Advice about cutting your own hair to a certain style

[LightningCut]

Dear Members,

I'm new to these forums, so please bare with my ignorance. For the past year I've been cutting my hair at home. I've got the hang of cutting my beard the way I like it and am really happy about this. My hair however, I can't seem to cut it the right way. I want to cut my hair to very short lengths on the sides and back; about 1-3mm. I want to keep my hair longer on the top; about 2-3cm.

I've seen the above style work on other people, but when I cut my hair attempting the above there is a clear division between the lengths which makes me look daft and I have to do a bald cut to fix it.

My question is: how can I achieve the above hair style? What's the trick to it? Are there any videos showcasing how to do this? I have cheap, standard clippers and straight-edge blade.

Thank you for your advice,
L. Cut.

 

[shavefreak]

 

[ctr]

I cut my own hair for a few years in this type of style. You need to locae the crown of your head and understand where that line is in the circumference of your head.

Cut the sides and back first to just below the crown. Cut the top to the longer length. Then carefully blend the crown in as needed. That is the part requiring skill.

 

[Nadir M]

Stick with the bald cut. It works for me.

 

[Jeff_H]

I cut my own hair for a few years in this type of style. You need to locae the crown of your head and understand where that line is in the circumference of your head.

Cut the sides and back first to just below the crown. Cut the top to the longer length. Then carefully blend the crown in as needed. That is the part requiring skill.

I ASSume you are using electric clippers? I think you would have to be a a magician to do it with scissors. I use cordless clippers. I have a mirror in the shower and a hand held mirror. My clippers came with angled combs to taper the hair. There is one each for left and right sides. I run them around the back and sides where my hair starts, basically making "whitewalls". Then, I take the straight comb that is one step longer than the longets part of the tapered comb and run that around my crown. This gives me a tapered, close, "back and sides". For the top, I use the one inch (longest) comb. I do the back and sides once or twice a week and the clippings are so short, I just turn the shower on and they wash down the drain. No mess.

The top I do every 3 or 4 times I cut the back and sides. I don't wash those down the drain.

Gel is the secret to having the top look right. Helen Keller could get drunk and cut your hair and, a dab of gel and you would look like a million Dollars.

I started cutting my hair when real barber shops disappeared. A barber should charge you $6.00 and know you by your name. The chains all have semi-cute young ladies who don't do a better job then me and it costs $20.00 by the time you tip them. The barber shops charge the same amount, give you the same hair cut, and it's an old man who is the son of the real barber who opened the place. Both places make you wait, and by the time you drive both ways, wait your turn, and have them spend 15 mintues giving you a 5 minute haircut, you've lost at least an hour of your life. Plus, since it's such an expensive PITA, I only go when my hair is so long I can't stand it. Doing it myself, I get what I want, when I want it, twice a week, for free.

I don't think I could do it without the combs, so longer styles like the "business man's cut" (think Mitt Romney or any TV news anchor) aint going to happen. I tell people I could cut anyone's hair, it would just have to be the same cut I give myself.

+1 to both of these. I started cutting my own hair a few years ago when I was between jobs and wanted to save the money. It turned out to be much more convenient that I thought. When I started working again I lucked into a great girl to cut my hair right across from my office. Did it just like I like, perfect every time. I saw her every 2 weeks like clockwork and was happy to pay $20 a pop for a cut and shampoo after, on my lunch break...so I had no stray hairs for the rest of the day.

I too like my hair cut similar to yours. I take a #2 clipper (metal kind, not plastic) on the sides and a #5 on the top. The sides must be straight up and down, no rounding so your head looks like a Q-Tip. It's not a flatop, but some people think it is when you try to describe it. It's just a short, no nonsense business cut that is neat and low maintenance. A dime sized drop of sculpting clay rubbed in towel dried hair after a shower, run a brush through it and don't think about it for the rest of the day. Looks good in a suit or in shorts.

How I did it when I cut it at home was...#2 on the sides, #5 on the top, then #4 run through the transition of where the #2 meets the #5, running the clipper from the low side by your ears up and almost starting over the top of your head...however far up you want to blend it. Does that make sense. Take the #4 from one ear like you are going to run it straight up over the top of your head and down the other side, but stop where you want the blending to end. Do this all the way around your head (my wife always had to do the back). This is the part that will take a bit of practice to determine how far up you want to blend and how the clippers react to your hair. Using my example you might have to go to a #3 clipper to get the look you want, blending between the #2 and the #5. The point is, use a clipper that is LONGER than the sides of your hair and SHORTER than the top of your hair, and blend until you are happy...whatever angle you like.

It won't take you long to get it down. Since I've been in San Antonio I've had the worst haircuts of my life I think. I can't find a place to give me a decent cut unless I want to pay $30 + tip every time..and that is no guarantee of the cut I want. Since I have to cut it every two weeks....almost $100 for haircuts makes me cringe. I can afford it, but that's hardly the point. It shouldn't cost that much to get a good cut, so I'm on the lookout for a good barber, even if it's a bit of a drive.

Best of luck to you. If you need any help, shoot me a PM and I'd be happy to ring you up and chat you through what worked for me.

 

[Jeff_H]

I bet the Latinos in San Antonio aren't paying $30.00 for a haircut. See if any of your blue collar neighbors go to a barber shop. Or, just go to a low income section of town and try out a barber. I'll guatantee you that the average Latin laborer is getting a good $6.00 haircut in those neighborhoods. Many of them probably have their wives do it, but the single guys probably know of a good hook-up on a barber, The last barber I went to, when I lived in NJ, was an old Italian guy. $6.00 and I was the only Anglo in there. He had a line out the door.

I would do the same, but at this point, I am so accustomed to cutting it myself, I just do it myself.

I bet they aren't paying $30 either. I just need to get out and commit a Saturday morning to finding a place. It's just always the last thing on my mind until it's time. Good suggestion though...thank you.

 

[bmilcs]

Oh.

Oh.

Oh.

 

[LightningCut]

Thanks lads, I'm grateful for all the solid replies. This is a great community.

@ctr: Blending is the problem for me. I'm not quite sure how to do it sensibly. I figured maybe I could do the top at 20mm and the sides at about 3mm maybe 6mm, but I'm not sure how to blend such a large difference in lengths. Would the ideal technique be to extend the longer hair at the top of your head so that it droops down the sides of your head? That way you would have more space to blend it. Even then would the blend look smooth or choppy?

@Nick: I wish it were that simple, haha. I rather make use of my hair while I still have it.

@WiskyT: Indeed, Sir, electric clippers it is. I use RedKen Rough Clay as a gel since it seems to do the job. Admittedly, I don't know too much about what the ideal gel is so maybe that isn't the right product for the purpose.

@Jeff: It took me ten of the world's leading scientist and cryptographers to decipher your message and I believe we've cracked it! Haha. I'm thinking that initially I would cut my hair to the maximum length I wish it to be; e.g. 20mm. The next stage would be to use the smallest length around the 'box' of my head; when people do a box cut, around the bottom corners, all the way around the head. Now I would have two lengths; top and a bit of sides and back at 20mm and the rest at 6mm. How would I successfully blend the two at this point? I suppose I could keep receding the 'box' length around my head starting at 18mm and lowering for each line. Would this work? Hopefully that made sense.

 

[mikej7193]

I regularly cut my hair at a #10 on the top, and #3 on the sides, which is closer to 3 cm on top, and around 9mm on the sides. It's not as extreme as you are wanting, but I blend it with around a #6 on the "corners". The biggest technique that I have built up to do is to drag the clippers up the sides of my head at the right angle to blend to the #6 (18mm or so I believe) from the #3. I can't really describe it better than it just takes practice and trying new things.

 

[ctr]

Thanks lads, I'm grateful for all the solid replies. This is a great community.

@ctr: Blending is the problem for me. I'm not quite sure how to do it sensibly. I figured maybe I could do the top at 20mm and the sides at about 3mm maybe 6mm, but I'm not sure how to blend such a large difference in lengths. Would the ideal technique be to extend the longer hair at the top of your head so that it droops down the sides of your head? That way you would have more space to blend it. Even then would the blend look smooth or choppy?

@Nick: I wish it were that simple, haha. I rather make use of my hair while I still have it.

@WiskyT: Indeed, Sir, electric clippers it is. I use RedKen Rough Clay as a gel since it seems to do the job. Admittedly, I don't know too much about what the ideal gel is so maybe that isn't the right product for the purpose.

@Jeff: It took me ten of the world's leading scientist and cryptographers to decipher your message and I believe we've cracked it! Haha. I'm thinking that initially I would cut my hair to the maximum length I wish it to be; e.g. 20mm. The next stage would be to use the smallest length around the 'box' of my head; when people do a box cut, around the bottom corners, all the way around the head. Now I would have two lengths; top and a bit of sides and back at 20mm and the rest at 6mm. How would I successfully blend the two at this point? I suppose I could keep receding the 'box' length around my head starting at 18mm and lowering for each line. Would this work? Hopefully that made sense.

Accuracy is the enemy of precision. Well that sounded good anyway.

Don't get too hung up on measurements for the blend. Start small, remove just a bit at a time until the transition looks right. After a few cuts it will be second nature to you.

 

[tinashubby]

I cut my own, the style adapted to my ability.

I use assorted length combs, going from the longest to the shortest areas. To attempt to blend, I pull the shorter comb away from my head when I get to the area I already cut with the longer comb.