Learning how to cut hair with clippers is not just about learning a skill but also about being economical.
Today, getting a haircut could cost you as much as $28. That is just the average cost, as the actual price of a haircut is higher in many salons.
The cost piles up if you have short hair since you would be cutting your hair frequently, but you can save a lot by cutting, fading, and tapering your hair yourself.
We’ll be sincere with you, you might end up with a hair disaster on your first try-out, but that doesn’t mean you should give up.
The best way to get a neat cut even on the first tryout is to follow the instructions to the letter.
Learning How To Cut Your Hair With Clippers: In-depth Guide
Tools Needed
To start your mini hair salon, you will need several tools. These are essential tools, and they will help you cut your hair as nicely as possible. Fortunately, these tools are relatively cheap.
- Hair Clippers
- Hair scissors
- Handheld mirror
- Standing or dressing mirror
- Hair thinning scissors
- Cutting cape
- Hairstyling products (you can choose any hairstyling product you think will add luster or your style)
Before you get to the cutting part, you should get familiar with your tools. Depending on the hairstyle you want, you will have to change your clipper guide combs (attachment combs) several.
It’s best to get familiar with them and their functions before shaving rather than having to go back to the manual every time you want to change a comb.
Learning How To Cut Hair With Clippers – A Beginners Guide
Step 1: Set Up Your Workspace
You can choose your room or garage as your workspace. The most important thing is that the place should be clean and have enough lighting.
Since you’re dealing with hair, you will have to clean up afterward, so keep your vacuum cleaner nearby.
Set up a table (where you’ll keep your tools), a chair (where you’ll sit down while cutting your hair), and your standing mirror.
You can place the table beside the chair and the standing right in front of it. This way, you can easily reach for your tools without moving too far from your mirror.
Step 2: Select the Haircut
If this is your first time, you should go with something simple and easy. Sometimes the best hairstyle to try out as a first-timer could be to trim your hair to get rid of split ends. If you’re willing to take the risk of going further, you can go ahead and cut off more hair.
There is another rule to picking out a hairstyle. To pick the perfect hairstyle that would bring out your attractive facial feature, you should choose a hairstyle based on your face shape.
Step 3: Preparing Your Hair
Before shaving, you will have to wash up. Wash your hair with shampoo and conditioner to get off any dirt on it.
The problem with dirty hair is that it clogs up your tools and makes shaving a nightmare. Also, washing your hair right before shaving makes it moist and more comfortable to cut.
With wet hair, the likelihood of bumps and razor bumps occurring is reduced. However, if you have long hair, you might not have to get wet first.
This is because dry hair allows you to see the effects of the cut right away. This way, you can easily adjust to any mistakes.
But we recommend you cut it while it’s wet as dry cuts are more likely to produce uneven hair.
If you do this, you will make only a few minor errors even on your first try-out, and when the hair is dry, you can quickly fix them.
Step 4: Start Cutting The Sides
Choose your attachment comb and fix them onto your clippers (if you’re for a skin fade haircut, you should pick the smallest attachment comb).
Cut your hair against the direction of your hair growth, start from the bottom and cut slowly (to minimize errors), then move the clippers upwards. You will have to do this repeatedly to make sure you get all the hairs.
The portion of your head closer to the ears and neck should be the shortest (for skin fade haircuts). As you move upwards, lessen your grip on the clipper so that more hair remains in this area.
You will notice a difference between the two portions as you shave. Leave the hair at the top of your head.
Also, don’t shave the top of the sides of your head. You will need to fade this area into the lower portions later on.
Step 5: Cutting the Back
To cut the back of your head, you will have to make use of a handheld mirror. When cutting the back, you should slow down and work steadily.
Repeat the same process as you did when cutting the sides and check to make sure it is even and connects well with the sides.
Step 6: Blending
To blend the upper portion (which has more hair) to the lower part, you might need to change the attachment comb to a larger one.
This way, you can blend it in without worrying about cutting too much hair off the two areas.
To blend, use an upward rocking motion, i.e. from the bottom to the top and back again. Remember to leave the top of your hair.
Fading is just the same as blending the two portions. You need to do it carefully so as not to cut off too much of the upper part.
The upper portion must be fuller than the lower portion for it to be considered as a fade.
Step 7: Cutting the Top
Comb out the top of your hair before cutting. Depending on the length of the top and how you want it to look, you might need a pair of scissors to cut out the split ends.
You can also run your clipper on the top to give it a better trim (use a small attachment comb this time)
Step 8: Edging Up Your Hairline
This step can be tricky, but shouldn’t cause any problems if you try hard enough. To clean up your hairline, you’ll need your standing mirror, so that you can have a full view of your hair.
Carefully, cut around the hairline and try to maintain and straight line. You can do the same with your sides and the hair at the back. To cut the hair at the back, you will have to take out your handheld mirror.
Step 9: Wash Up
When done, clear your hair and head with a brush, then take a comb and run it through your hair. Look out for any errors, probably in your hairline. Also, take a look at the back for any missed spots.
If you notice any unevenness on the top of your head, you can use your scissors to make corrections.
After that, you can wash and dry your hair. Take another look and even out any mistakes before applying any hair product to it.
Extra Tips
If you have long hair and you want to go short, then you’ll have to use your scissors to cut it short first, before styling it with your clipper.
Final Thoughts
If you are learning how to cut hair with a hair clipper, follow the steps above carefully, cutting your hair will be nothing but fun.
These instructions will help to minimize errors and help you get the neatest cut even if you’re doing it for the first time.
FAQ
Can clippers be used as a trimmer?
Unlike trimmers, clippers are designed to cut long hair. If you want to work on short hair or shape your edges, then you might want to stick to an electric hair trimmer.
However, some clippers are designed to function like trimmers with the right attachments.
Can pubs hair trimmer be used for head hair?
Yes, but this is not recommended. You should have a special trimmer dedicated to your pubes alone. This reduces the chances of transmitting bacteria to your pubes.
The pub’s hair trimmer could be just another trimmer designed for facial hair, however, you should out for those made for people with sensitive skin.