A recent article in Glamour magazine entitled “All Signs Point to the Fact That THIS Is How You Need to Be Wearing Your Hair” makes the case that the strong side hair part is “in” like never before.
It always surprises me that most people equate symmetry with beauty, but then we love to be purposely asymmetric when it comes to hair. Usually its a great accent, and on a beautiful woman, she can usually wear her hair lots of ways and she still looks good. But the biggest issue is that there’s a signal that gets sent out with the side hair part that people should be aware of…and that signal may not be the one you think you are sending out.
I was also surprised that all of the hair parts on the models were left parts, which emphasizes the more masculine side of us – the rational, assertive, stronger and less emotional. It is a look that still works for women, especially when they are pretty models, but no one tells them that this signalling is happening. So readers may choose their hair parts based on the models in the picture, and then present the world with a look that is usually harsher and less feminine than they might like.
The point is, side part if you like, but know that there’s some messaging going on that you should be aware of. And the mirror will lie to you, telling you that you are projecting the exact opposite! Which is where the True Mirror comes in!
By the way, women tend to change hair parts much more frequently than men. I would suggest the following experiment – for a business meeting, part on the left, but when its time for that hot date, part it on the right. See how easy both situations can become to get the outcome you want!
To see this for yourself, first look at the models in the original article. then look at the same pictures shown below, where i have simulated each model with a right hair part by flipping the image…can you see that each one is a little softer, less challenging, more feminine?
Regular vs Reversed pictures below:
This is the image as it appears in the magazine
This is the reversed image, simulating what they would look like with right parts
This is the original image with a left part
This is the reversed image, simulating what she would look like with a right part
This is the same image with a right part
This is the original image
Hair Part Theory - Discover the Difference! 
The image flip is quite evocative on the last picture. It totally changes the overall ‘vibe’ of the model. Even though the facial expression is quite harsh, the flip as right parter make it seem cute.
What about no part? What does that reveal???
Having no part or a middle part, or bald for that matter, removes the bias that either side part evokes in the people viewing the person. I believe that the side part sends out a message that emphasizes characteristics associated with that side of the brain – i.e right part, right brain, left part left brain. this emphasis is only one part of a person’s full persona, there are many other signals being sent, but the idea is that the bias is constant, especially if kept that way for one’s whole life, which is common. This bias in every interaction will change people’s personality towards certain types, i.e. left part is more standard, rational, obvious personalities, right part is more atypical, empathetic, mysterious. This is a huge generalization, and you can come up with many exceptions, but i believe that the theory fits more than half the time for left parters, and more than 90 percent for right parters.
So when it comes to no part or middle part, that emphasis is removed, and a person can have interactions without that constant bias. It turns out this is much stronger and more balanced – whatever an observer perceives of the person can be more of whatever the person wants to project. In other words, your hair is not speaking for you (and again, this is a super strong visual signal that happens before you even have a chance to open your mouth)
this was my personal experience, going from a right part to left and then middle, and finally no part. I found immediately as if a spotlight had been turned off, and while it was disconcerting not to be noticed right away, i found i could get into the conversation at much more natural way. then i would notice side parters coming into the conversation and just having it shift right away. Weird but true!
I am so glad I turned NPR on today and caught the RadioLab show on this today, and that I found your site. I have been strongly thinking about parts and what they mean for about a year, and had kept forgetting to google just this. I started studying Talking Heads and noticed the vast majority part on their left. I part on the right and seriously had considered that this might be why people often dislike me on sight. I am not ugly, but I almost always dislike photographs of myself and never have felt they looked like what I was experiencing in the mirror. I am very strong, feisty and capable, but do tend to like a lot of left-brained ideas and have interests that lie in that grouping. I am going to experiment with this more and see what happens. On the other hand, I don’t really care if I am liked either….its gotten to be pretty amusing;)