Hair loss and thinning can be difficult to manage, and it can be hard to know how to style your tresses if you’re losing them. But we have some good news. Professional hair stylists have identified one simple styling hack that could make a big difference in concealing signs of hair loss and thinning: changing your hair part.
It’s easy, effective, and it can also be a great way to experiment with a new look. We caught up with Ghanima Abdullah, hair expert, stylist and cosmetologist at The Right Hairstyles and Amr Salem, scalp micropigmentation specialist and hair expert at INKredible Scalp to learn more.
Change Your Part, Change Your Look: A Styling Hack to Disguise Hair Loss
As thinning hair progresses, it can "take a toll on the crown area in women," Abdullah explains, and the "worst hairstyles for thinning hair" will be anything that "cause more attention to thinning areas." Typically, she says, "this is the front or crown" of the head.
Because hair loss in women "tends to start with a widening of the part," she notes that it's "best to stop parting your hair in the middle." If you're thinning in the crown of your head, a "center part is going to draw attention to it," she warns, as you would then be "putting the part right in the same area."
Instead, Abdullah says to "try a side part." In this manner, "you can move the hair from one side to the other, as you wish," she adds. "The added hair going over will increase volume in the area as well, especially if your hair is used to being parted down the center."
If you really prefer a center part, however, Abdullah says it's still possible and suggests "making a short one instead so that the hair in front goes to either side of your face."
Then, she says, the hair in the center can be brushed back. "Any difference that you create when your hair is used to lying flat and completely to the sides will create volume and make a big difference," she advises.
In addition, she points out that "having a deep side part" at any age "really brings on the glamor," as it is a "very youthful and fresh style."
Bonus Pro Tip For Concealing Thinning: Add Accessories
Salem also recommends experimenting with accessories like scarves, headbands, clips, etc. if you're experiencing hair loss and want to conceal any spots or thin areas. He also suggests using "bobby pins to create the illusion of thicker hair by pinning up certain sections in different ways."
He also notes that "wearing a hat, using styling products that have fibers in them, or using temporary dye" can make balding spots less obvious. Apart from these tricks, he also says you can "wear a wig, use a headscarf or even use styling products."
"There are a few updo styles that can be used to hide thinning hair or hair loss," he adds, "for example, you can wear a bun with long strands of hair coming out, or you could wear a ponytail with your thinning hair pulled back and pinned up at the top of your head."
Other possibilities include "the half-up bun, the low ponytail, and the messy bun" as updos are "one of the best ways to show off your beautiful face and at the same time cover up any bald spots on your scalp." Good to know!
