M: Sides short with free hand clipper..

This haircut has very short sides down low transitioning to short near the top. The basic structure of the hair cut is similar to recent posts. The main difference is that the lowest parts of the haircut near the hair lines are cut with a free hand clipper technique.

Summary:

1. Clipper on the sides and back 11:20 minutes with lots of refining.

2. Connect side to top with vertical sections 5 min

3. Even up the top 2 min

4. Finish



1. Clipper on the sides

This cut was prepared for by checking the hair growth all over and by looking for unusual bone patterns that could protrude through the short hair.

The hair was also prepared by trimming off excessive weight on the sides so the clipper can easily get into the hair to cut it. This was done with a clipper over comb technique which left the hair below the parietal ridge about 1.5 inches long.

Make a horse shoe shaped parting starting at the deepest part of the recession area and slightly lower in the crown area. It is not clear to me why this is not completely horizontal with the floor all around the head instead of going down slightly in the back. It is not clear whether this would make any difference.

They use an 01 blade for this haircut. If you are using guards, a number 1 guard is close.

Starting in the sideburn area the hair is cut free hand up to the bottom of the parietal ridge. The clipper is placed flat against the skin and slowly pushed into the hair. As it advances the teeth of the blade are gradually tipped away from the scalp creating a low taper to where the parietal ridge starts to round away from the side. This is also the place on the side hairline where the hair reaches the furthest forward.
There is another taper cut into the first section. As the clipper blade goes up from the bottom hairline in the sideburn it is tipped away from the scalp to the side and it is tipped away from the back of the head toward the front hairline. This gives a taper going up the head that is also tapered to a shorter length at the front hairline. Later sections are also tapered to the front hairline until reaching the ear where the taper to the front is stopped.
This taper is short enough that the scalp can be seen through the hair.

Above this taper the hair is cut clipper over comb up to the horse shoe shaped part. The length at this part is a little less than an inch.


The demonstration uses vertical sections and gets one finished and correct before starting the second. The effect is to start each section with free hand clipper work and to end it with clipper over comb.

Clipper over comb is used to blend the two areas by removing the inconsistencies where they meet.

Around the ear, the top of the clipper blade is tipped away from the scalp and the bottom of the blade is near the ear. This allows only the side of the clipper closest to the ear to enter the hair. The blade is held at an angle to match the taper that was cut free hand.

In the back of the head, the free hand work is again started at the hair line and tapered away from the head before reaching the rounding of the occipital bone. Above this clipper over comb is used up to the horse shoe shaped part. The hair above the occipital bone and below the horse shoe shaped parting is longer than the hair below this part on the sides. This is because the crown area slopes away from the part more than the sides do.

These techniques are continued to the front hair line on the client's left side.

The demonstration then uses a lot of time using clipper over comb and shear over comb blending all the hair cut so far.

2. Connect side to top with vertical sections

A center part is made on the top of the head. Sections are then taken from the center part to the side of the head. The sections go from the center part on top to the side. These sections are lifted and pulled to the side of the head and cut perpendicular to the floor using the guide cut in the clipper over comb work on the sides.

They start this from behind the ear and work to the front.

The same technique is used around the head shape. In the back the hair is combed back from the apex area and it is cut using the same technique and guide.

3. Even up the top

Reestablish the original horse shoe shaped parting.

Take sections across the horse shoe shaped section from one long side to the other starting at the back curve of this parting. Elevate these to 90 degrees and cut to the guides at each end.

4. Finish

They do a lot of blending with shear over comb and clipper over comb in the finish.

The hard parts of this haircut are learning how to do free hand clipper work and learning how to patiently do clipper over comb and shear over comb.

(Another way to get this result on the sides is to use a guard or replaceable blade that cuts the hair as long as you want at the horse shoe shaped part. In this case this would be in the 3/4 inch to 1 inch length. Cut vertical sections with this blade from hair line to horse shoe shaped parting. Go around the head. Use a 1 inch guard as an example.

Now use a guard or blade that cuts 1/2 of this length. Cut the vertical sections again starting at the hair line and going up 1/2 the distance to the horse shoe shaped parting. Then begin to rock the blade/guard away from the scalp to smoothly connect it to the original length at the top in a smooth taper. Use a 1/2 inch guard as an example.

Next use a guard/blade that cuts 1/2 the length of the second blade and cut the vertical sections again. Go up 1/4 of the original distance and then taper to connect to the point at 1/2 the original distance. Use a 1/4 inch guard as an example.

Finally use a 1/8 inch blade and start at the hair line and cut a smooth taper into the 1/4 inch area.

Now the hair can be blended as above and steps 2, 3, and 4 can be done also. )

Review AC clippered linear
This is important part 2.
In refining the cut hair, a clipper over comb with vertical strokes is used. In a previous post, it was mentioned that the comb was used to establish the correct angle for the refinement. The clipper heel was placed on the spine of the clipper comb and the teeth of the clipper blade was move up parallel to the teeth of the comb. In this demonstration, this is modified some. The heel of the clipper blade is placed on the spine of the comb but one end of the heel is lifted up. This gives the blade position which more closely fits the hair as the head rounds beneath it.
When using a regular cutting comb or a barber's comb the comb is too narrow to put the heel on the spine of the comb. Here the teeth of the blade are placed on the teeth of the comb.