How to Give Men's Haircuts Using Clippers
Men care about the way they look just as much as women do. Most haircuts for women are done with scissors. Stylists and barbers perform men’s haircuts using electric clippers. Clippers work best when a large amount of the hair gets cut down to the same level. For example, a crew cut is mostly the same length all over the head. Clippers make this a faster and more precise job than using scissors. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
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Speak with the person before you start cutting. Consultation is the chance for you and the client to get on the same page. The cut the client wants may not be possible with his hair length. Provide the customer with magazines or hairstyle books so that he can point out what kind of a cut he would like.
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Read the instructions for the electric clippers. Learn the manufacturer’s instructions for cleaning the tools as well as how to attach guide attachments and how to adjust the clippers for different hair lengths.
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Sterilize the clippers. Empty the hair catch. Brush off the blades with a cosmetic brush or a soft toothbrush. Apply rubbing alcohol to the blades.
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Drape a clean gown over the man’s clothes to prevent hair from getting all over the clothes. For comfort, put a neck strip on the client’s neck before you fasten the gown. Use tissue or napkins if you don’t have neck strips.
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Cover his neck with a cutting collar. Place a clean towel around his back, if you don’t have a cutting collar. Tuck the towel into the front of the gown.
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Comb through the man's hair and establish a cutting guideline. In the book, “Men’s Hairdressing,” Maurice Lister writes, “The cutting guideline is the line that is created by the ends of the hair when a section of hair is held out from the head. If this is not done, the results will be uneven and inaccurate, and will not be likely to meet the client’s requirements.”
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Carve an outline around the first section with the comb. Use hair clips or place combs to hold down the areas outside of the outline so they don’t get in the way.
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Divide the hair into sections with a small comb. Pull the section up with a comb. Drive the clippers over the top of the hair section.
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Cut with an upward motion. Every few minutes brush hair out of the clippers to keep them clean and cutting properly.
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Add a guide attachment to the clippers if you are cutting a large percentage of the head of hair to the same length. Then, move the clippers over the hair in a line as if you were mowing a yard.
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Comb the excess hair out of the way until you are ready to cut it. Secure it with a hair clip. For the hard to reach places, such as behind the ears, pull back the ear and ask the person to tilt his head to avoid accidental cutting.
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Remove the guide attachments in sections where you want to cut the hair to a length that is a centimeter long or as close to the scalp as possible.
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Brush his neck periodically with a neck brush to remove hairs. Cross-check your work after you finish each section. Cross-checking is reviewing your work at the viewing angle completely opposite from the angle you were just working from.
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Go over the hair with scissors to remove any straggling hairs from the cut. Sterilize and oil your clippers after you’ve finished.
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References
- “Professional Hairdressing: The Official Guide to S/NVQ Level 3”; Martin Green, Leo Palladino, Theresa Bullock; 2007
- “Men's Hairdressing: Traditional and Modern Barbering”; Maurice Lister; 2004
Resources
- "Milady's Standard Professional Barbering"; Maura Scali-Sheahan, Milady; 2010
- Photo Credit Michael Blann/Digital Vision/Getty Images
