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“You could ruin all the work that your barber put into your hair, and you’ll have to redo your hair from scratch the next time you see your barber. “Unless you’re a trained barber, you should never touch your hair with scissors,” Nguyen, who works at Fellow Barber in New York, tells The Manual. While it may be a humblebrag to complain about your voluminous hair on Instagram a la Stephen Colbert and Kyle MacLachlan, eventually, you have to deal with it before it grows completely out of control.īut if you’re thinking about cutting your own hair with scissors or a sword Mulan-style, barbers like Hung Nguyen beg you to put down your weapons. If you’re one of those people, then you’re still probably figuring out a way to efficiently deal with wildly grown manes. Even with hair salons and barbershops slowly reopening, not everyone is willing to take the risk. That said, when doing it yourself in a pinch, we recommend going for a simple, foolproof style (maybe use no shorter than a #3 guard?) especially if you’re attempting this for the first time.Now that we’re a year into quarantine life, we are probably used to socially distancing from our barbers.
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RouteĪs we mentioned, the art of proper haircutting takes years of training and experience and is a skill that shouldn’t be practiced off the cuff, if you can help it. #5 and #6 guards are normally used for longer, subtler tapers, as well as when trimming the neckline.Ĭlick on our complete guide to barbershop terms to learn more. Fade haircuts typically have a #3 on the sides. #3 is usually the guard limit in shorter styles. Guard #0 (zero) = 1/16 inch, best for buzzcuts or a “zero all around.” Any shorter or for a total skinhead look, and your barber will use a razor. The longer the comb size of the clip, the longer the hair. clips, go by fractions of an inch starting from 0 (for buzzcuts) to 8 (1” of hair). Good to Know: Hair Clipper GuardsĬlipper guard sizes, a.k.a. Go to product Just a little bit off the top, please. We like the formula of Bed Head for Men by TIGI Clean Up Daily Shampoo and Clean Up Peppermint Conditioner-as the name suggests, the duo is infused with peppermint for a tingly-fresh feeling, while also helping remove stubborn gunk and product build-up. Step 8: If you’re one to shampoo after a haircut to clean up, try a clarifying product for a truly refreshed feel. Step 7: Finish by using the clippers on the sides and sideburns. Step 6: Select your preferred hair clipper length (more on that later!).
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Step 5: Repeat on the sides, but snip slightly longer than the length you took off the top to create a shape. Step 4: Use your scissors to cut the ends. Step 3: Slide fingers from the root to the ends to measure how much you want to snip off. Step 2: Using your non-dominant hand, take a section of hair at the top.
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#HOW TO CUT YOUR OWN HAIR HOW TO#
How to Cut Your Own Hair: Men’s Edition What you need: Read on for a tool breakdown as well as some simple steps to learning how to cut your own hair that, hopefully, will serve you well in a hair emergency: That’s not to mean it isn’t impossible, though, as armed with the right tools and knowledge, it’s a skill that you can definitely learn the basics of given some time and patience. Let’s be honest: Cutting your own hair isn’t (pardon the pun) as cut and dry as you think there’s a reason people train for this professionally. But now that the prospect of getting up close and personal with your neighborhood barber is a bit up in the air these days (#socialdistancing), you might be thinking about taking matters into your own hands by cutting your own hair. Keeping your hair short means having to maintain regular trips to the barbershop at least once a month.
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