The Ways You Parted Your Hair In The Early 2000s

Today's hair trends have nothing on the styles we wore in the new millennium, when highlights were chunky and tendrils were a must. We experimented with everything from colors to braids to spikes, and we even got creative with the ways we used to part our hair in the early 2000s.

If you were anything like me, you likely weren't afraid to try it all when it came to that early aught style. Without batting an eyelash, you could go from a bird's nest full of butterfly clips and rubber bands to a sleek mane rocking rainbow streaks. But the ways we all fried, dyed, and accessorized our hair weren't the only things that mattered when it came to achieving totally 2000s locks. We paid special attention to details, too, giving something as simple as our parts just as much thought as our dye jobs.

The pop princesses and tween television idols of the '00s who wore their parts in every way imaginable gave us plenty of hairspiration. The majority of their early 2000s hairstyles may be way too outdated to make a comeback, but switching up our parts is something we can still embrace today. Take a look at all of the crazy ways we used to wear parts with our crimped strands and micro braids.

1. Straight Down The Middle

With all of the wild hair we had in the '00s, it's surprising that we knew how to tone it down. Sleek, cool girl-friendly, bone-straight hair complemented with a clean-cut part down the middle became the thing to do.

The key to nailing this look was getting that part as sharp and centered as possible, which was always easier said than done. Mastering a straight part still feels like doing rocket science to me to this very day.

2. Side Part

There was always something coy about the side part. It gave off an "I'm well put-together, but I didn't really try too hard" kind of vibe. It's still one of the more common ways we part our hair, especially if you favor one side of your face over the other. Sometimes our side parts were sleek and other times we let them get a little messy.

3. Zig-Zag Part

At times, a straight part was just too plain, but a side or angled part didn't suit your fancy, either. A zig-zag was your only solution.

We saw the zig-zag part embraced by the likes of Mandy Moore and Christina Aguilera, so naturally we wanted to follow in their footsteps. Zig-zagging even gave the illusion of more volume, and who wouldn't want that? Of course, adding in a couple of chunky highlights was the only way to truly do your zig-zag part justice.

The 2000s were defined by fun braiding styles, too. Alicia Keys always got creative with her braided 'dos, showing us that all locks were created equal when it came to zig-zag parts.

4. Parted Tendrils

The only way to get those tendrils hanging just right was to give yourself a quick, little part down the middle. It was more of a half part, because we didn't take the split all the way down the center of our heads. We were a big fan of tendrils in the 2000s and the mini parts that came with them.

5. Multiple Parts

Along with mini buns and spikes came twists. Our obsession with twists meant we were going to need several parts to make the style work. Raven-Symoné usually provided inspiration for these looks, but we saw celebs like Alicia Silverstone and Sarah Michelle Gellar try the aesthetic out early on as well.

While most tweens accented each twist with butterfly clips, I used to slide pearls onto bobby pins to place in between my parts.

6. Curved Part

We also tried curved parts on for size. Leave it to someone like Gwen Stefani to make a part look so fun. Thankfully, we didn't have to worry about getting our parts perfectly straight or angled with this one. Wherever the tooth of your comb led you, you followed.

7. Plaited Parts

Remember when cornrows became a thing everyone did in the early 2000s, culturally appropriative tendencies aside? Sadly, you probably rocked a dozen parts in your hair when trying to imitate Aguilera and Beyoncé with this style. Hours were wasted, guys.

8. No part

Sometimes we got rebellious and rocked no part at all. When you've got a million crimps and butterfly clips sprouting from you mane in all directions, there's just no need. Most of us had a grungy aesthetic we were going for, so breaking up the chaos with a clean part would have ruined things.

No matter how festive or simple you did your hair, you probably knew that you could always use your part to make a statement. That's what was so cool about our early 2000s style: Every little detail in our looks mattered.

Images: Disney Channel Original Series (2)