if your hair isn’t long enough, you can sport something that looks good at the moment until it is.
Hard Part Comb Over Hairstyle
The standard comb-over is a classic for men who like a polished and professional look. Adding a hard part to the mix gives this classy look a modern twist that can take their appearance to the next level.
This look can be achieved with a simple pomade or hair gel that you’ll work into your hair before combing your hair to one side. It’s important to make sure that your hard part will be displayed on the side of your head that you plan on leaving revealed.
Hard Part Mohawk
If you love rebellious looks and you want to stand out, adding a hard part to a mohawk hairstyle might be just what you need to put some extra flair into your hawk. The hard part makes the top hair look more defined, perfect for people who want to show their rebellious side.
Hard Part With A Low Fade
Using a hard part with a fade cut is another classic combination, but using a low fade gives asleek and modern approach. This style will need an experienced barber to style and maintainthe look, and you’ll likely need to go in for touch ups more often than not.
Hard Part With Taper
If you’re looking for a new way to display your hairstyle without too much attention can getbehind this hairstyle. If you want a minimalistic look that gives that professional style a more varied flair should give this hairstyle a try.
Double Hard Part
If you’ve already fallen in love with the idea of a hard part, why not try a double hard part? Adouble hard part can have two shaved lines next to each other, on opposite sides of the head or even further apart on the same side of your head. Regardless of what you choose, you’ll turn some heads when you rock this bold style.
The Quiff With A Hard Part
If you love looks from the 50’s, the Quiff is an excellent example of retro hairstyles coming back into fashion. At the same time, like the Pompadour, the Quiff makes for a great haircut that can benefit from a hard part. This hairstyle is recommended to those who are interested in styling their hair every day.
The Quiff is essentially an undercut, and like most undercuts, a hard part seems to workseamlessly with those kinds of styles. The most significant difference with the Quiff is the styling required to maintain it, where the topmost of your hair is longer and styled upwards and combed back slightly for a windswept look with texture.
Pompadour Hard Part
Since the 1950’s, men have been rocking the pompadour in a show of their more rebellious side. Getting a hard part to go with this already striking look brings out the flair of the hairstyle even further.
Even if you have short hair, you can achieve a pompadour look as long as it’s long enough to be styled. Make sure that you’re using the right pomade for the look, the right kind won’t leave your hair feeling oily, and you’ll be able to style it whenever you need.
Achieving A Hard Part
Your barber will begin to prep your hair for your hard part once you’ve chosen which hairstyle best compliments your preferences. Your barber may suggest a right path for your hard part to follow based on what could be your natural hair part or based on what hairstyle you were looking to get. Regardless of the reason, your hard part will always be off center.
Your barber will wet your hair and comb it out of the way of where the planned cut will takeplace; he will use a straight razor and begin working out the pathway that your hard part willfollow. It’s important to give your barber a good idea as to what you’re expecting when it comes to your hard parts look before he gets started to avoid any problems along the way.
Once your pathway has had proper preparation, your barber will typically apply a shaving gel to the path that he’s made out.
Shaving gel is the best product to use in this instance because unlike creams, and gel will allow you to see what you’re doing while you shave rather than just making a guessing game out of it. Doing this gives your barber the best opportunity to cut a straight line.
Once the barber has prepped your hair with the shaving gel, he’ll proceed with shaving andtrimming your hard part until it looks how you want it. The top of your hair will be left to thepreferences you expressed earlier, and your barber can style it and give you tips on keeping it styled at home.
Touch Ups and Daily Care
You will likely have to touch-up on your hard style reasonably often, and if you’re confidentenough you could do it at home. However, having professionals take care of it will guaranteethat you’ll have a look that you want instead of a hair disaster. You can typically expect yourhard part to grow stubble within a few days after your initial haircut.
Develop a close relationship with your barber and let him make suggestions on what would work with your hair type. They can see things you can’t, so having a barber that you can trust to make you look your best is essential for keeping up this hairstyle.
You’ll want to style your hair every day to show off your hard part, and you'll achieve general styling practices easily with simple products like the following that will keep your hair in place throughout the day:
- Large-toothed comb
- Good pomade like Layrite Super Hold
- Hair gel such as AXE Messy Look Hair Gel
- Good styling paste like Schwarzkopf got2b Phenomenal molding paste
Depending on the style choices you go with, you can do almost anything with a hard part in your hair to change it up often for different looks and styles to see what works best for you.Ultimately, the hardest part is maintaining the look once you achieve it and owning your image to the fullest extent.
What if it’s too much? Hopefully, you’ve come to that realization before you decided to get ahard part, but if you’ve made that unfortunate choice already and you’re tired of themaintenance, you will have to wait at least a month before your hair grows back enough to hide the remnants of your hard part.
In Conclusion
Having a hard part is an excellent accent to your current or soon-to-be hairstyle, and it works with a large variety of different looks to uphold individualism. The maintenance alone may be enough to drive some away from the look, but those who dedicate themselves to its upkeep and their overall appearance will catch very interested glances when they walk down the street.