W: Graduation parameters

Graduation's final shape is affected by several factors.

1. Elevation angle
Graduation is created by elevating the hair to 90 degrees or less from the horizontal. If it is 90 degrees of elevation the hair is all combed straight back from its natural fall position with all the hairs in the strand being parallel to each other and to the floor.
If the hair is elevated less than 90 degrees, the hairs in the strand are still parallel but the ends of the hair are lower than before. Lowering the hair half way between the horizontal and the floor will give a 45 degree elevation.
Lowering the hair from 90 degrees of elevation will lower the placement of the line of graduation. The longer lengths which make the top of the graduation will start lower because the head shape will begin to slope away from the head sooner as the graduation goes up from the hairline in the nape.

2. Cutting angle
Perpendicular Cutting Angle
Finger angle or cutting angle also moves the placement of the line of graduation.
As an example think of a section elevated to 90 degrees. All the hair here is combed straight back so that all the strands are parallel to each other and to the floor.
If the cutting angle is perpendicular to the floor, the length of the hairs in the section will increase at the top of the section as the head form curves away from the cutting line. This increase in length is what forms the boundary at the top of the graduation.

45 Degree Cutting Angle
Cutting the 90 degree horizontal section with a finger angle or cutting angle of 45 degrees across this strand is also a common practice. This angle has the scissors pointing in at the neck with the handles pulled away from the head. The effect is to make the hairs longer at the top of the section. This means that the top of the sections increase more rapidly in length compared to cutting with a line that is perpendicular or straight up and down. With the increasing length in the hair as you work up the section, the top of the graduation is reached sooner. This places the line of graduation lower on the head form compared to the perpendicular cutting angle.

Concave Cutting Angle
Cutting the 90 degree horizontal section with a cutting angle that points away from the nape with the handles of the scissors closer to the head creates a concave section. This has the top of the section shorter at top. This means that the boundary of the top of the graduation is not formed until very near the top of the head where the head dramatically curves away from the cutting line. This moves the top of the graduation further up the head shape. This graduated shape is flatter and tends to slope in the direction of the concave cutting. Weight is created under this shape by the extensive length cut into the bottom of the shape.

3. Sideways Over Direction
Over directing the sections to either side will give an inconsistent line of graduation. Over directing can be checked for prior to cutting.
The first check is to look at your body position and see if the section is in front of you. This will give you a chance to see if the hair in the section is being held over its section on the head. This is done by seeing that the hair is within the parts on each side of the section. If the section is in front of you, you have a good view of the parts and this makes it more likely you will keep it there during combing and cutting. Keeping the sections both in front of you and over the natural fall section of the hair means the body position shifts as different sections are cut.

4. Up Down Over Direction
Over directing the sections up and down will also give an inconsistent line of graduation.
The flow in the sections is determined in the first section cut. Once this has been done, a piece of a previously cut section should be incorporated in the new section to check that the flow of the hair is consistent. This is done by seeing that the hair is parallel to the flow in the previously cut section.
Over directing the section up moves from graduation to layering and this removes weight from the graduation line. The definition of the line becomes mushy or curved.

W/M: Looking at components of shape

Looking at the shape of a haircut design, lets you see the lines of the cut. Where the lines change direction lets you see the angles of the haircut. Measuring the angle tells you how strong the change in direction is.

The lines of the cut are either horizontal, vertical, or diagonal which is between horizontal and vertical. Horizontal lines would be seen in a one length haircut where the hair is cut parallel to the floor. This kind of line is seen as creating the most weight of the different types of lines.

If you want to create the least amount of weight in a cut you would take vertical sections and cut vertical lines instead of the horizontal lines in the one length haircut. Vertical lines are seen frequently in hair cuts for men where a leaner or closer cut is desired.

For something between the most weight and the least weight, use a diagonal line to define your cutting line. A diagonal line is seen in a graduated haircut where the diagonal line moves the weight off the bottom of the hair cut up the diagonal line of the graduation.

These kinds of line encourage the eye to follow them. A vertical line makes the up and down view of the haircut more noticeable. It makes the eye move up and down the shape and gives the shape the appearance of being vertically longer. This could used to balance a head shape that is seen as too round.

A horizontal line encourages the eye to look from side to side. This is makes the haircut look wider along the horizontal lines. This might be used when the creation of width is desired to compensate for an area that seems too narrow.

Diagonal lines encourage the eye to follow lines that are curved. These kinds of lines are frequently used to direct the vision to a facial asset of the client like an attractive chin, symmetrical cheeks, or well shaped lips. They can be used to direct the hair to the side or back of the face to open the face or they can direct the hair to the front of the face. A narrow face might want the hair directed back to open the face. A wide face might want hair directed to the front to give it a narrower look.

When lines change direction they create an angle. The angle is an important part of the hair design. For example, men frequently want sharp angles in their hair between the top of the hair design and the sides of the design. This gives a square look to the shape that is sometimes seen as masculine. To make this sharp angle, cut the hair on top to a flat line parallel to the ceiling and the hair on the sides to a flat line parallel to the walls. This will give a corner to the design which runs along the top of the parietal ridge.

Sharp corners are not usually wanted along the top of the parietal ridge for a woman's haircut. These corners can be rounded by cutting a rounded or diagonal line connecting the top and sides of the haircut.

When designing a haircut, decide where the lines should go and where they should change direction. For example a one length hair cut would have a line along the bottom of the haircut. For a square one length haircut the line is parallel to the floor all around the perimeter. For a circular cut the length would shorter in the front and longer in the back. For a triangular cut the length is shorter in the back and longer in the front. The lines in the circular and triangular are both slightly diagonal. Round has a diagonal back line and triangular has a diagonal forward line.

If you now wanted to add graduation to these one length haircuts, you would add diagonal lines defining the graduated part. These lines would give you other points of interest where the lines of graduation meet the ungraduated hair. What you do to the ungraduated hair will create another line. These two areas (graduated and ungraduated hair) will meet at an angle which can be changed to give the style the best shape for the client.

In analyzing a picture of a haircut the same methods are used. Look at the lines in the haircut and determine where the lines change direction. See the angle between the lines and use this information for plan for the lines and how sharply they change direction.

Point cutting to reduce weight

Saw a demonstration using point cutting to reduce a weight line. It was cut into a section where the hair was about 4 to 5 inches long.

I plan to try this on styles for men as a way of blending away weight lines.

Using thinning shears to reduce weight

Saw a video using thinning shears to reduce weight. The stylist emphasized making 3 cuts along the length of the hair to get good reduction in weight.
This stylist pulled section out at 90 degrees from the head and made a cut about an inch from the scalp and then another inch further from the scalp and finally a third cut about an inch further from the scalp.
This technique worked well in this demonstration. This was done in a woman's style where the hair was about 4 inches long. This may need fewer cuts in shorter hair???

In cutting Asian hair on men, I have used a two cut thinning technique to reduce weight around the crown to help it to lie down. This seemed to work. Using one cut along the shaft of the hair did not work well.
Plan to try a third cut to see if this is even more effective.

M: short, clipper over comb

1. Cut the sides using clipper over comb technique.

Make a horse shoe parting slightly above the parietal ridge around the top of the head.

Place the comb in front of the ear with the teeth of the comb facing to the front hairline. You can use either a clipper comb or a cutting comb.
This involves two tapers. One is from top to bottom (First Taper) and second is from the front hairline to top of the ear (Second Taper). These can be cut at one time or the first taper from bottom to top can be done. Once this is complete the second taper can be added to the hair in front of the ear going to the front hairline.
First taper
The top of the comb is above the parietal ridge and the bottom of the comb is in front of the ear. The comb is on an angle with the top leaning to the back of the ear.
Second taper
It is also on an angle with the top tilted away from the top of the head and the bottom close to the scalp. This angle reflects the slope of the graduation you want to cut into the side.

The teeth of the comb are tipped off the scalp slightly to limit the amount of hair on top of the comb. This is the hair that will be cut by taking the clipper up the comb.

This will cut the guide section with the desired graduation.



2. Cut in front of the ear.

Pivot sections in front of the ear using the top of the guide section as the pivot point. The bottom of the comb is rotated up the front of the hairline and it is held close to the scalp.

This gives the hair in front of the ear some graduation or tapering from the front hairline to the top of the ear.



3. Cut from the top of the ear to the back of the head.

In this area the comb is more vertical. Get the guide from the already cut hair.

Tip the comb along the scalp to reflect the graduation from the horse shoe shaped parting to the hairline below. Tip the teeth away from the scalp to bring them level with the already cut hair all along the comb. Cut the hair from the bottom of the comb to the top.

Continue this to the middle of the nape.



4. Then go to the front of the ear on the other side and do the same procedures: taper the front hairline to the ear. Then cut more vertical sections to the back of the nape.



5. Cut transition from side to the top as described in other posts. ( See below)

6. Cut across the top to connect the top on each side.














Once the sides were graduated, the transition from the top of the parietal ridge to the top was cut. This was not done with the clipper over comb technique. It was done with a clipper over finger technique. This technique is described in a previous post: W/M: clipper, mid length, texture. Look under the section on cutting texture. The hair was combed to 90 degrees from the area above the parietal ridge and cut vertical from the floor.





After this the top was cut in side to side sections across the horse shoe shaped section by pulling the sections straight up to the ceiling and cutting with the same back hand technique of holding the clipper and the comb.





The main thing in this haircut is starting with the clipper over comb technique in cutting the sides and the back.

w: One length square with layers.

1. Cut the one length square haircut as described in a previous post.
2. Make four sections with parts down center top and through nape. Other part is from Apex to behind the ears.
3. Center part from apex to front hairline. Make a 1 inch section here.
4. Measure length of hair behind ear. Use this as the guide to length at the front hairline for the center section on top of head.
5. Cut the hair in the center top section flat to the ceiling at the guide length from front hairline to apex.
6. Continue to take sections to the side of the center top section and cut to the guide from the previous section. Work to the to the parietal ridge.
7. Cut the other side of the top the same way.
8. Extend the length on the top through the crown. Do this by extending the length down the middle first from the apex to the crown. Then take sections to the side of this section and cut all flat to the ceiling.
9. Do the other side of apex to crown section.
10. Move to front hairline. Take vertical sections and pull to 90 degrees to the side using the hair from the top as the guide. Cut flat to the wall. Work your way back to the mastoid process area.
11. Do the other side from the front hairline the same way.
12. Move to the center back below the crown. Take vertical sections and pull straight back at 90 degrees and cut flat to the wall behind. Work to the mastoid area pulling the sections straight back to the wall behind. These sections will not cut the low hair in the nape because that hair will not reach the guide from the crown area.
13. Cross check using sections that are horizontal where the hair has been cut in vertical sections.

Review PM one length square with layering.
By cutting the top flat to the ceiling and the sides flat to the wall, a corner is created along the parietal ridge.
By cutting sides flat to the wall on side and the back to the wall behind, a corner is created in the mastoid area.

M: clipper, short, layering, clipper over comb taper

This is a haircut done with clippers. It starts at the top and works its way down to the perimeter where the hair is tapered. The top is done in layering where the top is pulled 90 degrees to the ceiling and cut parallel to the head shape. The curve of the top to side connection is then done. It continues pulling the hair to 90 degrees from the head shape and the hair is cut to follow the head shape over the curve. After getting over the curve the top of the side is cut to 90 degrees from the side. This 9o degrees from the side is continued low enough on the side to reach into the lower part of the haircut where the tapering will be cut.



Many of the other haircuts done in these posts start at the bottom and work their way to the top. This haircut takes the starting as the top and works its way down. Each approach has its advantages. Try this one to see which you prefer.

The layering in this haircut is done using the back hand technique. This technique has been described before in a post called: W/M: clipper, mid length, texture.
In this haircut a new way of doing this technique is used. In the old way the clipper is placed in the hand with the blade near the pinkie or heel of the hand. The cord end of the clipper comes out of the hand between the thumb and first finger. If the palm of the hand holding the clipper faces the ceiling, the blade of the clipper also faces the ceiling. This hand also holds the clipper comb with it inserted in between the second and third fingers. The teeth of the comb are facing the same direction as the teeth of the clipper blade. This allows you to turn the blade away from the client while combing the hair to you.
In this haircut, the comb is initially placed with the teeth of the comb facing the same direction as the teeth of the clipper. This is used for layering across the top and for layering the client's right side while you stand behind the client.
To layer the left side of the client, the stylist moves to in front of the client and decides to cut the layering by cutting sections from the front of the client to the back. The stylist combs the hair away from himself toward the back of the client. To achieve this he rotated the comb 180 degrees and had the teeth of the comb facing in the opposite direction that the teeth of the clipper faced.
I tried this and did not find it that useful for me. This may be because I have not practiced this. For me it was relatively easy to move to the client's front for cutting the client's right side by combing the sections toward me before cutting the side layering.

Layering the top
This is started by cutting a center section in the middle of the top of the head. The section runs from the front hairline through the crown.
This center section is not specifically sectioned off before cutting in this demonstration. This stylist has a ton of experience and holds records for haircutting speed. He does not need to comb out the section parts on both sides to see what has to be picked up in the section. For the less experienced cutter, it is a big help to clearly part off the section.
Once the section is determined, it is lifted up 90 degrees and cut to follow the head shape. This will be the guide for the rest of the haircut. The length of this section is determined in consultation with the client before the haircut is started. The hair is cut using the back hand clipper technique. The hair is held in the non cutting hand with the pads of the fingers closer to the scalp. The hair is then cut along the backs of the fingers.

Once the center guide is finished, sections are taken side to side from the middle top of the head to the side. These are pulled up to 90 degrees and cut to follow the head shape. Again this stylist does not comb out clear parts to show the limits of these sections in the top. For someone with less experience, making clear parts for each section is a big help. These are also cut using the back hand clipper technique. At the crown area, the sections pivot around the back of the head.

Layering the sides
Once the top of the head has been layered, the sides are layered by taking sections that connect the top through the sides. These run from the side of the top to down the side. The section should go at least through the widest parts of the head at the widest part of the parietal ridge on the sides and occipital bone in the back. Each section is combed to 90 degrees from the head shape and cut to follow the head shape. Do the other side of the top the same way. It may be more convenient to cut the client's left side from the front of the client.
If you start on the client's right side, you can continue these sections through the right side through the back and then through the client's left side. You could also start on the right side, work to the middle back, and then move the clients front left and work to the middle back again.

The guide for all the sections is taken from the hair above which has already been cut.

Tapering from the bottom up
A clipper over comb technique is used. The middle back is used to define the angle of the taper from the hairline to the blend with the previously cut hair.
Hair is combed into natural fall.
The comb is inserted into the hair at the middle of the hairline line with the teeth pointing up the head. The comb is then tilted away from the head at the desired angle of the taper. The clipper is then run along the comb to cut it.
In some other haircuts, the angle for the taper is described as following the head shape up to the occipital bone. This means the comb is tilted away from the head at the top until the comb is parallel to the underlying head structure.
Once the first cut is made in the taper, the comb is inserted into the hair again at a small angle from the horizontal like 20 to 30 degrees. The comb is moved vertically up the previously cut taper until the tapered part of the hair is seen at the bottom of the comb's teeth. The teeth of the comb is again tilted away from the head until it matches the desired angle of the taper. The amount of tilting of the teeth away from the head shape will increase as the comb is moved up the head. This will accommodate the natural slope of the head shape as it moves back going from the hairline to the occipital bone.
The hair protruding beyond the comb next to the guide is then cut.

When the comb reaches the already cut layering on the side the tapering from below should blend the joining of the taper from below with the layering above.

Once the first vertical section is cut to your satisfaction, move to the left or right of this section and start all over again at the hairline. Move vertically again and tilt the comb teeth away from the head shape to match the taper in the first cut. This travelling guide will take you around one side of the head to the ear on one side and then the other.

Cut the double taper in front of the ear
In front of the ear, the hair is cut with a taper that is similar to the taper behind the ear but with one big difference. In front of the ear there is also a taper from the front hairline to the top of the ear. This means there is a vertical taper going from the sideburns area and there is also a taper where the hair near the front hairline is shorter than the hair on top of the ear. This taper is achieved by having the comb closer at the front hairline and further from the scalp at the ear while tilting the teeth of the comb away from the head shape.
Once this double taper has been cut, it is connected to the taper behind the ear by using the comb to hold each taper at different ends of the comb. The cut is to then connect the two guides with a smooth line.

The taper part of this haircut is done with clipper over comb in this haircut. The commentary on this demonstration says this is the single most important skill to master in men's clipper cutting.

The taper can also be cut free hand or with a series of clipper guards going from longer to shorter.

Nose hairs

If I ask about this service, many men want a trim of the nose hairs as much as they want their ear hairs trimmed. Many who want the service will not initially ask for it. Once it has been done, a lot will request this service. Most of the men complain they cannot see where to cut inside of the nose. Others don't have scissors they trust up their nose.

Tools
Getting the right tool makes this somewhat easier. A pair of scissors with rounded ends can be bought at beauty supply stores. I have also seen them in regular drug stores. They are some times labelled for nose and ear use. The usual length is about 3 to 4 inches.
The rounded ends make you and the client more comfortable.

For long hairs sticking out of the nose, a trimmer can cut them off at the nasal opening. This is usually a more temporary fix.

Preparing the nose for cutting
As preparation for cutting the nose hairs, have the client blow his nose on both sides. Blowing the nose is just the beginning. Next have them put tissue on a finger and wipe the inner part of the nose in a circular motion going around the entire opening. Special attention is to be given to the top of the inner wall of the nose opening. Both sides of wall between the nose openings should be as clean as possible.

A little mucous will not interfere with trimming the hair. The walls of the nasal openings are frequently moist.

Cutting the hair
The idea in cutting this hair is to reduce the length while not cutting the client. A good cut is to reduce the hair length to about 1/8 of an inch. Do not try to completely remove the hair.
Be prepared that many people experience a tickling discomfort during this procedure. Ask the client to be particularly still and to warn you if they need to sneeze.

Tip the client's head back and aim the nose opening to the brightest light.

Insert the scissors slowly and keep the blade close to the side of the nasal opening. Don't touch the nose with the scissors at the front or along the sides. The point/ball should be aimed slightly more toward the center to be sure it does not poke the client.

Start at one point of the opening cutting the hair slowly and methodically. Work your way around the perimeter cutting hair as you come to it. Don't be misled into just chasing long hairs.
When you get to the top of the wall between the nasal openings, look for the recess under the top of the nose near the front. This is frequently an area of dense hair growth. It will be the first place for hair to stick out because it is so close to the front. Do both openings.

Have the client check the work
After finishing the cutting, have the client feel the inside of the nose to see if you missed anything. A tissue for cleaning up is appreciated after this.

Clean you tools and wash your hand
Scissors and hands have to be thoroughly washed after this service. The scissors can be dried and soaked in Barbicide.

If blood has been drawn, Universal Precautions should be followed. You will need to put on rubber gloves, double bag the clean up paper or cloth, wash and disinfect everything. Treat everything like it is infected with AIDS.

Follow up
Check out the nose hairs on everyone you see. Some like your barber, your significant other, stylist, dentist, etc are particularly concerned about looking well groomed.

M: clipper, long, ethnic Afro lining

This is a haircut of few steps. It involves a lot of free hand clipper cutting. The stylist needs to see in advance what the final design should look like. The excess length is then cut from the ends of the hair so that the design emerges.

Unlike cutting less curly hair, the sections of this haircut don't need to be pulled out once the hair is all combed out from the scalp. The sections are in effect 90 degrees from the scalp before cutting, during cutting and after cutting. These sections don't collapse on the scalp once they have been cut. The sections don't need to be picked up one at a time and cut and released.
This last may be an alternative way to cut this haircut. That is, it could be cut by treating it like an ordinary 90 degree haircut in floppy hair with all the hair pulled up in sections and held between two fingers until the clipper cuts it. Because the hair stands up on its own the sectioning and holding can be simplified to just making sure the hair is cut to the right length.

The hair needs to be untangled by combing with a pick comb. The hair is combed straight out from the head form at 90 degrees. The effect is to have the hair standing on end.

Start at the distribution point and cut pivoting sections
The clipper with blade for carving the ends of the hair is used. In this demonstration the 0A F/D blade is used. It seems that any blade which gives a close cut could be used. This would include a clipper with no guard and the blade closed. I don't have an 0A F/D so I would use a plain 0/A or a 000 blade.

The clipper is suspended off the scalp near the ends of the hair in the distribution center. The first section is down the top middle to the forehead. The sections are then pivoted around the distribution center in the crown. The sections are overlapped. Only the ends of the hair are cut in forming this shape. The entire surface of the hair is cut with each section starting at the center crown. In the demonstration, they break the sections into three pieces. The first is the top of the section, the second is the bottom of the section. The third is the connection of these two sections.

The clipper follows the overall head shape as it comes from the distribution point. This gives an overall round shape to the head. The demonstration defines the movement of the clipper as light and cruising. The need is to avoid denting the work.

Connecting the top of the haircut to the bottom is done in exactly the same way. It is to be sure the two parts are blended smoothly. The clipper glides over the shape at the ends of the hair.

The demonstration encourages going around the head systematically in doing the three cuts. The first was cutting the top, the second was cutting the bottom and the third was connecting the two. From the demonstration the cuts start at the top middle are rotate around the head to the top middle again.
It is not clear that the three sections need to be separated. It looks like they could all be cut at the same time by starting at the distribution point and cutting to the hair line in each section. The final blending at the hair ends could be applied to the entire sections cut by the clipper in each pass.

Taper the perimeter
This takes another complete turn around the sides and back of the head.
In the demonstration, the tapering looks like it starts about 2 inches from the perimeter. The angle is less than 45 degrees and looks closer to vertical - it is not a steep slope to the perimeter.
The tapering does not end up being close at the perimeter. It appears there is nearly 1/2 inch of hair length at the perimeter.
This tapering was not done in the area over the forehead. However it was partially done in the initial pivotal sections done on the top. This took place as the cut followed the natural slope of the front top of the head to the forehead.

Line the perimeter
This is done in the usual way. The clipper or trimmer is turned over so the heel of the blade is toward the ceiling. The blade is then gently touched to the hairline along the desired line. The client usually has strong feelings about how deep this line should be cut into the hairline. Less is generally preferred to more.
The line is continued around the perimeter. If hair is found over hanging the ears, etc, they are also trimmed away now.

M: clipper, short, ethnic, bald fade

This is another look at the bald fade haircut.

This haircut was described using a different method in the post: M: Cutting a fade

In this post the clipper blade is held perpendicular to the floor. It makes contact with the scalp at the point the fade is to start. It is held so that the closest cut is at the fade line. Above the fade line the hair is tapered with gradually increasing length as you go up the head away from the fade line. It is an attempt to blend the line between the bald part of the head and the part with hair as you cut the fade line.











Cutting the fade line

In the post today, the fade line is cut without any attempt to fade it while cutting it. This line is cut by holding the clipper with the blade horizontal to the floor. The clipper is held rolled over in the hand so that the heel of the blade is to the ceiling. This makes it easier to see where the blade is cutting as it is inserted into the hair.





The blade is pushed into the hair along the line where the fade or tapering of the hair will start.


After pushing the blade into the hair it is dragged down toward the floor to cut the hair below the fade line. It can be dragged all the way to the hairline beneath.


Each blade width is cut and then overlapped with the next blade width to get all the hair and not skip any areas.



In the demonstration today, the fade line is cut starting about 1/2 to 1 inch above the eyebrow and about 1 inch above the top of the ear. When the line is first cut it looks like it slopes slightly down as it goes to the back of the head. As the line goes behind the ear there is a downward slope toward the occipital bone. This is a slight slope downward.

In the finished haircut, the line is faded higher near the front hairline. This gives the line a slope toward the occipital bone which is noticeable.


It is not clear from the video how the initial fade line was chosen. Clients will frequently tell me exactly where they want the fade line. Some clients looking for a military fade want the fade line to be close to the top of the head and some clients want the fade line only 1/2 inch above the ear. I try to accommodate them all.


If there is a design principle here, I have not found it. It may be something like trying to put the faded area over the widest part of the head to keep the shape of the head lean????



When the fade line was cut in today's demonstration, the cutting was started at the front hairline and worked through the back and to the front hairline on the other side.

In my experience, I start at the front hairline on one side and work to the center back. Then I go to the front hairline on the other side and work to the back. I do this to try and get the starting points at the two front hairlines to be at about the same level.


When coming around behind the ear on the second side, the target for the slope in the back is where the line stopped from the first side.



Comparing the two methods


The fade cut in the previous post: M: Cutting a fade , requires some practice in holding the clipper blade vertical while cutting along the fade line. If the top of the blade is waving closer and further from the head, the fade line will look wavy. This will require some additional work to smooth it out.



In today's demonstration, the line is clearly cut so you can see exactly where it is going. It does require a little more work to fade the hair along the fade line so it blends with the bald area below the fade line.



For less experienced cutters, the second method may be easier to do in steps. For more experienced cutters, holding the blade vertical and cutting a line with some built in fading may not be a challenge.


Choice of tool for the fade


This demonstration today uses the T Outliner to cut the line. This would not be my choice. I tend to use the replaceable blade clipper with a 00000 blade. This tool seems to be a lot more powerful than a trimmer. At hair shows I have seen the fade line cut with a clipper with no guard and the blade closed.



Connecting the side to the top

The demonstration uses a clipper with the blade opened to the number 1 position (from the video this is seen as having the blade fully opened).


The cutting is done vertically starting at the bald area below the fade line and goes up about an inch at the front hair line and 1 1/2 inches at the occipital bone. This line is parallel to the fade line. It follows the same slope toward the back of the head.



Whether you will use a blade in the number 1 position or some other guard on the clipper, will depend on how long the top is to be left. A clipper over comb technique could also be used to smoothly connect the line to the top of the head.




Reduce the top to the desired length

In today's video, a number one guard is placed on the closed blade. This blade is used to cut the hair on the top from the front hairline to the distribution point in the crown. The sections are started at the front middle forehead and then pivoted around to each side and the back to keep the blade headed into the grain of the hair.


For different lengths on the top, use different guards.



Notice the two areas where blending or fading is needed


The way the demonstration is cutting this haircut leaves two areas that need to be blended or faded together. The first is the line where the hair starts above the bald area of the head. The second is where the hair cut with the blade in the number 1 position meets the hair on the top which was cut with a number 1 guard.

Blending and fading the two areas
In today's demonstration, a clipper with no guard is used for these two areas.

First

At the line where the bald lower part of the head and the hair meet, the clipper is used with the blade fully closed. The clipper blade is started on the scalp below the hair line and is rocked up and out through the hair line. The blade only travels about 1/4 of an inch in making this cut.

The demonstration makes a rocking, flicking motion in making this cut. It is done rapidly and goes smoothly. In my experience, it takes some practice to be able to do this with speed. Speed is not necessary to accomplish this cut. A slow deliberate cutting also works very well. Speed comes with practice.

If I have cut the bald area with a 00000 blade, I will frequently do this part of the fading with an 0A blade.

Second

The second part of the blending is where the connection from the side meets the top. In this demonstration, they use the clipper with the blade fully opened. The same rocking motion is used.

With longer hair on top, a guard with a higher number could be used.

Another alternative is to use a clipper over comb techniques to blend this area.

This demonstration showed the blending and fading being done in vertical sections. This would start with fading first and then go up the head to do the blending in the same vertical section.

Refine the fading

In this part they used the T Outliner.

Another way to do this would be to use either a 00000 blade or an 0A or a clipper with no guard and the blade fully closed. In the case of the 0A or the clipper with no guard, the clipper is pressed a little more firmly into the scalp. Be sure to keep the movement of the clipper very short in the vertical direction. If a 1/4 inch was used for the first part of the fade, then less than this is used with the refinement of the fade. Use the same rocking movement to keep the fade well blended.

This is a time to make sure the fade line follows the curve you want. Irregularities in the fade line can be erased.

Line the front of the haircut

This is the usual method of just touching the front hairline with the trimmer or your 00000 blade.

Cut the top with the grain

This is done with the clipper blade completely open in the demonstration. The heel of the clipper is placed on the hair and the teeth of the blade glides just above the cut hair to catch any random hair sticking above the desired length.
Don't led the blade edge get into the hair.

M: clipper, short, ethnic hair, lines at perimeter

Layering the entire head
This haircut was done on a middle aged, black male. The initial cuts started at the distribution center in the crown. They all went with the grain. Sections were measured by the width of the clipper blade. There was some over lap of the sections. The 1 1/2 replaceable blade was used in this demonstration. If you are using a clipper with a guard, you may want to start with a number 2 guard to see if the client likes the length. In this video several passes were made and all were with the grain.

After doing the top of the head, the sides are cut again. They had been cut in the first part also. The emphasis this time is to get to the perimeter without missing areas. This looks like it could easily be incorporated in the first pass.

Outline the perimeter with a trimmer
The suggestion is to start at the center top of the front hairline and work to one side. Then go back to the center and work to the other side. Blade teeth are perpendicular to the scalp. They are only placed far enough into the hair to make a line. Some clients refer to this as just touching their hairline. If you cut this line deep in the hair, the line will be bolder, but the grow in time is greatly reduced as fuzz grows outside the line. This will lead to the need for earlier maintenance work on the lines.

Work from the top side, through the temple and sideburns areas. Do both sides of the sideburns.
Then pull the ear out of the way and line around the ear. Each client will have a personal preference on how far the hair should be cut from the top of the ear. Many like the hair to be nearly touching the ear. The closer it is to the ear, the shorter the time for the grow in of the haircut before it looks overgrown. This can be helped by tapering the hair close to the top of the ear. Clipper over comb or shear over comb will work for this.

Behind the ears, straight lines connect from the top of the ear to the bottom on the hairline in the nape. The suggestion here is to start in the center and work to the side before returning to the center and working to the other side.

The placement of the line at the nape is done by client preference or by stylist choice. This is not discussed on this video. This line is generally about an inch below the ear lobe level.

Smoothing the hair top and sides
They use an 0A F/D blade for this. The blade is placed on the scalp on the heel of the blade. The teeth are not in the hair. They are set to go just above the hair level as established in the initial layering in the first step. This maneuver is to pick up any hairs sticking out of the initial layering. This will give a smooth, polished look to the surface.
The same sectioning is done as in the first step. All the sections begin at the distribution point in the crown and all follow the grain of the hair to the hair line. Care is taken to keep the blade at the same height.
If you don't have an 0A F/D blade, you can probably get away with any blade close in height. If you are using guides, you may be able to use the same guard you used for the initial layering in the first step. The most important part of the smoothing step is to keep the smoothing blade or guard out of the hair and just above the surface of the layers.

M: clippers, short

This haircut is all done with clippers. The initial part is done with the clippers used in a rocking fashion. The clippers enters the hair at the nape hair line. The clippers are then rocked so the teeth of the blade start to come off the scalp and to follow the underlying head shape in the nape area. By the time the clipper blade reaches the occipital bone the blade of the clipper should be exiting from the hair. This is followed by tapering below the initial taper in the back and using the shorter taper on the sides. The sides are then blended to the tapered part with a clipper over comb technique. The top and sides are then connected by cutting them at 90 degrees.



Initial taper in the nape area

For this part of the demonstration a clipper with a guard is used. Here a number 2 guard is used. This will leave the hair at 1/4 inch when resting on the scalp. It is not clear why this particular length was chosen. It was inserted into the hair and the teeth were rocked away from the scalp as the clipper worked up to the occipital bone. At this point the teeth of the clipper leave the hair.

This demonstration is done by someone with lots of experience. She was able to decide on the taper she wanted and to then cut it. If you have less experience, you might start with a higher number guard. This will leave you with more length in the tapered area. If you want to further refine the taper to a shorter length you can then work your way to the shorter length by using lower numbered guards. For these haircuts, the client may not have a clear idea of how close they want the taper and this will give them a chance to see how it looks at different lengths.

The initial taper can be carried out in several steps if desired. For example, an even lower numbered guard or no guard could be used at the very hairline for a very tapered look.



The exit point in this demonstration is just below the occipital bone. It is not explained. Other posts have encouraged tapering the hair through the widest part of the head to make the haircut look more compact or "lean." If this were used here the taper would be continued higher to the mid occipital bone area.



Cutting the second taper in the nape area

Once the final length of the initial taper is determined, the second part of the taper is started. In this demonstration, the second part of the taper is done with a number 1 guard on the clipper. The clipper blade is fully closed before putting on the guard.

The second part of the taper in the back is usually done in steps. In this demonstration, one step is used. Other demonstrations have shown using a lower numbered guard and going up about half the distance of the first taper. The same rocking motion is used with the teeth of the clipper at the closest to the scalp at the bottom and rocking away from the scalp so that the blade/guard is completely out of the hair half way up the first taper. The smoother this rocking motion, the more blended the two taper cuts will be.

This taper is carried higher up the nape areas behind the ears so they can connect to the closer taper used in front of the ears.

In front of the ear the same guard is used to cut the taper in the area from the front hairline to behind the ear. The demonstration says to not cut too high but this is not defined. It looks like it maybe just into the parietal ridge.

This is addressed differently in haircuts looking for the leaner look where the taper would be carried through the widest part of the parietal ridge.



Connect the taper to the weight on the side with clipper over comb

This is a continuation of the clipper over comb technique used in the previous posts. The comb is inserted in the hair on an angle so that it is not horizontal to the floor. One end of the comb is used to find the guide in the short hair and the other is used to define the slope of the blend. The clipper is then used to cut along the length of the comb.

The design in this part of the cut is how vertical you want the slope of the taper to be. More vertical, makes it tighter with less of an umbrella on the top of the head.



Connect the top of the side to the top

This is done by pulling the hair above the parietal ridge out at 90 degrees from the head shape and blending this with the top. The hair on the top of the head has been divided into side to side sections and as the side to side section is picked up, some of the blended hair from the area above the parietal ridge is included. The guide is from the top of the side and the top is cut to this length.

The side to side section is carried across the top of the head by pulling the section pieces to 90 degrees from the head shape and cutting it. The stylists worked front to back with the clipper in the back hand position.

In this demonstration, the stylists does not take partings to determine the side to side sections. A less experienced cutter may want to use partings to get all of the hair.



This cutting is then cross checked by taking front to back sections going from one side to the to

the other.



Bangs

Comb the hair forward to the bangs area and trim to the length the client wants. Comb all the hair that will reach the bangs.



Check on the side blending again

They use the same technique as above to redo the blending on the sides one more time. There are some smaller sections taken to just get the little pieces of the unblended hair to make it all fit better.



Trim the perimeter

A trimmer is used for this to outline the perimeter and clean away hair outside of the outline.

They also used the trimmer to further refine the taper near the perimeter.




Some points
This a haircut with a taper that is cut partially freehand with guards on the clipper. In a freehand taper, the clipper would be used start the taper at the hairline and to cut the taper all in one step. An example of freehand clipper cutting is discussed in M: Clipper free hand cutting at perimeter.



It is worth noting that the taper at the front hairline is shorter than the taper at the same height in the back. The shorter taper in the back does not reach as high up as the taper in the sides.

W: clipper, long, layers, unstructured

Unstructured: formal sectioning is not used.

This is a long haircut on a woman with long hair. The original hair reaches about 6 inches below the shoulders. The perimeter in the back is rounded and this shape is used as the foundation for the final perimeter.

Cutting the round perimeter

The demonstration shows an outline of where the hair is to be cut. It is what you would expect to have if you cut a round hair cut with the perimeter shorter in the front and longer in the back.
See post: W: Round one length formula.

In a more structured approach to this haircut, the hair would have been sectioned 1 inch up from the hairline all around the the head. The parts for the section would be diagonal back on the side and would curve around the back to make it round.


In this haircut, you visualize the back perimeter and cut all the hair in the back at one time using the clippers. The rounded part in the back extends from the top of one shoulder to the top of the other. The hair is combed down into its natural fall and sections are held in the fingers to approximate the curvature of the desired perimeter. The clippers cut along the fingers.
Unstructured means sections and partings are not used.

The clippers are held with the blade near the pinkie and the cord leaving the hand between the thumb and the first finger. The comb has been placed between the first and second finger of the hand holding the clipper. The comb sticks out from the clipper nearer the cord end. This is a variant of the back hand technique of holding the clipper discussed in W/M: clipper, mid length, texture.



In cutting this perimeter about 1inch is taken from the perimeter around the back section. The hair is held with the palm facing the stylist and the hair is cut with the clipper in a palm to palm method. The clipper blade is rotated to the hair after it has been combed down. The blade cuts along the fingers from tip toward the hand. Only the middle of the blade does the cutting.



At the top of the shoulders, the roundness is continued to the front of the face. The same procedure is used to finished the round cut on the other side.



Add graduation to the perimeter: 45 degrees elevation and 60 degrees of elevation. Cutting layers at 90 degrees of elevation



45 degrees elevation

Sections are picked up manually. The sections are located at the perimeter and they consist of the hair that reaches the lowest part of the perimeter. The hair is pulled up to 45 degrees and is cut on a 45 degrees angle using the lowest part as the guide. The hair is cut by point cutting with the clipper going up about and inch or two. Point cutting with the clipper is done by holding the hair in the fingers and poking the blade into the end of section on a very steep angle to the hair ends. These cut to the guide line from the bottom of the section.

They refer to this as layering. It think it might be called graduation since it is elevated less than 90 degrees.

(In an haircut using more formally designed sections, each section would be combed out with a clean part on each side of the section. First a horizontal section would be made to separate off the lower part of the perimeter. Then this horizontal section would be divided into vertical sections where the graduation would be cut. This would separate one section from another and would let the stylist see where the hair had been cut and where it needed to be cut. This may be a technique used by those less experienced with seeing the sections as they are needed. It might also be used for a haircut in which precision is desired. In this demonstration, this stylist is able to see what needs to be done and to do it. It moves a lot faster than a haircut in which each section is well defined by clean partings. )



Graduation is added all around the perimeter. The hair is pulled out from the natural fall as it is elevated to 45 degrees.

The point cutting is done with about 6 points cut into each finger length section end. Only the ends are cut and they are cut on a 45 degree angle.



60 degree elevation

Following the first part of the graduation in the perimeter, the procedure is repeated. This time the section is elevated to 60 degrees and the bottom of the section, where the 45 degrees of elevation was used, is allowed to fall free of the new section.
(This is the equivalent of the second horizontal section in q more formalized haircut.)

The new part elevated to 60 degrees is also cut to a 45 degree angle using point cutting with the clipper. The guide for cutting this graduation is taken from the section elevated to 45 degrees. Most of this first section is allowed to fall away and only a little is held to be used as a guide.

Work the entire perimeter like this at 60 degrees of elevation.



90 degree layering

Repeat the two procedures as above picking up sections. Each is elevated to 90 degrees from the head shape and the first two sections are allowed to fall away except for a little at the top of the 60 degree elevation cut. This is the guide for the 90 degree cut. This is also cut to follow the guide. It is cut with point cutting also. The angle of the cut line here follows the head shape.

( This would be the third horizontal section in the formal haircut structure.)

In the 45 degree elevated section and in the 60 degree elevated section the hair was cut to give 45 degrees of graduation. In the 90 degree elevation section, the layering is cut to flat layering.

( If this had been done with horizontal sections working your way up the back and sides, the first two horizontal sections would be cut at a graduation angle of 45 degrees. The third horizontal section would be cut with flat layering above the graduation. )



Blend the top with the sides

Take side to side sections across the top of the head. Start at the front hairline. Elevate straight up and point cut flat with the ceiling. Use the length of the side as the guide to the blend.



Bangs

Comb the hair forward from some place near the apex. This seems to form a triangle from the apex to the outer eyebrows. The hair is point cut to take an inch off the overall length. This line in the middle is then connected to the side length with an angled cut. This angled cut is also done with point cutting.



Texturizing with a T-24 blade or texturizing shears

This procedure use the T-24 blade to go through each of the previous sections used in cutting the 45 degree, 60 degree and the 90 degree cuts. The stylist combs the first (45 degrees) part up. She then inserts the T-24 blade about two inches from the end and thins out the end of the section. She then does the same thing in the two sections above. She works vertically before going to the next section and starting over at the bottom and working her way up again.



(If you don't have a replaceable blade clipper, you can do the same thing with a thinning or texturizing shears. )



Finish with flat iron and blow dry.

M: clipper, medium, texture

This is a typical man's haircut which is done in a rapid way by a stylist who knows what she is doing. It goes quickly. The clippers give speed in cutting and they are used to give extra texture in places.



In previous notes, there has been a system of cutting. The sides and back were first cut. Then these were connected through the area above the parietal ridge to the top. Finally the top was cut to the length determined by the connection from the sides to top. Here the perimeter is tapered first. Then the top is cut to length and this is continued into the area above the parietal ridge by cutting the sections at 90 degrees to the head shape. This length is then blended to the tapered perimeter.



Taper sides and back below the widest parts of the head

This haircut is done by first tapering the perimeter of the hair all around the head. A clipper over comb technique is used. Emphasis is placed on holding the comb on an angle so that it is not held horizontal to the floor. (Other techniques emphasize holding the comb horizontal to the floor).

The comb enters the hair against the grain and is tipped away from the scalp so that the comb is on the line of the desired slope of the haircut. This demonstration does not mention finding the guide at one end of the comb before cutting along the comb. Watching the demonstration, it is clear that the stylist does find the guide in the end of the comb. The comb is then held steady and the clipper cuts along the length of the comb.



The tapering is taken up to the occipital bone in the back. This means that the taper is cut with the spine at the level of the occipital bone to cut the taper. On the sides, the commentator says to take the taper just above the ears. This does not seem to be accurate. The spine of the comb goes up to the widest part of the parietal ridge. This gives a taper that is about 1.5 inches above the ear. It seems the taper is taken to the height of the widest part of the head all around the head.
The low taper is to insure that the transition to the top can be cut without making the top too short.


Cut the top to desired length

The next part of the cut is the top of the head. There is no mention in the demonstration of how the proper length for the top is selected. It appears that the length is 2.5 inches. It may be that this stylist knows from experience how long to make the top compared to the taper she cut on the perimeter. It would be useful to have a guide for the length on top. Another technique for this part of the haircut would be to first connect the sides and top. This would give a length to help in selecting the top length. The length in the connection area would be the starting guide for the length across the top.



In this haircut the top length is picked and cut in side to side sections across the top.



The clippers are held with the blade toward the little finger and the comb is held in the same hand between the first and second finger. The cord of the clipper leaves the hand between the thumb and first finger. This is a modification of the back hand clipper technique described in the previous post: W/M: clipper, mid length, texture . See the description under the section called " Cut the internal layering" In this description the comb is held between the second and third fingers of the hand holding the clippers. This stylist is using a modified version where the comb is held between the index and middle fingers. Here the comb is less straight out from the side of the clipper and more pointed to the cord end of the clipper.
Another modification is that the stylist stands behind the client and takes side to side sections across the top of the head. She starts at the front hairline. Her fingers holding the hair are side to side across the top. They hold the hair with the palm near the scalp so the hair is cut over the fingers. The clippers are turned to cut from the tips of the fingers toward the palm. This is different from the previous description where the clippers were cutting across the length of the section instead of one end to the other.

Add the blending to the sides
The areas above the parietal ridge are blended as the sides are cut. This is different than doing this in two steps. In a two step approach the sides would first be cut and then the top would be connected to the sides in a separate step. In the two step method, it can be useful to have a part line separating the top from the side. This is frequently a horse shoe shaped parting in many of these posts.
In this demonstration, the stylist cuts across the top going side to side. She then continues the cutting through the area above the parietal ridge to connect to the tapering at the perimeter.
Wherever the cutting is taking place, the hair in the section is pulled to 90 degrees from the head shape. On the top the hair is pulled straight up toward the ceiling. Above the area between the parietal ridge and the top. The hair goes straight out from the curvature of the head.

Cutting continues around the back of the head in the same manner of pulling the hair to 90 degrees from the head shape.

Cross check the top
Take front to back sections across the top and through the sides to see that the length is the same throughout .

Bangs
The bangs are combed forward and held over the forehead. They are cut from side to side to meet the guides on either side. This needs more study.

Texture across the top and sides
Start at the front hairline and take side to side sections again. Stand behind the client and use the back hand technique of holding the clipper and comb in the same hand. Pull the section of hair straight up and leave about 1/2 inch of hair above the finger. Cut points into the section by poking the clipper blade into the hair at a very steep angle. Continue the sections into the sides and cut more points. In this demonstration, there are about six point/notches cut along the fingers holding the hair. The point cutting is supposed to remove weight and let the hair stand up.
(Across the top and in the area above the parietal ridge the points are all cut in the same direction. It might add more uniform lift if the points were cut with the short sides of the points on the sides of the head. This might let the short pieces of the point push the hair up on both sides. To do this the blade of the clippers would have to change direction at the middle of the head. The goal would be to have the blade pointing to the side of the head on each side. )

Blend the tapered perimeter into the length above it
Return to the clipper over comb technique and repeat it along the perimeter and into the the longer hair above it. Continue to hold the comb angled across the head and not horizontal to the floor. Find the guide in one end of the comb before blending.
In this demonstration, notching or point cutting is also used along the comb using the clippers to help the blending. This seems similar to using thinning shears in this area.

Refine the outline
Use a trimmer to refine the outline shape. In the back, they cut the neck line before they clean out below this line. It seemed to give good definition to the line which might be lost if tapering were done first. Trimmer over comb technique was used to taper the perimeter behind and over the ear.

Finish
Use product and blow dry or comb up with fingers. Can be combed into more conservative style if desired.

W: clipper, moderate, texture

This is a haircut done with clippers from start to finish. It does not use sectioning or parting and is a rapid way to get this haircut completed. It starts with a one length haircut that is cut all at once by cutting the perimeter completely through with the clipper at one time. Some graduation is then added to the perimeter. This is followed by point cutting the bangs to the correct length for good movement. Finally some weight is removed from near the perimeter to the ends by using the clipper with a texturizing blade that acts like thinning shears.

Cut the perimeter
The hair starts out at a length that just reaches the shoulders.
The head is tipped forward. The hair is combed down to natural fall. The stylist starts in the back combing the hair down. She then uses the spine of the comb to hold the hair against the skin about 2 inches below the jawline. She uses a replaceable blade clipper with a 000 blade and she cuts by turning the clipper over and pushing it through the hair to the skin. This is repeated to cut the back.

When she reaches the side of the head, the head is put in an upright position. The same method is used until reaching the ear. At the ear the hair is combed down and held with the non cutting hand palm facing you. It is then cut palm to palm with the clipper. The comb has been placed in the non cutting hand between the thumb and first finger.

Cut graduation in the back
Starting at the middle of the nape hairline sections are taken by eye and elevated to 45 degrees and cut using the bottom of the section as the guide to cut the hair at 45 degrees.
This is like taking diagonal forward sections in the back, elevating the sections to 45 degrees and cutting to follow the parting for the diagonal forward section. This stylist does not need to use the partings to see what needs to be done and where to pick up the hair. Less experienced stylist could use diagonal forward sections to give more definition.
The graduation is cut to about 2 inches from the end of the hair. It starts at the middle of the back of the head and works to the front hairline. Then do the other side the same way.

(In this video, the graduation is referred to as layering. This is a slight quibble but I think it is called graduation if it is not elevated over 90 degrees.)

Bangs
Comb the hair forward from the apex in a triangular section starting at the apex an extending on each side to the outer eyebrow.
The hair is lifted with the palm of the holding hand facing the stylist. The hair is elevated a finger or two and points are cut along the holding fingers below the eyebrow level(fingers resting on the nose.) To cut the points the blade is turned so its length runs from the ceiling to the floor.
The fingers holding the hair are parallel to the floor. The leading edge of the blade is pushed into the hair to cut little notches or points along the length of the fingers holding the hair.

Once the length of the bangs is done, the bangs are divided in sections from front of the head to about about 3 inches toward the apex. These sections are combed up 90 degrees to the head shape and notches are cut along the fingers holding the hair. The guide is the hair length cut when point cutting to define the bangs length. Sections are done from one side of the bangs to the other.

Add texture near the perimeter by thinning
The Andis T-24 blade is used for this procedure. This blade has 5 cutting blades across the length of the blade in the moving section. It removes 24 % of the hair combed up by the non moving part of the blade. This demonstration reports it is like using a thinning shears but faster.

The hair near the perimeter is combed down and out and the the shear is inserted under the hair with the blade pointing away from the scalp. The blade enters the hair about 2 inches from the end and is pushed up through the hair and pulled away from the scalp. It is a quick way to reduce unwanted weight and to give movement.

Summary
This haircut shows how a haircut can be done with clippers. It uses a skilled stylist who has progressed beyond the stage of needing elaborate partings and sectioning to know what and where to cut. A less experienced stylist could do this haircut by taking more defined sections and cutting them individually with the clipper. For example in cutting the perimeter, horizontal sections could have been taken up the back of the head and each one cut to the guide instead of cutting all the hair in one section.

W/M: clipper, mid length, texture

The main things in this post are the two ways of holding the clippers and comb for efficient ways of cutting and combing. They are described in cutting a woman's hair but the same techniques are used in men especially the back hand technique used in cutting the internal layering. I have seen Ivan Zoot do these at hair shows, classes, Youtube, and on a DVD put out by Andis in case you are looking for more information.




This demonstration is part of the information supporting the idea that most haircuts can be done with any cutting tool. Proponents of clippers will sing their praises as will those of razors and shears.


This is a woman's haircut done with a clipper. The clipper is a detachable blade clipper. The first blade is a 000 blade which Andis recommends for clipper over finger use. The cuts made with this blade can also be made with any other clipper. Using a clipper without using a guard would be close to the result with the 000 detachable blade.

This haircut follows the pattern of working down from the top once the perimeter has been cut. The other standard way to cut haircuts is to cut the perimeter and then the sides and then the top.

Sectioning


Make four sections. Make a part from center front hair line to center of nape hairline. Now make a part from ear to ear through the apex.





Cut the back to one length



Make horizontal sections at the bottom of the nape on both sides of the center part. Comb the hair down to natural fall and hold the section with your palm facing you. The fingers are resting on the client's back with one finger elevation about 2 inches down from the top of the shoulders.
The one finger elevation means that the section is held in the first two fingers of the non cutting hand and the second finger rests on the shoulder thus elevating the section one finger.





The clipper is held with the teeth of the blade going up and down vertically. The teeth of the blade enter the hair being held in the fingers at the tip of the fingers and move from the tip of the fingers toward the hand. The middle of the clipper blade is the only part doing the cutting.


The line cut with the clipper is a square line that is parallel to the floor.




While combing the clipper is held with the teeth facing the stylist in the gap between the first finger and the thumb. The end of the clipper with the cord is at the wrist. The comb is held between the first finger( index finger) and the second finger. It is behind the clipper and separated from it by the first finger. The teeth of the comb are pointing down and are ready to comb the hair while the clipper is being held in the hand.


When the section has been combed, the section of hair is held between the first finger and the second finger of the non cutting hand. The comb is then placed at the base of the thumb and first finger of the non cutting hand where it is held during the cutting. The clipper is rotated in the cutting hand so it addresses the section to be cut.


After cutting the clipper blade is turned so it faces the stylist again and the comb is replaced between the first and second finger parallel to the clipper.




This is a version of palm to palm cutting as done when using shears. With a few repetitions it becomes as natural as placing the comb in the non cutting hand and cutting with shears.




Continue taking sections up the back of the head until reaching the part line from the apex to the ears. Comb to natural fall and cut in a flat or square line across the clients back.


Cut the sides to one length


Go to the side of the client and make a horizontal part one inch above the ear that goes to the front hairline. This section should include some hair from behind the ear to act as a guide to the length on the side. Use the same clipper technique to safely comb the hair and to cut the hair to the guide.


Continue taking sections up to the central part at the top of the head. Cut all to the one length guide.




Do the same on the other side of the head.


Cut the internal layering


A different clipper technique is used for this part. The clipper is held back hand which means the clipper rests on the fingers with the blade toward the pinkie finger and the cord end of the clipper leaving the hand between the thumb and first finger. If the palm is up to the ceiling, the teeth of the clipper also face the ceiling. The comb is placed between the second and third fingers of the hand holding the clipper. The comb is sticking out from the hand nearly perpendicular to the cllipper. The teeth of the comb face toward the end of the clipper with the blade.



Holding the clipper and comb in the same hand allows for the non cutting hand to be free to hold the hair. The comb is not transferred out of the cutting hand during this type of cutting. Combing the section toward you, leaves the blade of the clipper in a safe position facing you. Once the section is being held, the clipper is then brought to the section and cut toward you.


It is quick and easy.


The demonstration I am watching uses a wide tooth blade to cut in this section to give the ends more texture. It you use a clipper without a wide tooth blade you will have smoother ends.

Decide length of hair in the layering on top. The demonstration I am watching does not talk about how to decide the lenght of the top layering. It is left long and looks like it is about 10 inches. The cut hair falls to the level of the client's mouth.

Take a center section going from the front hairline at the middle back to the apex. This section is about 1/2 inch wide and it will be used to cut the guide for the top of the head. Stand to the side of the client. Comb this section straight up and hold in the fingers. The clipper enters this section with the teeth all along the section. This means the entire blade enters the section and cuts it. This is different than the method described above where only the teeth of the blade entered the end of the section.



The section for the guide is cut flat with the ceiling and does not follow the head shape. This will be the guide for the rest of the top of the head.





To cut the rest of the top layers, make a horse shoe shaped part around the top of the head. Start the part at the middle of the recession area and continue behind the apex around to the front hairline on the other side.

(This demonstration does not use a horse shoe shaped parting. The stylist is able to pick up the side to side sections with good accuracy from the right place on the head. Anyone with less experience might like the horse shoe shaped sectioning to help in getting the sections just right.)

Make a part down the middle of the horse shoe shaped section. Start at the back of the horse shoe shaped section and take sections from center to the side of the horse shoe shaped section. Comb up and cut flat to the ceiling using the guide cut at the center top.


Make the next sections parallel to the first and move to the front hair line. Do the same on the other side of the center part of the horse shoe shaped section.

Connect the side to the top
This demonstration connects the perimeter to the top layering by pullng vertical sections on the side straight out from the round of the head where the side meets the top. This will give a guide from the top layering which is used to connect the top to the side. The perimeter is not cut.

They started at the front hairline on one side and worked to the front hairline on the other side.

They continue to use the back hand technique with the clipper to connect or blend these two lengths. They started from the front hairline and worked to the middle of the back and then started over again at the front hairline on the other side.

They point out that with shorter lengths on the top will give more layers on the side. This will result from cutting more hair in connecting a shorter top to meet the perimeter length.

The sections behind the ear and through the back let the hair at the perimeter fall out of the section. This means that in the back the hair below the occipital bone is not included in the layering/connection.

The bangs

The sides are connected across the front by combing the hair from the top and sides forward. In this video they decide on a bangs length reaching the mouth. They cut the center part of this straight across and inch on each side and then they curve each side down to meet the length on the sides.

A note on sectioning for this could be useful. It looks like all the hair going back to the apex is combed forward

Texturizing the perimeter

This demonstration now changes blades to an Andis T 24 blade for texturizing. This has 5 cutting blades across the blade and is reported to take out 24 % of the hair. This is fed into the hair a couple of inches from the end and it removes weight and length. They also use this technique to remove weight from the layering in the back and sides.

(It seems the same result might be achieved with point cutting with the clipper. This is done by holding the ends of the perimeter and aiming the clipper blade into the end of the sections as you would use a shears to cut points. The hair of the ends is held so about 1 to 2 inches is beyond the fingers and the clippers dip into the end almost parallel to the hair strands. )

Product placement, blow dry.

W: shear, long, layers, graduation, line

This is a long haircut. The hair is cut one length with the sides over directed to the client's back. The hair is layered in the front by first making bangs and then layering to the guide in the bangs. During this the hair is over directed to the front. This layers the top and some of the sides and lets the perimeter fall out of the layering. Finally some graduation is done at the perimeter in the nape.

Assess hair line, hair growth patter, and size of head.

Determine length and manually mold the design.



Make natural part.

Center parting may work best for this shape.



Tip head forward.

Make a center part in nape from crown to hair line. Connect to natural part.



Cut the back and sides to one length directed to the back

At nape hair line take horizontal sections and comb hair to natural fall.

Hold the hair with fingers about 2 inches below the shoulder an cut a square/flat line.

Work up back of nape and cut to guide. Sections are parallel. Work to just above the ear.

Continue up the crown and work to the front hair line with the same shaped parts. They will go initially from the center part of the crown to the top of the ear. The sections will then pivot around the ear until the part is vertical on the side of the head. Hair of all sections is combed back to the client's back and the line is cut as square/flat.



Do other side the same way starting at the nape hair line.



Start layering at front hair line


Make a diagonal back part from the center part(or natural part) going toward the ear.

Comb forward and cut the length of the bangs at the bridge of the nose. As the section is cut further the line of cut parallels the diagonal back part line but the line is over directed forward to stretch the length of hair forward.

Next section is parallel to first and goes from top center to top of ear. Comb forward and lift slightly before cutting to the guide. This will soften the line. The hair at the bottom of the section does not reach the guides as the hair is over directed forward.

Continue with parallel sections.

Behind the ear the part line continues through the hair behind the ear. This part follows the line of the hair line. All the hair is combed forward and cut to the guide used in the bangs. This a slightly rounded line from top center of head to the hair line.

At the apex, the sections have become vertical and pivot around the crown. Pull the sections out along the part line and over direct to the previously cut section. The sections are no longer pulled to the guide at the bangs.
It is not clear why this starts where it does or where it starts. It looks like this is about where the side of the head meets the back of the head. It stops the layering below the occipital bone from what I can see.

Go the front hair line on the other side and do the same methods.
Check balance between sides regularly.
The demonstration tells one to continue to work through the center back of the head into the other side.

Add graduation
Part the nape down the center.
Take diagonal forward sections starting below the occipital bone and working to the crown. Pull the section to 45 degrees from the head and cut the section parallel to the diagonal forward part of the section.
Continue taking diagonal forward sections and elevate the section above the previous section before cutting to the guide of the previous section.

Graduate the other side of the nape.

Product and blow dry.
Finish with point cutting and slicing.

W: shears, short, layers, graduation

This client starts with a short haircut that is about an inch over her ears. She is layered on the top and given round graduation on the side. Both techniques are described in other posts if you would like more reading on them.

Check hair line, hair growth pattern, and head shape.
Estimate length and manually shape the design

Cut top and side layering
Take a front to back section down the middle of the top of the head from the crown to the front hair line.
The hair is pulled straight up and cut to follow the shape of the head shape.
Pivot the next sections from the crown to the side. The hair is either directed straight up or over directed to the previous section and cut to the guide. (Flat heads may be directed straight up while more rounded tops may be over directed to the middle to leave more length to fill in the roundness??)
Continue sections until the sections come to just behind the ear. The hair is cut slightly concave from the front side going back. Cutting this concave means to leave the length at the hair line longer. This can be done by angling the fingers at the hair line away from the scalp.

Graduate the sides with round graduation
After reaching the ear, go to the front hair line. Take a rounded section around the front hair line about an inch in from the hairline. Pull the hair out from the surface of the head. Use the length at the top as the guide and cut a rounded or convex line to following the head shape. Convex means it is longer in the interior and shorter on both sides of the middle.
( This seems to wipe out the concave length that had just been cut above.)
Make the next section behind the first and parallel to it. It is over directed to the first and cut to follow the guide. Over directing to the previously cut section will make the length of hair slightly longer as the sections proceed around the side of the head.

Continue the sections to the back of the ear.

Behind the ear the, the part is continued down in the hair and the line is cut to follow the head shape. The natural fall of the hair, or its growth pattern, is used so the hair line looks natural. The part is parallel to the hair line starting behind the ear.

Continue to take round sections across the back parallel to the previous section. Lift each slightly higher and cut to the previous sections guide. Cut to the head shape in the top, middle and lower part of the section.

At the top of the sections, follow the growth pattern of the hair for starting the sections.

Work to the middle back at the top of the section. The lower part will reach to the side of the nape.
Cross check the front side and top by taking vertical sections which are pulled back from the face.

Go to the other side of the top and do the same procedures all the way back to the middle back of the nape as before.

Watch where your hands are to get the same shape.

When the demonstration did the second side it did not take pivoting sections all the way to the ear before going to the front hair line for the curved sections to cut the convex graduation. This makes sense to me. The pivoting sections were stopped when they reached the side of the head.

Start the top of the sections on the second side by following the growth pattern around the crown.

Refine the shape with point cutting, shear over comb.

W:shears, long, layers, line, bangs

This is a long haircut that is initially cut by over directing to the back of the person. It is then layered above the wide part of the head namely the occipital bone and the parietal ridge. Bangs are then cut and it is cross checked.
Assess hair line, hair growth patterns, head shape.
Determine length and manually mold the design.

Make a natural part and connect it to a center nape parting.

Cut the back and sides to one length
Comb hair down the back in natural fall.
Take horizontal sections.
Comb down and cut about 5 inches below the top of the shoulder.
Hold the hair in the fingers and cut flat to the floor.
See the post on cutting the one length haircut.

Sections are taken up the back of the head and then continue forward to the front of the head. All the hair is combed directly back onto the back and cut to the same flat line.
In front of the ear the section parts go from center top of the head to the side. They are all over directed back to be cut at the same flat line.
The same thing is done on the other side.

Layering

Take a vertical section in the middle back of the head going from the apex to the occipital bone.
The hair is pulled up at 90 degrees to the head shape through the crown. The hair toward the perimeter of the hair is allowed to fall out. Cut the section from bottom to top. The bottom is shorter than the top.

Now pivot the first section to the side. The hair is combed 90 degrees to the crown and it is cut to the guide of the first section. It is over directed to the first section and cut to the guide.
Continue to take pivoting sections and over directing them back to the center line.
At the ear the section is up and down to the ear. It is pulled back and up to the original cutting line of the first section.

In front of the ear, the sections are diagonal forward. They are combed up and back to the original cutting line. In this section and in the section at the ear the perimeter of the section has been allowed to fall out so that the bottom of the sections is at the parietal ridge.

More diagonal forward sections are taken until reaching the natural parting.

Start over in the back and do the same things on the other side for layering.

Bangs
Redo the natural part on the top.
On one side of the natural part take a curved part around the front hair line about 1 inch in from the front. The parting will follow the hair line and will be aimed at the ear.
Comb the hair forward and cut a line that is parallel to the part line. Cut to the side of the face outside the cheek bone. The hair is combed forward in natural fall.
Make more sections parallel to the first and comb forward. Cut as above. Continue until the hair does not reach. Do not comb the hair outside the cheek bone forward.
Hair that is combed forward is from the center of the head and is not from hair that falls behind the cheekbone.
Where the hair is cut to make up the bangs, the layering is removed. This is the hair on the top that could have been combed to the side.

They now reduce the extra length on the side by the ear. This extra length had been developed by over directing this hair to the clients back and cutting with a flat line.
(I think this could have been done by combing the hair down on the side instead of over directing it back.)

Do the same thing on the other side of the natural part.

Product and blow dry. Wrap blow dry.

Cross check by taking sections opposite to direction of sections used to make the cut. On top over up and forward to check the line. (It looks like the sectioning is the same as used in the cut but the over direction is opposite.)

Check the dried bangs on the skin. These had been cut between the eyes and tip of the nose.

W: shears, short, layers

This is a short haircut with mid forehead length and a little overlap of the ears. The layering is mostly concave. Pivoting sections are generally used and the sections are generally in the natural fall of the hair.


Assess hair line, hair growth, head shape.
Decide on length and manually mold the design.

Layer top and front side with concave layers
Comb the hair to natural fall for all of these sections.
Take a back to front section down middle of top starting at the crown and going to the forehead. Comb up to 90 degrees and cut a concave layer. Concave means it is shorter internally (at the crown) and longer to the perimeter (at the forehead). In this demonstration the hair is pulled up to the head shape and cut on a small angle going up to toward the front. The angle looks to be about 15 degrees up from flat as you go to the forehead. Pulling it up from the head shape means it will be leaning forward as you go to the forehead just because the top of the head is leaning forward as it curves from the apex to the forehead.

The length at the crown for this section is about 3 inches. At the forehead hair line it is about 5 inches.

The next section starts in the crown and pivots to the side of the first section. The demonstration mentions either lifting the hair up from the section or over directing to the previous section depending on the head shape. I think this means that a head that is flatter on top would be lifted straight out and a head that curves more severely to the side might be over directed to the center section??? Over directing to the center could leave more hair to compensate for the curvature of the head.

Further sections are taken by pivoting the section further to the side. Hair is pulled out from the head shape and follows the guide in the previous section ( this means the section that was just cut).
The sections are cut until reaching just behind the ear. On the sides the sections seem to be cut more along the head shape in a concave line. It is not cut to the same inclined line that was used on the top.

Cut behind ear
Behind the ear the sections are vertical and cut to follow the head shape more. There is a little increase in length toward the nape hair line which continues the concave layering. Above the occipital bone the layering follows the head shape.

Work to the middle of the back.

Do the same thing on the other side starting on the other side of the top middle.

Bangs
Make a center part to the forehead on the top.
Go back about 4 inches and make a slender pie shaped section off the center part. This section is combed to the forehead and lifted so the hair in the bangs is elevated up to the front hair line.
The hair behind the bangs is combed forward and held in fingers that follow the head shape around the curve where the forehead and top of the head meet. The hair is cut to follow the fingers.
More sections are taken by pivoting the first section to the side. These sections are pivoted until reaching outside the eyebrow.

Do the other side of the bangs the same way.

Even out the top
Take side to side sections across the top of the head. Start at the front and work back to the crown.
Pull these up to 90 degrees and cut flat to the ceiling.

Connect sides to top
Take center to side sections around the curvature of the head where the top meets the sides. Pull these to 90 degrees and cut to follow the head shape. May want to start these over and ear and work forward to the front hair line and then go back to the ear and work backwards to the middle back.

Check lower sides with vertical sections per the demonstrations. It seems these might also be checked with horizontal sections.

Cross check nape to crown
Start at hair line in nape. Take horizontal sections and over direct these up before checking and cutting. This will leave length at the perimeter.
Further horizontal sections are taken above as the checking moves to the crown. All sections are over directed up for cutting.

Finish
Product and blow dry
Point cut the outline for details and length.

W: shear, moderate, graduation, line and layering

Assess hair line, hair growth patterns, and head shape.
Decide on length and manually form the design.

Find the natural part.
Part the nape in center and connect this to the natural part.

Cut the back
Take horizontal sections at hair line in nape on one side. Tip head forward. Comb hair into natural fall. Cut against skin parallel to the part line for the section.
Do same on the other side of the nape.

Take another horizontal section above the first and pull it out to 45 degrees and cut to the guide from the first section. Same on other side of the nape.

The following sections are done the same way with the hair being pulled up to 45 degrees and cut to the guide in the section just done before. The elevation is to 45 degrees which still leaves the cut line below the section being done at the time. The demonstration mentions that this means weight is being built up. This leads to a band of graduation being developed near the hair line of the nape.
The line of the cut is flat with the wall behind the head. This makes it longer behind the ears.
Check the graduation visually as you go along.

These sections are taken up to the occipital bone and middle of the ear and then the graduation is crossed checked. Use diagonal forward sections for this.

Use point cutting on the back perimeter to give a line slanting up from the middle back to the ear and then down slightly behind the ear.

Continue up to the top of the ears with the same section but do not elevate the section any more before cutting. Cut to the guide done at the occipital bone. ( The demonstration says no further elevation but it shows some small elevation near the guide.)

Once above the ear the section is continued to the front hair line. This section is not elevated much in the back but is progressively raised as it is cut toward the front hair line.
The next sections follow the same pattern. The sections are taken in this manner up the center parting in the back to the natural part on top.
These are, in effect, horse shoe shaped partings done on one half of the head. The key seems to be in how much elevation is used in the different parts of the section when it is cut. As the sections move up the head, there is less hair toward the back in each section. The hair on the sides is elevated to about 45 degrees and cut to the guide in the previous section.

The other side is done the same way.

Cut the bangs
Make a center part in the top of head going from front to back.
Make a curved section about 1 inch in around the front hair line. Comb the hair forward.
Cut a long bang between the nose and the mouth. It is cut from the center to the outer edge of the eyebrow. The hair is elevated and inch or two to give some graduation to the ends.
Comb parallel section forward until the hair no longer reaches.

Do same on other side of the bangs and the center part which divides the bangs.

Connect the bangs to the side outline
Take a diagonal back parting from the center parting to the ear. Comb forward and cut a line from the corner of the bangs toward the jaw corner.
Take more diagonal back partings parallel to the first and comb forward to the guide and cut. It is not clear why this was not done all in the first part of cutting the bangs. Other demonstrations have shone the connection as following the curvature of the part around the front hairline.

Do the same on the other side.

Finish
Product and blow dry.

Layering on top of the head
Take a front to back section from the crown toward the front and cut flat with ceiling. Pivot this section around the sides and cut flat.

Cross check every where. Check graduation with horizontal sections going up