How to Barber a Bald Horseshoe

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The bald horseshoe pattern is the most advanced stage of male pattern baldness. The horseshoe gets its name because the shape of the hair on the head resembles a horseshoe. The hair goes around the sides of the head and back, but is completely bald on top. Men with the horseshoe pattern have very few options for haircuts available to them. It is best to keep the hair short and neatly trimmed to avoid the hair puffing out at the sides and back. If not avoided, you may draw attention to the bald spot and have a comical appearance.

Shave the Head

Use a "000" blade on a razor to go over hair. This will leave only about 1/2-inch of hair. Do not worry about it being even, all the hair will come off eventually. This is only done to get rid of the excess hair for shaving.

Wet the head with a sprayer or wet towel, and lather with shaving cream.

Shave off the remaining hair with a straight razor. Do this slowly and gently. First go down and then up. A few passes may be needed to get the closest shave on your head. Rinse the head and towel off.

Trim the Horseshoe

Find out how much hair your customer wants taken off. Generally, the sides will be shorter than the back.

Determine type of blade to use. The type of blade corresponds to how much hair will be removed.

Go over the hair with the blade slowly, shaving down.

Switch blades at the back. Some men want the back of the hair longer than the side. Feel the back of the man's head. Just above the top of the ears at the back of the head, there will be two bumps, this is the back of the skull. Inside this area is where you should switch to a longer blade.