Haircutting For Dummies. Jeryl E. Spear

a single end can avoid this type of embarrassing — okay, horrifying — situation.

      © John Wiley & Sons, Inc.; Illustration by Rashell Smith

      FIGURE 4-2: This young person has double cowlicks and double the trouble when trying to alter their natural directions.

      How to discover growth patterns

      When examining the hair, follow these steps to discover hair growth patterns:

      1 Lift up the whole back of the hair without using any tension. Horizontally part and drop the first ½ inch (1.3 centimeters) of the entire neckline. Does it lie flat, partly flat, or is it going every which way in specific areas?Continue doing this all the way up to the crown while carefully checking for unusual growth patterns. If cowlicks or whorls are present at the neckline, a straight-down neck design is nearly impossible. To avoid a cutting fail, design the neckline according to the natural growth patterns.

      2 Do the same thing on the sides of the hair, the top, and the front hairline (see Figure 4-2 to view an image of a cowlick).

      3 Run your fingers through the hair. Do you feel small areas where hair is growing in swirls, or strongly growing in a forward position? If you do, check how resistant they are to your touch. When you move them in the opposite direction at the scalp, do they stiffly resist, roll over and obey, or do something in between these two extremes?

After you’ve found all the whorls and swirls and other strong growth patterns, you can suggest styles that will not force them into a different shape, use them as part of your hair design, or hide them in plain sight using the right haircutting and styling techniques, and styling aids (see Figure 4-3).

      Photographer: Tom Carson (www.tomcarsonphoto.com); Hair: Ozzy Habibi; L Salon & Color Group, San Mateo, California

FIGURE 4-3: Whenever possible, integrate a strong cowlick into your cutting design.

      Working cowlicks to your advantage

      These swirling dervishes can also be used to your advantage when cutting hair. For example:

       You can use a cowlick to create natural lift at the crown by cutting longer layers to release some weight. This technique gives cowlicks permission to lift up the hair without becoming too obnoxious or separating from the rest of the pack.

       When cutting short, spiky styles, deliberately cutting a cowlick shorter than you would otherwise dare can add more personality to these haircuts.

       Using the growth pattern of a particularly large cowlick to dictate the flow of the hair will create a more manageable style.

      Some people have the unfortunate distinction of having double cowlicks in their crown area — a royal pain, if you pardon the pun — while others have multiple cowlicks that are commonly found at the crown, the neckline, and front hairline. Strong cowlicks prevent people from having straight bangs, for instance, although the natural lift they create does afford other interesting styling opportunities.

      Most haircutters eventually develop their own techniques for dealing with cowlicks, and I’m no exception. Having come from a family with legendary cowlicks — my son has one cowlick that measures a full 3 inches (7.6 centimeters) in diameter — I’ve learned to take these pesky growths in stride.

      

Carefully plan out each haircut — including the best way to handle a person’s cowlicks — before taking a single snip of hair. Taking these hair whorls into account allows you to avoid unpleasant surprises while giving you the advantage of shaping these cowlicks to your styling advantage.

Part 2

      Mastering Basic Techniques, Stat!

IN THIS PART …

      Brush up on your geometry skills by getting familiar with lengths, angles, and elevations.

      Section hair to make cutting easier.

      Deal with the ends: Bevel, diffuse, layer, and more.

      Master the basics of using clippers.

Chapter 5

      Understanding Head Shapes, Elevations, Angles, and Guides

      IN THIS CHAPTER

      

Surveying your head

      

Elevating your cut

      

Working all the angles

      

Getting acquainted with guides

       To fully participate in this chapter, you need the following tools: scissors, cutting comb, tail comb (optional), clips and clamps, and a mannequin head (optional).

      This chapter is filled with technical information. It’s the driest chapter in this book and the one you will refer back to the most. This chapter is also the most empowering chapter. Understanding the technical side of haircutting makes the results of every haircut predictable and reproduceable. You’ll know how, why, and where you should take each snip. Cool, right?

      

If you’re missing any of the tools listed, feel free to improvise. If you only have paper-cutting scissors, for instance, separating very thin cutting sections will get you by for this chapter. If you don’t have a mannequin head or a willing subject at hand, you can use your own head and hair.

      

Once the information and techniques included in this chapter have been mastered, I promise they will be second nature to you when cutting hair. Until then, referring back to this chapter while following cutting tutorials will do the trick!

Getting to Know the Four Pillars of Haircutting

      Haircutting is a mechanical process that guides your creativity. If you have a keen sense of balance, for instance, your work will stand apart from other people’s haircuts because of the precise symmetry of your cutting style. For someone else, a sharp eye for detail (or even a talent for decorating) may inspire the interesting finishing details you add to your haircuts.

      Regardless of your unique cutting style, you should definitely become familiar with the following four pillars of haircutting and use them to guide all your hair designs.

       Head