The parting line

First, it was just a hairstyle, a harmless act of imitation.

- NIDHARSHANA RAJU

In the late 90s and early 2000s, heroines made the side partition not just fashionable but aspirational. Now, in the 2020s, heroines and influencers have brought back the centre partition, both sharp and minimalistic, redefining symmetry and beauty.

But time has a way of revealing the quiet cost of beauty. What dermatologists today call traction alopecia is the result of years of repeated strain along the same partition line and tightly braided or pulled-back styles.