Understanding the Fundamentals of Haircutting with Scissors
Learning how to cut hair is no easy feat, especially if it’s done with scissors. Regardless of whether you’re a beginner or a pro hairstylist, there are still Best Practices that you should follow when doing a haircut to ensure you end up with the desired hairdo and maintain the health of your client’s hair.
The Importance of Preparing Your Tools
Before starting a haircut, it’s crucial to prepare your tools. Your scissors must be properly sharpened, lubricated, and sanitized to ensure client safety. Sanitization and cleanliness are vital in hair cutting. For instance, hair can get accumulated between the two blades of the scissors. If that hair isn’t cleaned, it can lead to cross-contamination between clients — this is not only bad for business, but it’s against every health code and could lead to serious issues.
Determining the Right Hair Section to Cut
Figuring out the right section of hair to cut is another vital step. It’s essential to understand that each section of the hair has a different density, texture, length, and thickness. Cutting across sections won’t give a clean result. Therefore, it’s important to section and re-section the hair carefully.
Cutting Techniques for Scissors
When cutting hair with scissors, there are different techniques to use depending on what style you’re creating. They include classic, blunt, point, slide, deep point, and so many others. A popular technique is the point-cutting technique, which gives hair ends a more textured, feather-like look. However, when using scissors, be mindful of the blade placement, the pressure applied, and the angle of the scissors. Proper handling of your scissors is important to prevent hair pulling or yanking and ensure a smooth cut.
Maintenance of Hair After the Cut
After the haircut, maintenance of the hair is also crucial, especially if you want your client’s hair to remain in great condition. It’s common for a hairstylist to suggest trimming the hair regularly to maintain its shape and style. You can teach your customers how to properly care for their hair at home, such as by using leave-in conditioner, heat protectant products, and not shampooing too often. Ensure to share drying techniques that would work best, as well as specific hair styling products for that particular hair type.
