Why Your Sections Are Slipping and How to Control Clean Partings

It can be frustrating when you are trying to section the hair, but your sections continue to slip and slide all over the head. You will get a straight line, but as soon as you move the comb or let the fingers shift, the line moves. This makes the rest of the haircutting process much more difficult. Most of the time, it has nothing to do with the tool that you are using, but how you are placing the hair in your fingers. Mastering this will aid in your overall ability to section.

One way to improve your sectioning skills is to slow down the approach of your comb when creating a part. Rather than raking the comb head-on to create a part, place the comb down at the head and slowly inch your way up. This will give you time to observe the teeth of the comb separating the part and will allow you to adjust the head if the part starts to curve.

Another trick is to use your comb to pop open the part. Once you have created the part, use your comb to gently pop it open, making sure no hairs have crossed over into the new part. Taking this extra second will ensure that your part will not collapse later.

Remember, most of the time, the part is collapsing, because you are either applying too much or too little tension on the hair. If you have too much tension, once you let your fingers down, the part will slide. If you have too little tension, the hair will fall out. You want to find a happy medium, where the hair is secure, but still falls naturally. If you find that your part is shifting when you move your fingers down, stop and start over. Don’t force the part to lie where you want it to lie. With patience and practice, you will eventually develop the control.

One exercise you can practice to achieve this control is to simply practice parting the hair without cutting or drying. Set a timer for 15 minutes and create parts around the same section of the head. Once you create the part and secure it in your hand, let it go and do it again. Observe how straight your line is and how easily the part separates. After several minutes of repeating this process, your hand will start to develop muscle memory and learn the amount of pressure and angle needed to create a clean part.

If you continue to struggle with getting clean parts, try simplifying the part. Rather than approaching the hair at an angle or curving the part around the head, try creating straight horizontal or vertical parts. Repeating the same motion will help you to better control the part and train your eye to recognize when something is not right. As you continue to develop the control needed for clean parts, you can then challenge yourself by approaching the hair at different angles or creating curved parts.

Clean partings is one of those details that seems minor, but will make a huge difference in your overall work. The cleaner your partings are, the neater your cut will be and the more polished your blow-dry will look. Although the results may not be dramatic, with enough time and practice, you will start to notice a change.