Are you thinking about cutting your hair? Or want to give your friend a new haircut on straight hair? Well, in both cases, you need a guideline to avoid gradation and mistakes.
Giving yourself a haircut might sound exciting but should not forget the downfall of a bad haircut, i.e., it is going to haunt you for quite some time.
Before getting into the discussion about cutting straight hair, let's first devise the most authentic haircut rule.
Always cut less than what you want. As you can always go forward, but you can never make it backward.
Cutting Straight Hair At Home
Here are some essential steps to follow for cutting your own straight hair at home professionally.
Don't be intimidated, you can successfully cut your own hair if you take it slow and steady!
1. Comb Your Hair Thoroughly
Detangle your hair by combing them properly so that there remains no knot in your hair. You can take a start from dry hair for cutting straight strands, but if your hair are wavy or frizzy, dampening them before the cut is prudent.
2. Bind Your Hair In A Ponytail
Comb your hair to the back and secure them in a low ponytail. You have to make sure that your hair is detangled, and all the hair are secure in an elastic band.
3. Tie An Elastic Band A Little Down
After tying your hair in an elastic band, go down few inches and wrap another elastic band there. The second elastic will give you an idea of how long your hair is and how short you want them to be.
According to your preferences, you can add other bands below the second band.
Securing your strands in an elastic band gives you the estimate and freedom to cut your hair in a controlled manner and avoid an accident like cutting your inches too short.
4. Decide The Length (Where You Want To Cut)
Once you decide the size you want after the cut, the next step is cutting them down. For that, you need to hold your ponytail between your two fingers.
You can use your middle and forefinger and make a V shape. Slide down your fingers to have a round edge.
5. Start Cutting Your Hair
Once you secure your ponytail between your fingers, the next step is to chop your hair off. For effortless and efficient cutting, you require sharp and professional hairdressing shears.
Never use regular scissors for cutting your hair as it will ruin the cut. Regular scissors include kitchen, fabric, craft and general scissors.
If you use regular scissors to cut your hair, you will damage the ends of your hair; causing split ends, strangly hair and overall damage to your hairstyle.
6. Check The Length And Shape After The Cut
Once you’re done with cutting straight hair, undo the ponytail, and check your hair for flaws.
- It is best to turn around with all your hair at the back for proper inspection or get two facing mirrors, whichever suits you.
- Your hair will have a curve or be rounded at the bottom, but if you want your hair to be straighter, you can go ahead with the next step.
7. Part Down Your Hair From The Middle
Untie your hair and part them from the middle down the neck. Now drape hair on the leftover, your left shoulder, and the right section hair on the right shoulder. For your convenience, it's like making pigtails.
8. Choose The Length
Once you secure your hair in two partitions, it's time now to decide the length. You can choose either side to go first. Take your fore and middle finger as you did before and pinch your hair in them. Now slide them down to the length which you want after the cut.
9. Position Your Hair At A Cutting Angle
Angle your fingers slightly by pulling them down. Your fingers must be above the length you want after cutting them off. Slightly angle your fingers in the upward position. Your fingertips must be pointing towards your shoulder.
- This position allows you to cut your hair from the back shorter. Before cutting, always ensure that the back section's hair is next to the shoulder's outer side.
10. Cut Your Hair
After securing your hair between your fingers, it's time to cut them off. Always keep your hair and hand close against the shoulder while cutting.
- If your hair is thick, it would be prudent to section them and then cut each section according to others.
- You can manage the measurements by measuring the first section and then match the previous with the first one.
11. Repeat The Process On The Other Side
Once you are done with cutting straight hair of one side, it's time to move towards the other one. To ensure you are cutting the hair at the same length, measure them. Take your uncut hair and measure them against cut hair. To do so, all you need is the inner strands.
- Take your inner strands from both sides and note where the cut ends on uncut hair.
- Grab the area between your fingers to have an accurate idea.
How To Cut Someone Else’s Straight Hair
Are you planning to give someone else a haircut? Or are you looking for some guide on cutting straight hair?
Well, in both cases, the guideline to give someone else a haircut is right below.
1. Dampen Your Hair (Don't Soak)
Take a spray bottle and damp the hair. While dampening the hair, make sure you don't soak them wet. We only require strands to be in control and manageable to have a fine cut. Let the head of the person be at a comfortable level to ease your cutting.
2. Make A Hair Bun
First, you have to divide the hair into three equal quarters and make the bun. For this purpose, you will need a rat-tail comb to section the hair neatly and correctly.
Once you create a section or part of the hair, pull them back and make a bun at the head. Secure the bun with a clip or a tie to get it out of the way. Once you tie the top's hair, leave the bottom of the head loose for the cut.
3. Pinch The Hair Between Fingers
Make a V shape by taking your middle finger and the forefinger. Now pinch a hair strand between these two fingers. Pinch the strand as it should be 1 to 2 inches in width.
To take out the strand, you can seek help from Rat-tail comb. The Rat-tail comb will ensure you make equal sections.
4. Evaluate The Hair Length
Once you pinch the strand between your two fingers, it's time to move your fingers slightly down to the point where you need to cut your hair. Always keep your hand close to the back.
Avoid pulling them away to create an angle as it might deform your cut and also cause gradation. Keep your fingers parallel to the floor and the strand.
5. Start Cutting Hair
Now take the professional shears and cut hair below the fingers. The shear use for haircuts should be sharp to make precise and define cut.
- The person who is receiving the haircut should sit up straight. If there is any inclination in the posture, the haircut wouldn't be accurate.
- Sitting in a straight posture with the head parallel to the body allows you an easy cut.
6. Evaluate The Length And Shape
Once you cut your first hair strand, now it's time to grab another section and cut it according to the first section. Take ½ inch hair strand and measure it against the already cut strand.
Now pinch the division between your fingers again and cut them accordingly. You have to move your fingers down the strand until you reach the bottom of the cut strand.
7. Keep Sectioning And Keep On Cutting
Here the technique is to cut the section, then take another area, measure the length by measuring with the cut section and chop off the hair.
Let go of that section and take another section and cut it by measuring it against the cut section.
Avoid pulling the hair away from the person's back while cutting. Keep the hair as close as possible to their back to maintain a consistent length and levelled style.
8. Continue With The Layering And Cutting
Once you cut the hair on the bottom, measure the left and right sections for any difference. If both the sections are equal, it's time to move on to the next section of hair.
Untie or unclip the hair. Section out the hair with the help of a rat-tail comb. Grab a strand of hair in your finger and measure the length. Gather up the remaining hair into a bun again.
9. Measuring The Upper Layer With The Bottom One
The upper layer which we grab in our finger must be measured against the formerly cut hair. For this purpose, take a strand of hair from the new layer and match it with some of the previous hair layers.
Cut the hair off, where the new strand meets the bottom of the former strand.
10. Keep On Sectioning And Layering
Now cut all the hair by repeating this technique. All you need to do is take a strand of hair from the new section, measure it against the previous one, and cut them off.
Measuring the new layer with the former gives you an idea of where you need to cut. Keep on repeating these steps until you cut all the hair.
11. Blow-Dry And Final Adjustments
After finishing the cut, it's time to dry the hair and refine the cut. To make further adjustments, blow-dry the hair and then trim out any edge or end required.
You can also go for hair wash before blow-drying the hair to get rid of all the mess.
Tips and Trick for Cutting Straight Hair
Try to use new scissors for the haircut purpose. If you use the dull blades for the cutting, it might pull your hair out of the follicle.
For cutting straight hair, you must not flip your hair upwards. Turning the hair upward might result in a graduated cut.
Always keep your hands close to the back of the person whom you are giving a haircut.
If you have curly or frizzy hair, then cutting straight hair is not for you! However, if you can straight them before the cut, in that case, you can go for a straight cut.
Always start with cutting your hair little and cut them further if you deem necessary.
Grab a three-way mirror to cut your hair for convenience.
Is It Possible To Have A Cut With Dry Hair?
Well, you could have a haircut without dampening your hair, but it would never result in a clean cut. Wetting the hair gives you more control and makes the hair more manageable.
Why Do I Have To Use Professional Shears Instead Of Ordinary Scissors?
It's not a hard and fast rule to only use professional shears for cutting the hair. If you do not have any, you can use a regular scissor. However, you have to makes sure that the scissors you are using have a sharp blade.
We have tried to pen down everything you need to know for cutting straight hair. How do you find this article on cutting straight hair? Do let us know by commenting in the comment section!
Tags
Blog posts