Forget Side Parts & Middle Parts. Messy Parts Win.

ICYMI, clean girl makeup is out — and with it, clean girl hair. Maybe it was the arm workouts (sorry, slickback routines) that made everyone realize “effortless” beauty requires a little too much effort, but fashion month made it official: rolling out of bed, embracing the frizz, and smudging on some black eyeliner is the brief now.

Add a messy part to the mix and you get the full picture. It’s not center, not side, and not even consistent from front to back. Forget combs and clean lines — messy parts are for those whose lives are far too exciting to be spent in front of a bathroom mirror. Ahead, everything to know about the trend taking laissez-faire hair one step further.

Messy Hair, Don’t Care

The side versus middle part debate has had everyone in a chokehold — but while millennials and Gen Z were busy arguing over potential cheuginess, messy parts literally swooped in. There’s no picking sides here, just letting your hair fall where it wants. (Cowlicks welcome!)

Instead of one clean, continuous line, messy parts break up as they move back. Think Y2K zigzags, but looser — more indie sleaze than Lizzie McGuire. You can start in the center and flip a section to the side, begin at the side and let it drift inward, or let smaller pieces cross over each other à la Serena van der Woodsen. The exact placement doesn’t matter — your hair should just look like it landed that way after air-drying.

Messy parts are part of a bigger shift toward hair that isn’t trying so hard. At fashion month, texture, movement, and messiness dominated: Paris saw frizzy, beachy waves at Chloé and Nina Ricci, New York gave bedhead a rockstar edge at Collina Strada and Coach, and London’s Simone Rocha show featured messy parts with brushed-out curls for playfully romantic vibes.

The Art Of Doing Less

The messy part is perfect for spring and summer when heat, humidity, and breezes make each blowout a losing battle. Plus, that slightly windswept, frizzy texture already comes with movement that does the work for you.

On TikTok, the trend is making the rounds. “So my messy part that I’ve been doing my whole life is getting a moment? Slay,” one commenter said, while another added, “This has got to be a recession indicator.” The point is clear — everything in beauty is loosening up, making the final result effortlessly chic.

That said, there are a couple tricks for making messy parts look slightly more intentional. First, put down the comb and brush through your hair with your fingers. Instead of carving out a straight line, you’ll want to nudge some sections off-course. If your hair is straight and heavy, a salt spray or texturizer will help give it grip. Flip your part around while it air-dries for added volume. From there, leave it alone — and consider the great part debate officially retired.