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

W: shear, short, graduation, layering

This is a short haircut cut about the level of the bottom of the ear. The hair is first cut to one length in the back and then this section is graduated and this is continued into the side. The other side is done and then layering is done to connect the graduation on the sides to the layering on the top.

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

Make a horse shoe shaped parting starting at the highest part of the recession area and continuing it to the crown area.

Make a center part in the nape area below the horse shoe shaped part.

Make a part from the horse shoe shaped parting to the top of the ear.


Cut the back
In the nape area make a horizontal section from the part in the center of the nape to the middle of the ear. Comb to natural fall.
Hold the hair in the first two fingers of the non cutting hand and cut with one finger elevation against the skin about 1 inch below the ear lobe.
Continue up the back with sections parallel to the first horizontal section and cut to the guide with one finger elevation. Work up to the horse shoe shaped section.

Graduate the back
Starting at the meeting of the part in the center of the nape and the horse shoe shaped parting. Take a diagonal forward parting which runs to the nape hair line about an inch to the side of the center part in the nape. Pull the section out to the rear along the part line. Use the bottom of the section for the guide and cut the graduation angle.
Take diagonal forward sections parallel to the first all the way to the front hair line. Cut to the guide in the previous section. Once the ear is reached, the sections in front of the ear are over directed to the section behind the ear.

Refine the perimeter of the cut hair with point cutting . The nape line is cut to angle up to the ear.
In front of the ear, a line is point cut so that it rises toward the eye. This makes the ear the low point of the side perimeter.

Go to the nape area of the other side and work the same steps.

Connecting the graduation below to the top with layering
Divide the hair into 4 sections. There is a center part which runs from the forehead to the nape hair line. There is also a part which runs from the apex to the top of each ear.

Go to the center back and take a diagonal forward section starting in the lower crown. Comb this straight back. The hair that was previously cut will provide a guide line which is to be cut into the hair from the crown and above.
The next sections are taken up the part line in the crown area up toward the apex. Each is diagonal forward. The hair is cut to the guide in the previous section which means it is combed back some. At the ear the part line is center to side from the apex to the top of the ear. In front of the ear the part lines move along the center part. The sections are over directed back to the section behind the ear.

The other side is done the same way.

Connect across the top
Re establish the original horse shoe shaped section but make it a little wider to incorporate some hair from the sides. This newly incorporated hair will act as the guide.

Take side to side sections starting at the back of the horse shoe shaped section. Comb these straight up and flat to the ceiling. Once the side to side sections reach in front of the ear, the hair is over directed back and cut to the guide established in the section at the ear.

Finish
Product and wrap blow dry

W: shear, moderate, graduation

This is similar to a triangular hair cut with graduation. There is a previous post here post at W: Triangular with graduation formula which shows this. The difference here is that the triangular haircut at one length is done before it is graduated. This demonstration cuts the length and the graduation at the same time. In the two step haircut mentioned above there is a method for determining the angle of the triangular length. Here the angle is done by eye as the design is fit to the face. In the two step haircut the angle remains the same once the decided angle is reached. This is likely where the part first goes to the front hair line and is above the ear.
Another difference is that in the triangular haircut the length at the perimeter is truly shorter in the back. In this demonstration, the length is not shorter because the graduation extends to the perimeter.


Assess hair line, growth patterns, head shape.

Pick length and manually mold the design



Find the natural part. Comb to natural fall.

Center part in the nape and connect to the natural part



Section and cut the nape

Beneath the occipital bone take diagonal forward sections. These start at the middle part of the nape below the occipital bone. They continue to the nape hair line where they have reached about 1/2 inch to the side of the center part in the nape. The head is tipped forward



It looked like the section was pulled back straight toward the wall. It is cut so that the top part is longer than the bottom. In this demonstration it looks like the top of this section is about 1.5 inches and the bottom is about .5 inch long. The fingers are angled to follow the line of the diagonal forward part.

Further sections are taken up the center part of the nape in 1/2 inch steps. They are slightly wider than the first section at the hairline. They are pulled back and cut to the guide from the first section.

Sections are continued up with the parts working up to the back of the ear. The part has become more horizontal as it goes up the back. Sections are lifted higher in the middle of the nape than at the perimeter of the section. The guide is taken from the previous section.



On reaching the crown the sections are extended to the front hairline passing above the ear. In the back the previously cut section is the guide. Along the side the line is followed. Compensate for the ears sticking out. The hair is lifted as it is cut.



Work up the side to the natural part in sections which are also lifted slightly and cut to the previous section as a guide. The angle of the parts are all the same and parallel to the one that first passed over the ear. The hair is elevated slightly to keep some graduation at the ends . It looks like more graduation could be added to the ends by keeping the blades of the shears up and down and not perpendicular to the hair strand. This is not done in the demonstration

Head is tilted away from the cutting area. I think this is to help in turning the ends under at the end.

Do the other side the same way starting in the back.

Refine the perimeter with point cutting.
Cross check the graduation in the back.

Add product and blow dry. Use sections as in cutting and turn the ends under.
Dust the ends all over.
They cross checked this way about every which way.

W: shear, short, round graduation,long top

Take a look at the post W: Round haircut with graduation formula done in February.
It gives a view of doing round graduation starting with a one length round haircut. In this current haircut the client does not have a one length round haircut. She has longer hair on the top. This is dealt with after the graduation on the sides and back is complete. The graduation on the side is done as in the round haircut with graduation formula, but it is divided differently. In that case there was another sectioning part from the crown to behind the ear. The graduation was done on both sides first and then done behind the ears. In this case, a side and the back is done in one step before starting over on the other side.
In this haircut the round graduation is done around the sides and back and then the top is pulled back to round out the back and to leave length in the front on top. This is followed by a couple of steps to connect the top to the sides. The first is to connect within the horse shoe shaped section on the top and the second is to be sure the hair outside of the horse shoe shaped section is connected to the top.

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



Make a horse shoe shaped parting starting at deepest part of recession and going back to the midwaybetween the occipital bone and crown. Another way to describe this part is to start at front center hairline at top and go to the side to where the hair just starts to recede. Start the part there and go to the mid point between occipital bone and crown.

Cut the round graduation below the horse shoe shaped section
At the front hair line below the horse shoe shaped parting take diagonal back partings starting at the top about 1/2 inch in from the hair line and going toward the ear. These sections look like they are on a 45 degree angle with the floor. The section is combed slightly forward and cut to the head shape. I think this means it is a little shorter at the bottom near the ear than it is at the top. The hair is pulled straight out from the head with only a slight over direction to the front of the head. The cut hair will be a bit longer on the top of the section and shorter or closer to the scalp toward the ear. This will give some build up of weight at the top of the section.
In this demonstration the length on the side at the top of the section look like it is 1.5 inches.

Continue to take sections parallel to the first. Each is combed to the previous section for a guide. On reaching behind the ear, the section will go from the horse shoe shaped parting on top to the hair line on the bottom. The section is cut to the same guide line.

Sections are cut through the back until the top of the section reaches the middle of the nape and the bottom of the section has reached the far side of the nape hair line.

After finishing one side, start over in the front on the other side. Work the same method until that side is done.

Establishing the length in the horse shoe shaped section

Take side to side sections across the back of the horse shoe shaped section. Cut these to match the hair just outside the back of the horse shoe shaped section. They should be rounded slightly in this part.
Continue to take side to side sections as you move forward through the horse shoe shaped section on the top. These sections are combed directly back and cut to the guide in the previous section. This means the guide moves up gradually.
These sections determine the length that will be left in the front.

Refine the shape and length in the horse shoe shaped section
Take a front to back section in the middle of the horse shoe shaped section. This is combed up and back and cut from the guide in the very back of this section up. In the crown the hair is pulled out at 90 degrees to the crown head shape. This gives a straight line that is continued through the front to back section until the hair no longer reaches this line.

Follow the center front to back section with parallel ones on each side of the first. On the sides, the sections are over directed to the center section. Work the parallel sections to the sides of the horse shoe shaped section.

Connect the side to the top
Re establish the horse shoe shaped parting if it has been lost.
Divide the horse shoe shaped section with a front to back middle part.
Take center to side parts starting at the ear and pull the hair up with some of the hair outside the horse shoe shaped section. Cut this section to follow the head shape on top.
Take more center to side sections working toward the front hair line. These are all over directed to the section at the ear to leave length on the top front.
Do the same thing on the other side of the center part of the horse shoe shaped section.

Connect the crown to the top
Take vertical sections in the back where the nape and the crown work meet. Cut these sections vertically so they blend.

Cross check the graduation on the sides with vertical sections and horizontal sections.
Use point cutting to finish the perimeter.



Use shears over comb for the final touches to the graduation.
Trim the bangs for excess weight by pulling them straight up and cutting them flat with the ceiling.

W: shears, one length, graduation, layers

Examine hairline, growth patterns, head shape.

Manually form the design to see right length.

Find natural part. Connect to center nape with part with a diagonal part. Comb hair to natural fall.



Section and cut back and sides one length

Above nape hair line, take horizontal part to behind ear. Head is tipped forward.

Cut to 2 inches above shoulder parallel to part line.

Take next section at near top of ear which is parallel to first. Cut with first section as guide.

Continue with sections up to the crown with parallel sections. Tip head forward a little less with each section. The hair is combed down in subsequent sections and cut on the skin. This has the effect of following the curvature of the neck a little. This is different than pulling everything back to an even line across the back of the neck.

In this demo the hair is wavy. This may be the reason it is being held with some tension against the skin rather than held with less tension in the comb.



As the sections are taken up the back, no hair is taken on the sides while reaching the crown area. This means there is a part some place to the ear separating the front of the head from the back. It looks like this part starts at the upper crown and comes down the side just behind the ear. It is not clear to me why this was not put in at the beginning of the haircut. Maybe this stylist knows how to cut hair.



Once the upper crown is reached, the side is connected to the back with a horizontal side part starting at the part from crown to ear and running toward the eyebrow. This hair is combed down and connected to the length behind the ear. The hair is held in the fingers and the head is tilted away from the cutting area.



Take more sections up the side until reaching the natural part.



Go to the back and do the other side of the back to the crown and then the other side.

Check balance.



Graduation

Change parting to a center part top and nape.

In the lower nape take a diagonal forward part starting about mid ear and going toward the bottom of the ear. Elevate this section back and hold it elevated at about 45 degrees. The fingers holding this section should be on the hair parallel to the part line. Cut along the fingers once the finger tips have reached the tips of the section. Because the fingers are slanted parallel to the part line, length will be removed from the ends of the section near the center of the nape.



Sections are taken up the nape that are progressively more parallel than the first part line. The section is again elevated to 45 degrees and cut to the guide in the previous section. The hair is over directed back for cutting.



When the section is higher than the ear, the part line is continued to the front hair line. The section is pulled back to the guide in the back all along this part line. It is elevated and cut to the guide in the previous section. This guide is in the back and looks to be flat with the wall behind the client in the back of the head. On the sides it looks like the guide has moved around the head shape toward the front of the head. ???



The sections working forward continue to be diagonally forward.

Layering

It looks like the graduation is continued for a few sections after crossing over the height of the ear and cutting graduation in front of the ear. After this the diagonal forward sections are continued but they are now elevated out from the head shape and cut to the guide of the previously graduated hair beneath.

The sections are more horizontal as the sections get to the top of the head. The sections are worked up to the natural part line on each side.

Bangs

Make a section that follows the hair line around the front about 1 inch in. Comb the hair forward and measure desired length. Elevate to cut to give the ends some graduation. The line is angled longer toward the side. Cutting line follows the parting around the hair line. Take more sections parallel to the first until the hair does not reach any more. Work the same method on both sides of the natural part.

Finish

Product and blow dry.

W: shear, one length, layers.

Assess hairline, growth patterns, head shape.

Determine length and model the design by holding the hair to the shape.



Find the natural part. Comb hair to natural fall.

Make center nape part and connect this to the natural part with a diagonal part.


Cut back
This part of the haircut is very much like W: shears, one length, bangs. The first difference is that the horizontal sections in the nape are cut with one finger elevation. This means the hair is held in the first two fingers of the non cutting hand and the second finger is on the skin. Head is tipped forward.
Continue taking parallel sections up the nape to the top of the ears on each side.
Adjust head tilt to be less with each section up the nape area.

Cut sides
Above the ear take a horse shoe shaped parting that goes from the center back to the front hairlines. This part line is about the level of the eyebrows. Follow the hair around the head and cut it to the length developed in the nape area. Compensate for the ear sticking out by tapping above the ear before cutting. See the post W: shears, one length, bangs. Tip head away from where the cutting is taking place.

Do other side same way.

Continue taking horse shoe shaped sections up to the original parting and cut the same way with the head tilted away from the cutting action. Compensate for ears in those areas. Hair behind the ear and in front of the ear is cut to natural fall with one finger elevation.
When the natural parting is reached on one side, the rest of the hair is combed to the other side.

Cutting the layers
In the back of the head take a vertical section from the apex to the back hair line. The hair is combed straight out from the head shape. The hair below the occipital bone is allowed to fall away. The remaining hair is cut flat with the wall behind the head. The head appears to be tipped slightly forward at this cutting.

Now take pivoting sections through the crown area until reaching the ear. The sections are over directed back to develop length to the front and side. Cut to the guide in the previous section. These vertical sections were cut from the bottom up in the demonstration. Each part of the section was pulled out from the head shape, so each part was elevated a bit more as parts of the section progressed up the curve of the head. This made the lengths on the top of the section longer than at the bottom of the section. The top had been elevated and then had to reach further for the flat layering guide.
Once the ear is reached on each side, the sections become parallel and are combed straight back. The work continues to the front hair line.

Do the same on the other side.

Smooth out the top
Take side to side partings across the top. Comb back and cut to the guides on the sides. There will be two parts of the side to side section with one on each side of the natural parting. Work to the front on both sides of the natural parting.

Cut the bangs
Take a section that follows the hair line in the front. Comb this forward. Start on the wide side of the natural part. They cut this section short in the middle and longer toward the side away from the natural part. The slanting line is cut to the outside of the eye.
Take more parallel sections and cut to the guide. Take sections until the hair no longer reaches.
Do the same thing on the other side of the natural part.
Go to the other side and work up the thin side of the natural part.

Finish
Use product and blow dry in the sections is was cut.

W: shears, short one length, graduation

Asses the hairline and hold hair to mimic the design.



Find natural part to let hair fall into pattern of natural fall. Take another look at line to be cut for the design.



Connect natural part to the center nape part with a diagonal line.

This haircut now starts like the post for W: shears, one length, bangs.
This is a quick summary. Take horizontal sections up the back and cut while holding sections to the skin with the fingers. Cut flat to the floor. Head is tilted forward. Hair has been combed to its natural fall pattern. Go up to the top of the ear. Part will start just above the occipital bone and go to the top of the ear. Do same on other side.

Add graduation to the back
In the back on left side take a parallel section just above the section that went to the top of the ear. In the demo this was a small section. It was lifted about 45 degrees and cut to the guide of the hair in the previous section. The hair at the perimeter is allowed to fall away.
Take another parallel section. Lift it sightly higher in the center and lower in the corner. It is cut to the guide from the previous section.
Cross check the shape by taking diagonal forward sections in the left nape. The first section goes from the center of the nape at the top to about 1 inch to the side of center at the nape hair line. This section is picked up and held at 45 degrees from the head shape. The lower part of the section is allowed to fall away and the part that had graduation cut into it is checked for the angle of the cut. Finish checking the nape graduation area with more diagonal forward sections. The bottom parts of the sections are allowed to fall away from the checking.

Take more parallel sections up the back of the head and elevate them to 45 degrees. Cut them to the guide in the previous section. Do two sections. This will put the section part at the low crown to the top part of the ear. Cross check by taking diagonal back sections starting near the ear and going toward the center of the nape.

Now continue to the side by taking a horizontal sections starting from the part line that connects the low crown to the ear and going toward the eyebrow. Comb this down and cut a line to continue from the nape area forward. See this in the post W: shears, one length, bangs

Sections are continued up to the natural parting. They are cut to one length with the head tipped away from the cutting side. The hair has to be tapped above the ear to make up for the distance the ears stick out. The hair is cut flat with the floor: blades are parallel to the floor.

Add graduation to back and sides
Go back to the part line connecting the low crown to the upper ear. Take a parting parallel to this and pull the section back and let the hair in the nape and side drop out. Then cut to the guide of the graduation already cut in the previous section.
Continue to take parallel sections going to the front. Over direct each section back. Let the side and back drop out and cut to the previous section for the guide to the graduation.

Move to the front left of the client. Make a curved section from the front to the back. This starts at the natural part about an inch in from the front hair line and curves around to the mid nape about the level of the ear.
These sections are pulled parallel to the parting and trimmed lightly ( about one millimeter) to give small graduation additions. This may be cross checking the graduation.
More sections are taken parallel up the natural part. They are elevated to their part and cut to the guide from the previous section.

Cross check the entire first side horizontally. Less than a millimeter is cut in the back and sides. The sections for cross checking are lifted away from the perimeter so it is not changed.

Do the same to the other side.

Blow dry in sections like used for the cut.

See VS ab in abc cutting course.
It seems this could be cut at one length first and then adding the graduation to the back and sides.

W: shears, one length, bangs

Evaluate hair line all around the perimeter. Visualize final lengths and hold hair in the design.
Find natural part. Can isolate crown in triangular area if problems there.

Section and cut backs and sides
Natural part connected to center part through nape.
Horizontal sections at back hairline on both sides of center.
Tip head forward.
Comb hair in direction of natural growth before cutting.
Cut line parallel to the part line. This line seems to wrap around neck shape to behind the ear. In this demo the fingers of the left hand hold the hair to the skin for cutting.
Make more horizontal sections up the nape on both sides of central part. Work to occipital bone initially and then to the crown. As you get higher up the back tilt the head less forward. ( I believe this is to give the hair a slightly shorter length for the lower sections. It should make it easier to have the hair curl under at the end.)
Parts seem to become more diagonally forward as higher sections are taken. By the low crown the part line goes to the upper part of the ear. One section up, the part line is still behind the ear but close to the top. It has started at the mid crown.

The shears are held so the blades cut perpendicular to the hair strand and do not leave any slant at the bottom of the hair. They go back and trim the line very precisely.

Less tension is used to hold the hair as the sections progress up the back. At the crown the comb is used.

Cut the sides
Once sections reach the part line from the mid crown to the ears, begin to cut the sides. A horizontal part is taken from the mid crown to ear part line to the front hairline. This is roughly at the level of the eyebrow. The head is tipped away from side that is being cut. The hair is combed into natural fall and separated around the ear with hair behind the ear being combed down behind the ear. Hair that naturally falls over the ear is held in the comb and is tapped or pressed to make room for the distance the ear sticks out. This is done by holding the hair in the teeth of the comb below the ear. This gives a slight holding pressure to the hair. The shears are closed and the blades are tapped on the hair above the ears. The hair that is being tapped is the same hair that the comb is holding. This tapping lets some length of the hair slip through the comb. The hair in the comb is then cut and the part over the ear is longer because the tapping has pulled it up in the comb. Keep the blades of the shears perpendicular to the hair strand.

Further sections are taken parallel to the first. The progression is up the part line connecting the mid crown to ear. Sections are continued until the natural part line is met. All the sections were held in the comb and the ears were compensated for by tapping the hair above the ear.

Do the same thing on the other side. Tilt the head away from the side being cut.

Cut bangs on a flat line
A side to side section is taken across the front hair line about 1 inch in from the hair line. The hair is combed forward which seems to be its natural fall pattern. A flat line is cut across the front below the eyebrows. The blades of the shears are held parallel to the floor to leave a flat line. The section is cut parallel to the part line for the side to side section.
More side to side sections are taken until the hair no longer reaches the bangs.
The bangs have been continued on a flat line around the face beyond the end of the recession area. The initial section of the bangs is being cut from the center of the face to the clients right side. It looks like it starts at the natural part line.
The same thing is done for the other side of the bangs. The hair is combed to natural fall and is held in the comb for cutting flat. The bangs continue around the face beyond the recession area on both sides. The bangs are cut on the new side until the hair no longer reaches.

Looking at the haircut at this stage, the hair is cut about an inch below the jaw line. It seems to curve under the jawline naturally. I suspect this is because the head was tilted away while the line was being cut making the first sections shorter than the later sections???

Check the line
Hold line against the skin with back of the hand and check line. This should be putting more tension on it. The hair is still wet here.

Blow dry in the same sections as cut. Re check the line.

Natural fall of the hair is important in this cut. It will fall correctly if cut in its natural fall??

M: med length, razor, shear, slide cutting and point cutting

Use the razor with a guard in this haircut.
Usual pattern of cutting sides and back, connecting to top, putting texture on the top. Most of the work is done with shears after an initial definition of the sides with a razor.

Section
Horse shoe shaped parting started just above the parietal ridge where the hair line just starts to go vertical.

Cut sides and back with razor and then shear over comb
Take vertical sections on the side and hold at 90 degrees from side of head. Hold with fingers down and cut the section from bottom to top with the razor. The razor is very close to parallel to the strands of hair and looks to be tilted about 15 degrees with blade edge higher than the blade spine. The travel of the cut is short and looks to be about 1/2 inch. The length after cutting is long enough to reach the middle of the parietal ridge from the top of the section . The demonstration says this is about 2.5 inches. Guide is from the previous section. The section is cut flat to the wall or square layering.
The stylist demonstrates cutting the vertical section in short, repetitive strokes taking about 4 strokes to get through an inch of the section. Cutting up this way should give some lift to the hair.
The side, back, and other side are done with the same method.

Following the razor cutting, recut the entire sides and back using shear over comb to point cut the ends of the hair and to make them less tattered than the razor cut. The direction of the points is varied and only the ends of the hair are cut. The comb is brought up from the bottom horizontally and points are cut al along the comb before it is lifted to the next horizontal part of the section.

Connecting sides and back to top with point cutting
Re establish the horse shoe shaped parting.
Make a front to back part down the middle of this section.
Now make center to side partings and pick up the section along with some of the hair outside the horse shoe shaped parting. Hold the section with the fingers nearly vertical to the floor and point cut to the guide using varying direction to the points/notches. At the recession area pull all of the hair in front back behind the recession.
In the back go around the crown with the same method and guide. Continue to the other side

Top point cutting to fall from part and then slide cutting to the rear
Re establish the horse shoe shaped section and take note of the place you want the part in the hair. The demonstration suggests assuming the part is over the eye area.
Take side to side sections across the back of the horse shoe shaped section. Each section will have a piece on either side of the part line. Comb the hair straight up and point cut the hair so it is targeted to fall from the part. This will have the points cut with the shears pointing down toward the part leaving the short hair closer to the part line. On the other side of the part line, target the hair away from part line in the opposite direction. Continue to the front hair line on both sides of the part line.
Now go back to the same side to side sections and slide cut to the back. Stand in front of the client and hold the section with the fingers on the scalp. Push the points of the shears into the hair above the fingers and rotate the points up as the shears go through the section. These slide cuts are fairly close together and they remove excessive length from the ends. Work to the front hair line.

In the connection area between the sides and back with the top, the sections are redone as they had been in point cutting the connection. This time the sections are slide cut up to give lift to the hair.

M: Spikey, point cut side, notches and point cut top

This gives practice in putting texture on the sides and top. It is done with shears.
This follows the usual routine of working the sides and back first, then connecting these to the top, and finally putting texture in the top.

Section
Horse shoe shaped parting above the parietal ridge a little below the deepest part of recession area.

Cut sides and back

Pull vertical sections to 90 degrees and cut notches with shears pointing down and toward the scalp. The length of the hair is about 2 inches and the notches are cut to about 1 inch from the scalp. The short hair is below the long hair in the notch and should push the long hair up giving the hair lift off the scalp. The point cutting of the notches is at 45 degrees down. Two or three notches are cut in the held portion of a section.
In this demonstration, the length of the hair on the side is close to the desired length before the notches are started.
The notches are cut around the first side, through the back and around the other side.

Connect sides and back to the top
Within the horse shoe shaped section take back to front sections starting on the side. Comb these to the side and cut with notches of variable depth and direction. In the demonstration the notches are spaced about two in the part of the section held in the non cutting hand. Don't cut notches over notches in the section right below. The idea is to give a lot of points of hair from each separate section.
Continue to the top middle and do the other side. Vary the direction of the notches for more texture.
The crown is cut the same way with notches of varying directions.

Texture in the top: notches, point cutting, slide cutting.
Re establish the horse shoe shaped parting.
Take front to back partings starting at the sides as done above. This time the hair is combed straight up. It is then cut with deep notches with the shears pointing from high in the back to low in the front. This is to direct the hair back. The angle is about 45 degrees for these notches.
This same section is then shallow cut with more vertical notches at about 15 degrees to trim excessive length from the ends of the section. These points are cut going to the front and to the back in an alternate pattern. The demonstration leaves the hair about 3 inches long. The ends of the hair should not be curved after the final point cutting. Ithink this means the hair is the right length for a design with spikes.

Following this, make side to side sections in the horse shoe shaped section starting at the back of the section. Stand in front of the client and slide cut the section with the shears pointing up and back. The hair is held with the fingers on the scalp and the points of the shear go in above the fingers and rotate up as they go through the section.

Finish
Point cut the perimeter. Even out the shape as needed. Make perimeter look solid from a distance. See detail up close.

M: Shears,Corrugated sides, long top, texture in connection

Section
Horse shoe shaped parting that is diagonally forward on the sides. It starts in the crown and slants forward on each side to the furthest forward point of the front hairline.

Cut sides and back
Beneath the horse shoe shaped parting, take very wide vertical sections. The first went from the front hair line to behind the ear. The hair is pulled to the center point of the vertical section and cut flat to the wall. This gives hair in the vertical section that is longer on either end of the section and shortest in the middle. The length in the middle of the vertical section is long enough to reach half way down the ear. The demonstration reports the length as 1 to 3 inches.

The next sections are taken vertically also. The second reaches from behind the ear to around the curve in the back of the head. Its length on the scalp is like the first section's length. It is cut from the horse shoe shaped parting to the hair line. It is also cut in the middle of the section. The next section goes to the middle nape.
Continue to cut all vertical sections until reaching the front hair line on the opposite side. A total of six sections was taken.
Cross check the hair just cut by taking horizontal sections and looking for the expected wave pattern in the in the perimeter.

Connect the sides and back to the top
Re establish the horse shoe shaped diagonal forward parting if it has been lost.
Take sections within the horse shoe shaped section which are parallel to the legs of the parting.
These sections are combed to the side and held parallel to the floor. These are point cut with the shears pointing back to direct the hair forward. The guide is from the vertical sections done on the side. This demonstration encourages cutting to the guide and into the guide for more texture. The points or notches are over an inch in depth and cut about every inch in length of the diagonal forward section. These notches are large and leave a jagged edge to the section. The points are cut at about 45 degrees to the edge of the section.
(This may clarify why the horse shoe shaped parting was taken with sides that are diagonally forward. By taking sides parallel to the sides of the horse shoe parting, you create sections which pivot around the distribution area in the crown. These will follow the natural growth pattern of the hair from the crown forward. By cutting these with notches directing the hair forward, the natural pattern of hair flow is encouraged.)
The diagonal forward sections are done again after the first set of notches, but this time point cutting is done at the perimeter of the section to smooth out the perimeter's jaggedness from the notch cutting. These points are cut with less of a point. The angle of cutting is less than 20 degrees. The points are done in the most jagged parts.

The diagonal forward sections are continued to the middle of the top and then the other side is done with the same two steps of notching.

Top is left long
Re establish the horse shoe shaped parting with the diagonal sides.
Make a side to side section starting at the back of the horse shoe shaped section.
Cut a convex layer across the top of the head. Length is guided by hair outside of the horse shoe shaped section.
In front of the first side to side section, all the rest of the front hair is combed into one very wide section which is combed back to the first section and cut to leave length on the top .

Finish
Use point cutting in different directions to finish the perimeter and get to the right length.

The innovation in this cut is the corrigation in the hair on the sides and back. This is supposed to be good for cutting wavy or curly hair to give it motion.

M: Razor, very long, long flat cut, texture

This haircut will follow the usual: cut side, connect sides to top, finish top. Lots of cutting to give direction and to develop bulk will be done.



Section

Make a horse shoe shaped parting at the top of the parietal ridge. Look for the top of where the front hair line slopes back. Section where it first starts to go vertical.



Cut sides and back

Start front hairline and take vertical sections about 1 inch wide. Pull at 90 degrees from side of head and hold with fingers down near the end of the strands of hair. These sections on the side will be directed back by cutting the section front to back. The razor blade is vertical so that it all makes contact with most the vertical section at one time. The blade starts about 3 inches from the scalp and the blade is nearly flat with the hair strand. It may be tilted about 10 to 15 degrees from being flat. A light stroke is made which goes from about 3 inches from the scalp to about 6 inches. Multiple strokes are made to get through the section.

It looks like this stroke cuts most of the hair close to 3 inches as it goes through a stroke. The rest of the hair is left with a frayed look at the end. This spread out end part is not very long from what I can see.



(Instead of thinking of 3 inches to start the cutting, look at the length of hair needed to reach from the top of the section to the ear. This may be more helpful to estimate the length to leave the section. )




Behind the ear, the sections are taken in the same vertical manner, but they are directed down by cutting from the top of the section down. The same long stroke is made going from 3 to 6 inches. Multiple strokes are made to get through the section. The sections are cut from the horse shoe shaped parting to the hair line below. The section may have to be picked up in parts going from top to bottom.



In watching the demonstration of this cut, the stylist makes about 7 strokes to get through the held part of each section.



Work around the back of the head to the other side. Once the other ear is reached, start to cut with the razor blade vertical and cut toward the back of the head.



All these sections have been pulled straight out from the head without over directing to the front or back and without elevation.



Start over at the front and use similar vertical sections. Hold these sections with fingers down near the end of the hair. Hold the razor horizontal to the floor and with the spine of the razor near the scalp. The blade will be facing you and the back of your hand. Tilt the leading edge of the blade up about 10 to 15 degrees. Insert the blade in the section about 1 inch from the scalp and cut up gently in the section as you slide the blade toward you for about 1 to 2 inches. Do not cut all the way to the end. Cut about 1/8 of an inch going up. Make 6 to 8 small cuts like this in the held hair. The purpose is to give some short hair under long hair to lift the longer hair up.



This procedure is done all around the head.



(In the back and sides there seems to be a contradiction. These sections were originally cut with the hair directed down. Cutting in the current method is now trying to lift this same hair up. )



Connect sides and back to top: notch to direct it back and then cut to guide also directing it back.

Re establish the original horse shoe shaped section if it is not visible.

On the side make front to back sections in the horse shoe shaped section. Comb straight out to the side. Hold the section and cut notches internally to the section starting at 3 inches from the scalp. The stylist cut 4 notches in the hair held in the first two fingers. So each notch is not wide. The notches are aimed back with the short side to the front. Pick up the next part of the section and cut more notches. When the section has been notched, the section is cut to the guide length that is below. Cut this so it is directed back.



Continue to take more front to back sections within the horse shoe shaped section. The notches in the later sections start further from the scalp. These are then followed by another set of notches like in the first section which are closer to the scalp. These will start in the 1 to 2 inch range of the scalp. ( It is not clear why both sets of notches could not be done at the same time.) The section is then cut to the guide to direct the hair to the rear. Each section is elevated slightly above its parting to further reduce the weight at the end of higher sections. Length can be left at the front by directing the front of the sections back before cutting to the guide.



Do the other side the same way.



In the back/crown area, horizontal sections are pulled back and cut to the guide below. The hair is directed down. Notching is not used internally. Pivoting planes around the crown are used. The first pivoting plane is behind and ear and directs to the corner where the back and side meet, the second is straight behind the head, and the third is behind the other ear at the other corner.



Texture on the top: Slide cut front to direct back and notch from side to natural part to give lift.

Re establish the horse shoe shaped parting if it has been lost.

Find the natural part in the horse shoe shaped section. Do this by combing all the hair back in that section and then gently pushing it forward. It should separate with the natural part. It may be down the middle. When you have the natural part, re part the horse shoe shaped section so you can control the smaller sections and their pieces.

Make side to side sections starting in the back of the horse shoe shaped section. These will be separated into two pieces with one on each side of the natural part. Stand behind the client and pick up one of these pieces. Hold the piece to the back of the head and toward the natural part. On the front side gently slide the razor blade up the surface of the section to cut a little shortness. Start about an inch off the scalp and continue for about another inch. In the same piece, now cut vertical notches which are aimed from the side of the head and going up toward the natural part. These notches will have their short side toward the side of the head and their long side toward the natural part. As the piece falls it will fall away from the natural part and the notches will give it lift away off the head.

In this example, there was a short piece on one side of the natural part and a long piece on the other side of the natural part. In the short part 2 or 3 narrow notches were cut starting about 1 to 2 or 3 inches. In the longer piece about 4 narrow notches were cut to about the same length.

The shallow cutting on the front of the section pieces was to direct the hair back.

The two procedures are designed to direct the hair back and to give the pieces some lift and volume from the notch cutting.

Summary:

This haircut looked tedious and complicated. However once a few techniques were pulled apart it was clear that the number of steps was fairly small with lots of repetition.

It seems that seeing the steps in the haircut is useful, but figuring out how to use a razor with good dexterity is probably going to be the most important step in doing this type of haircut.

M: Razor directing hair, short, texture

Use the guard on the razor throughout this haircut.

This follows the pattern of cutting the sides and back first. Follow this with connecting the sides to the top and then texturize the top.

Section

Make a horse shoe shaped parting starting at the deepest part of the recession area. This typically is just going to contain the top of the head. If you look at the client's head it will look like he has a little rug on the very top of his head. When you go to cut the sides and the back, sections will start high on the head above the parietal ridge on the sides and high into the crown area in the back.



Cut the sides and back

Start in front hair line and take vertical sections. Pull each section to 90 degrees from the side of the head and cut with the razor starting at the top of the section. The cutting angle for the razor looks like 30 degrees to me but was called about 45 in the demonstration. The blade cuts from closer to the scalp to further from the scalp. The length of the cut is about 1/4 inch away in each stroke and multiple strokes are needed to complete each section.

Because the razor blade travels away from the scalp as it cuts, the hair on the top of each stroke is shorter than the hair at the bottom of each stroke. This directs the hair down.

The top of the hair has hair long enough to cover most of the parietal ridge once it is cut. In the demonstration this is about two inches. All the hair is cut flat with the wall so it will all end at the same vertical plane.



Behind the ear, the sections are cut to give the hair a direction back. This is done by cutting the vertical section from front to back instead of from top to bottom. The guide from the sections in front of the ear is used. The section is held so the guide can be seen. The guide is allowed to fall away and the hair is cut where the guide had been. Again short 1/4 inch strokes are use and the angle the blade makes with the hair looks about 30 degrees but is again called 45.



In cutting these sections from front to back the razor blade is vertical and contacts most of the held part of the section at the same time. In the sections in front of the ear, the razor blade had been held horizontal to the floor and only the top of the section was cut with each stroke.



The sections in the back are cut to the center and then the cutting is started at the front hair line on the opposite side. The same direction is given to the hair. From the front hair line to behind the ear it is directed down. Behind the ear it is directed back. The razor needs to enter the section from the front and cut to the back while going away from the scalp for the direction back.



Connect the sides to the top

Reestablish the horse shoe shaped parting if it has been lost.

Make a part down the middle of the horse shoe shaped section going from front to back. Comb the hair in each half to its side. Starting in the back, make center to side sections. Pull these sections up from the head surface along with some of the hair outside of the horse shoe shaped section for a guide.

The hair outside the horse shoe shaped section will be the guide to length. This length can be pulled any where from out to the side of the head to straight up to the ceiling to straight to the middle of the head. Pulling it out to the side of the head will leave the most weight of hair on the top side of the head. Pulling the guide length straight to the ceiling will leave a moderate amount of weight, and pulling the guide to the center of the head will leave the shortest hair.

In this demonstration, the hair is pulled perpendicular to the head shape which is about half way between straight out to the side and straight up to the ceiling.

Each center to side section is cut according to the guide by pinching the hair above the guide between the thumb and the guard on the razor blade. It is cut from the front of the section toward the back as the razor blade is rotated up during the pinching action. Cutting from front to back keeps the top of the sides directed back.

Sections are cut to the front of the horse shoe shaped section. They over directed the last section back for more length in the transition area.

Behind the ear at the back of the horse shoe shaped section, sections are taken around the back and cut to follow the guide outside the horse shoe shaped section in the back. The sections are cut from the front of the head toward the back to keep the hair flowing back.

On reaching the center back, continue the same sectioning but cut from the front on the other side toward the back. This will make the hair flow toward the back on both sides of the head.

Continue to work to the front hairline.



Another method of doing this is to cut to the center back from one side and then start the other side at the front hair line and cut toward the back. Cutting from the back center to the front of the second side looks clumsy. The guide is coming from the back and the cutting is done from the front. It is not clear that starting in the front would make this less clumsy. This needs some work.



Texturize the top

Reestablish the original horse shoe shaped parting if it has been lost.

Make side to side sections across the horse shoe shaped section starting at the back. They switched to the shear for this part. Each side to side section was slide cut toward the front to direct the hair forward. Each section is held up so the shear can enter the hair from the rear. The section looks like it is being held about a half inch off the scalp. It is cut over the fingers. This means that the slide cutting takes place about 1 inch from the scalp. Finger pads are close to the scalp. The shear slides on the back of the fingers parallel to the scalp and rotates the point up as it the cuts into the section. It looks like the cutting is done about every 1/2 inch along a section. Sections are continued to the beginning of the recession area.
Following this the same area is re sectioned. Each section is then again cut with notches by slide cutting the ends of the hair strands. These are cut about an inch from the end. The shears are placed in the section pointing back and are rotated up and back while cutting. this is the opposite directions the previous sections were cut. Only the ends are cut in this pass and it is supposed to give more separation at the ends. On this pass with the side to side sections the sections go all the way to the front hair line.

Finish
They use point cutting to refine the side perimeter. This is done with shears. They cut so the short side is at the front and the hair is directed back. The back is done with free hand razor work directed down.
In their final display it looks like the top front is pushed back. It also looks like the top back is pushed forward. In front of the ears the hair is directed down. Behind the ears it is pushed back like an old fashioned DA.

M: Razor, short with added graduation

This haircut is all done with a razor. It follows the usual pattern of cutting the sides, connecting the sides to the top, and then modifying the top. It has a couple of changes. The first is to add graduation to the nape area to correct for a steep angle under the occipital bone. It also adds more texture to the top and directs the hair on top back for a spikey look.





To start a horse shoe shaped parting is made starting where the front hair line goes vertical before curving forward on the top.



Cut the sides and back

This demonstration started cutting on the right front hair line. Sections were less than an inch except for the first which was a little larger. The hair was pulled to 90 degrees from the side of the head and cut with flat layering - flat to the wall. The razor entered the top of the section and used a short cutting length of about 1/4 inch in repeated strokes to work down the section. The razor made an angle of about 30 degrees with the hair strand. The hair is pulled parallel to the floor and the blade of the razor tilts off of perpendicular with the spine of the blade closer to the scalp than the cutting edge of the blade. It looked like the angle of the blade to the hair strand was about 30 degrees.

The length of the remaining hair was about 1 inch at the top of the section. Starting at the top of the section and cutting down and away from the scalp, has the effect of leaving the shorter hair on top of the longer hair throughout the section. This will direct it down and tend to make it hug the head shape. As with all flat layering in this area, the length of hair above an below the width of the parietal ridge will be longer than it is over the bulge of the parietal ridge. Having longer hair will fill in some of the areas above and below the parietal ridge.





The vertical sections are continued around the head from the front hair line on one side to the front hair line on the other. They used a fingers up position to hold the hair. The hair was cut between the scalp and the back of the fingers. The commentator said either fingers up or fingers down was okay but that fingers up allowed for checking the section better for unwanted over direction or elevation. The guide was checked by holding the section in the fingers close to the scalp. As the fingers moved away from the scalp toward the guide the uncut hair was combed out of the way so the guide could be found. Once seen, the holding fingers slid a little beyond the guide. The guide was allowed to fall away and the hair was then cut starting where the guide had been.



Graduate the nape

The client had a protruding occipital area with a lot of empty space under it. They decided to add weight to this area by cutting graduation in this area. Vertical sections were taken under the occipital bone where the head curves toward the neck. These vertical sections were held to be parallel to the nape area. The guide was the top of the section just beneath the occipital bone. The sections were cut down as they had been on the sides. The sections were vertical and the hair was directed back before cutting. One side was done and then the other. Sections moved to the side until the hair behind the ear was cut.

This was followed by using the razor free hand on the skin at the hair line in the nape to refine the perimeter.



Connect the sides and back to the top

Reestablish the original horse shoe shaped parting if it was lost.

Take back to front sections inside the horse shoe shaped parting. Pull these sections horizontal to the floor at the level of the part line closest to the middle of the top. Use the length cut on the side as the guide. Cut the hair from back to front using the same short stroke at about 30 degrees so the hair is directed to the front. In the regression area the uncut hair can be directed back to the previous section before cutting for more length.

Front to back sections within the horse shoe shaped parting are taken until the hair no longer reaches the side guide. The other side is done the same way. It is also cut from the back to the front with the blade angled away from the head so that the hair is directed forward. Directing the hair forward on the top of the sides was said to follow the natural growth pattern.

The back was connected starting behind the ear. A plane of hair in the crown area was pulled to the back corner behind the ear and cut to the guide from the vertical sectioning in this area. This was continued until the hair did not reach. The plane was then pivoted around the crown to cut the back and then the corner on the other side the same way.



Connecting across the top
Reestablish the original horse shoe shaped parting if it has been lost.

Section across the horse shoe shaped parting from side to side starting at the back of the horse shoe shape.
Elevate the sections at 90 degrees from the head shape and cut convex. The sections are cut from one side to the other of the section. The hair is combed up and held between the first two fingers of the non-cutting hand with the pads of the fingers near the scalp. The guide is seen at the top of the sides of the head. The cutting is done by combing the hair up so that the hair is above the backs of the fingers and the guide is clearly seen above the fingers. The razor is then placed against the guide and the hair above the guide is pinched above the fingers between the thumb and the guard over the razor blade. The razor blade is rotated up into the pinched hair that is held between the thumb and the guard on the razor blade. Do not cut this without having a guard on the razor.

Cutting convex means to cut around the curve of the top of the head so that the length in the middle of the top is longer than the sides of the top. This leaves a rounded top to the hair as it is pulled straight up. It leaves more hair length and more weight down the middle of the top. In this demonstration the convex layering was done to compensate for thin hair density on the top.

Take more side to side sections working forward through the horse shoe shaped section. Cut all with convex layering until reaching the recession area where the sections are over directed back to leave more length.

Adding texture and direction to the top of the head.
Reestablish the horse shoe shaped section if it is not in place.
Make a front to back section down the middle of the horse shoe shaped section. This is about 1 inch wide. Elevate the hair starting at the front hair line. Insert the blade into the held hair and cut a notch with the slope of the notch going up to the rear. The blade is about 1/2 inch from the scalp and seems to cut up to the rear for about 1/2 inch. This leaves a sawtooth pattern with the short side to the front and the long side toward the back of the head. A slope is cut into the hair about every inch going to the back.

Another front to back section is taken on either side of the middle section on the top. This will give a total of three sections. All are cut with the same sawtooth pattern which will direct the hair on top to the back.

Finish
The perimeter is further refined with razor over comb and with free hand razor cutting on the skin.

M: Razor cut long

These are notes on a long men's haircut done with a razor.



The haircut will start at the side of the head and work around to the opposite side. A horse shoe part is made to separate the top from the sides. In the demonstration I watched this horse shoe parting was made where the recession area began just above the parietal ridge. This is the bottom of the recession area.



The hair on the side will be directed back by cutting the sections with a slanting cut from the front to the back of the section. The section is held vertically and the blade of the razor is held vertically. The blade enters the front of the section and slides through the section on a slight, acute angle. The section is cut over a short distance as the blade moves from the front of the section to the back. The motion of the blade is to slide a little from close to the head at the beginning of the cut to slightly further from the head at the end of the cut. From the demonstration it looks like the distance travelled in making the cut moves the blade less than 1/4 of an inch further away from the head. This makes the front of the section a little shorter than the back of the section. The old rule of short pushing long will make the short part direct the hair to the back on the sides.



The demonstration emphasized that the section had to be thick enough to be sure there is a difference in length going from front to back in the section. It looks like they used about 1.5 to 2 inches in width of these vertical sections. If the section is too thin the razor blade will cut it too quickly without travelling away from the head.



The first section is done at the front hairline. The next sections were taken behind the front and continued to the middle back of the nape. Once the center back nape is reached, the sections continue the same way with the same width. However the blade of razor is turned to cut from the front on the other side toward the back. This will assure that the hair will go to the back on both sides. Another way to do this would be to start on the front of the other side once the sections on the first side had reached the middle back.



The length of the cut sections is to be long enough so the top of the section can reach the top of the ear after it is cut. In the demonstration this length is reported to be 3 inches. All the hair in the section is cut flat to the wall at the same length on a vertical line from floor to ceiling.



When cutting with the razor, the stylist was cautious about finding the guide from the previous section. The new section was picked with her fingers near the scalp and the fingers moved through the section as they followed the comb through the section. Before reaching the end of the section, the guide could be seen through the new section ends. The section was then held at the end of the section beyond the guide. The hair was cut between the fingers and the scalp.



Further directing the sides back



On the sides after the vertical sections, another step was taken to be sure the hair on the sides would flow back.

Horizontal sections were taken from the bottom of the side to the horse shoe shaped part. There were three horizontal sections and each was about 1 inch wide from bottom to top. The horizontal sections ran from the front hair line to about an inch behind the ear. They were held parallel to the floor and notches were cut to a depth of about 1.5 inches. The short part of the notch is to the front and the long side of the notch is back toward the rear of the head. The notches were less than 1/2 inch wide. The razor used to cut the notches will angle back on each side of the head. This means the razor will enter the notch toward the front of the head and cut toward the back of the head. Be sure to change the angle of the razor when going from one side to the other. The bottom couple of horizontal sections are long enough to cover some part of the ear so be sure to elevate the horizontal sections out from the scalp before cutting the notches in them. This should keep you from notching the ears.

In the demonstration each horizontal section had about 5 to 6 notches cut in it.

Connecting the back to the top

Through the crown, side to side horizontal sections were taken and pulled straight back at the level of the part. Pulling back at the level of the part means the sections were slightly elevated up the slope of the crown. These were cut to the guide cut in the vertical sections. To keep the hair directing back the razor will always point to the center of the nape area. On the client's right side, the razor will point to the center from the right side and on the left it will point to the center from the left side. The demonstration used wide side to side horizontal sections in the crown. The section is pulled back from the part above the previous section. The guide is from the previous section.
Horizontal sections were continued forward until no more hair reached the guide in the back.

Connecting the top to the sides
Once the back had been connected to the top, the stylist returned to the sides and did the same thing that was done in the section above labelled further directing the sides back. To repeat, horizontal sections running along the side of the head had been elevated from the side of the head and notches had been cut in the sections to keep the hair directed back. In this part of the haircut the horizontal sections are continued up the head to the part on the top of the head. These sections should start where the horizontal sections on the side stopped. They should be within the horse shoe shaped parting done in the first part of the haircut. Each horizontal section is again pulled to the side and notches are cut along the horizontal section. The notches have their short sides toward the front and their long sides to the rear. Again it looks like about 6 notches were cut in each horizontal section. As in the above section, the horizontal sections go from the front hair line to about an inch behind the ear. The razor angle has to be changed from one side to another to keep the notches flowing to the rear.
It seemed the horizontal sections into the top went up further on the side opposite the client's part. It seemed to approach the top middle of the head there. On the side of the part, horizontal sections only continued until reaching the part.

Finish
Along the perimeter the razor was used to trim any excessive length and to give shape to outline. The hair was still cut with the razor to always keep it directed back.

Summary
1. Part top off with a horse shoe shaped part starting at the bottom of the recession area.
2. Flat layer the sides with a length long enough for the top to reach the ear.
The flat layering is cut to direct the hair back on each side and in the back.
3. Further insure the side hair flows back by taking horizontal sections on the side and cutting notches in these sections. The notches need to have their short sides directed to the front and the long sides to the back of the head. Go up to the horse shoe parting in this step. The horizontal sections go from the front hair line to about 1 inch behind the ear.
4. Connect the back to the top by pulling side to side horizontal sections across the crown and then the top of the head until the hair is not long enough to reach the back. These horizontal sections are cut from side to middle on each side to keep the hair flowing back.
5. Connect the sides to the top by making front to back sections within the horse shoe shaped parting. These are then notched as in step 3. above.
6. Finish and trim while using the razor to direct the hair back.

Differences and similarities
This haircut is similar to one cut with shears or with a clipper for overall shape. Shears or clipper could have been used to give the shape but the directing of the hair back with the razor cutting is different. In using shears or clippers the hair would have been shear over comb or clipper over comb. Notches can be cut with either shears or clippers while holding the horizontal sections in the fingers or the comb. With shears or clippers the hair would have been cut outside of the fingers or the comb. With the razor the cutting was done between the fingers and the scalp.
Besides the directing of the hair back the other difference in this haircut is the texture added to the internal part of the hair cut.