A regular haircut is a men's and boys' hairstyle that has combable length on
top, a defined or deconstructed side part, and a short, semi-short, medium,
long, or extra long back and sides. The style is also known by other names
including taper cut, regular taper cut, side-part and standard haircut; as well
as short back and sides, business-man cut and professional cut, subject to
varying national, regional, and local interpretations of the specific taper
for the back and sides. Elements of a haircut
The essential elements of a regular haircut are edging, siding and topping:
Edging refers to the design of the lower edge of hair growth from the sideburns
around the ears and across the nape of the neck.
Siding refers to the design of the hair on the back and sides between the edge
and the top. Edging and siding, together or separately, commonly referred to as
tapering, create a taper. Topping refers to the design of the hair
at the front and over the crown. Edging comes first, followed by siding
and topping. Edging is typically done with clippers; siding, shears over comb;
topping, shears over finger. There are other methods that can be utilized
including all clipper cuts, all shears cuts and all razor cuts. Barbers
distinguish between a two line haircut and a one line haircut. Two line
haircuts are standard taper cuts. The hair is outlined around the ears and
then straight down the sides of the neck.
The edge of hair growth at the nape of the neck is tapered to the skin with a
fine(zero) clipper blade. A one line haircut, often referred to as a block
cut, has the edge of hair growth at the nape outline shaved, creating an
immediate transition between hair and skin and connecting the outline from the
right sideburn to the outline from the left sideburn across the nape. The
outline at the edge of the nape can be in a squared off or rounded pattern. A
squared off nape can have squared or rounded corners. Rotary, taper and edger
clippers can be utilized when edging or siding a haircut. Guards and/or blades
can be attached that vary the cutting length.
Tapers A tapered back and sides generally
contours to the head shape; the hair progressively graduates in length from
longer hair at the upper portions of the head to shorter hair at the lower edge
of hair growth on the back and sides. There are a variety of tapers possible
from short to extra long. Medium and longer tapers can be referred to as
trims; however, the word trim is commonly used to request that the hair
is trimmed back to the last haircut regardless of the style of taper. The
sideburns and the shape and height of the neck edge are important design
elements that can affect the appearance of the face, neck, chin, ears, profile
and overall style. In most instances, a shorter neck or
chin suits a somewhat higher neck edge; a longer neck or chin suits a somewhat
lower neck edge. An extra wide neck suits a somewhat narrower neck edge
while a thinner neck or protruding ears suit a wider neck edge. When slightly
longer sideburns are worn than are appropriate for a style, it can shorten
the appearance of the face; when slightly shorter sideburns are worn than
are appropriate, it can lengthen the appearance of the face; therefore, the
appearance of a face that is shorter or longer than average, in particular when
due to the length of the chin or lower face, can be normalized by altering the
length of the sideburns. = Short=
Other names for this style of taper include full crown, tight cut, and fade.
The hair on the sides and back is cut with a coarse clipper blade from the
lower edge of hair growth to or nearly full up to the crown. The clipper is
gradually arced out of the hair at the hat band to achieve a taper. A fine
clipper is used from the sideburn to about an inch above the ear. Clipper
lines are blended out so there is a seamless transition between lengths.
Sideburns, which may not be visible at the time of the haircut depending on the
color, thickness and density of the hair, skin tone and fine clipper blade
used, are maintained short between haircuts. Short sideburns extend to the
area where the ear cartilage attaches to the skull or slightly lower if ear shape
requires to allow a sideburn to be defined. Can be worn with a ivy league,
high and tight, flat top crew cut, butch and other styles; and often the choice
with these styles during the summer. Semi-short
Also known as a half crown. The hair on the sides and back is cut with a coarse
clipper blade about half way up to the crown; the clipper starts to gradually
arc out of the hair at the top of the ears. A fine clipper blade is used at
the sideburns and at the nape arcing out of the hair to create a blend at a point
between the bottom and the top of the ears. Sideburns are generally worn
short as the hair grows out or slightly longer than short but not quite medium.
Blending at the upper sides can utilize clipper over comb or shears over comb
techniques. While a semi-short taper can be worn with a regular haircut, it is
very common with an ivy league, crew cut, flat top crew cut, butch, brush
cut, or burr. = Medium=
A coarse clipper blade may be used on the sideburns, with the clipper
immediately arcing out of the hair, completing the taper at the top of the
ears. In the nape area, the coarse clipper starts to arc out at the middle
of the ears with the taper completed at the top of the ears. A fine clipper
blade tapers the lower edge of the hairline at the nape to the skin. The
lower edge of hair growth at the nape can alternatively be blocked off in a
squared or rounded pattern. Medium sideburns are appropriate with face
shapes that are neither long or short. Medium sideburns extend to the top of
the ear orifice. The hair on the middle part of the back and sides can be
shortened, thinned and blended using a variety of methods including shears over
comb, clipper over comb, thinning shears method, slithering with standard
barber's shears, shear point tapering or razor methods. A common style with a
regular haircut, medium pompadour or ivy league and also worn with a crew cut or
flattop. = Long=
A coarse clipper blade is used in the nape area, arcing out of the hair at the
bottom of the ears with the taper completed at mid ear. A fine clipper
blade is used to taper the edge at the hairline. A long taper is frequently
blocked at the nape in a squared or rounded pattern instead of being tapered
to the skin. Long sideburns are appropriate for average face shapes.
Long sideburns extend to the middle of the ear opening. The middle section of
the back and sides is most often cut shears over comb or shears over fingers;
can also be cut with a razor. Thinning, layering and blending of the middle
section of the back and sides can be accomplished with thinning shears,
slithering or razor techniques. Most frequently worn with a regular haircut
or a long pompadour. = Extra long=
A coarse clipper blade is used in the nape, immediately arcing out of the
hair, with the taper completed below the bottom of the ears. A fine clipper blade
may be used to taper the lower edge of the hairline to the skin. An extra long
taper is frequently blocked at the nape in a squared or rounded pattern; a
deconstructed arch around the ears and a deconstructed or shaggy block at the
nape are also quite common. Extra long sideburns are appropriate; extra long
sideburns extend to the top of the ear lobe. The middle section of the back and
sides is most often cut shears over comb or shears over fingers; can also be cut
with a razor. Thinning, layering and blending of the middle section of the
back and sides can be accomplished with thinning shears, slithering or razor
techniques. Apart from being worn with a regular haircut, also worn with an extra
long pompadour. Topping
Topping includes shortening, layering, and thinning the hair on the crown and
frontal areas to attain the desired length, volume, degree of contour,
graduation, and layering. The technique most widely used to shorten, layer and
graduate the hair is the shears over finger method, also known as finger
work. Finger work involves initially lifting the hair to be cut with the
comb, then grasping the lifted hair between the index and middle finger of
the opposite hand while transferring the comb to that hand and cutting it with
the shears held in the hand that initially held the comb. The comb is
then transferred back to the hand that holds the shears and the process is
repeated in swaths that go from front to back, outer to inner areas of the right
and left sides of the top. The angle at which the hair is held away from the
scalp is critical as it affects how the cut hair will graduate and layer.
Depending on the area of the scalp and the desired appearance of the cut hair,
the angle will range from around 45 to 135 degrees. Shears over comb techniques
include the up and over method and the shear lifting method. In both methods,
the hair to be cut is held up by the comb and cut with shears. The up and
over method is a continuous process where the strips of cut hair run from
the front hairline back or from the side hairline upwards. In the shear lifitng
method, the process is not continuous but carried out sectionally from left to
right across the top of the head proceeding from the crown to the front .
For example, there may be fifteen separate sections, three across the top
of the head from side to side and five from the crown forward. Cutting proceeds
from crown left to crown right and so on to front left to front right. As with
the shears over finger method, the angle of the hair to the scalp as it is cut is
critical to the layered and graduated appearance of the cut hair. Depending on
the thckness of the hair and the desired volume, topping may include thinning
which can be accomplished by a variety of methods including thinning shears
method, slithering with regular barber shears or the push back method with
regular shears or thinning shears. The hair to be thinned may be held with the
fingers or comb. Whorls, cowlicks, and irregularities of the scalp can be
addressed by shear point tapering techniques. Only a few hairs are cut in
the problem areas using just the tips of the shears, over comb. Topping as well
as siding may also be achieved with razor cutting techniques.
Guards and blades Three types of clippers can be utilized
to achieve a regular haircut: taper clippers, rotary clippers and
outliner/edger clippers. Taper clippers are powered by a linear or pivot motor.
The blades are not readily interchangeable. The taper lever allows
adjustment of the cutting length within a certain range, usually from #000 blade
length, 1/50" on the fine side to #1 length, 3/32" on the coarse side. For
longer lengths, clipper guards are attached. The guard will cut at the
numbered guard length when the taper lever is in the shortest cutting
position. Clipper guards are also known as clipper guide combs. Fade clippers
are identical to taper clippers with the exception of the range of cutting
lengths which is entirely within the fine blade range. Most fade clippers cut
between #00000 blade length, 1/125" and #000 blade length, 1/50". As with
regular taper clippers, clipper guards can be attached for longer cutting
lengths. Rotary clippers have blades that readily snap on and off. Blades are
available that leave from 1/250” to 3/4” of hair on the scalp when the clipper is
guided over the head with the teeth of the clipper blade in contact with the
scalp. Blades are numbered differently than guards. Rotary clippers are
designed to accept a certain standard blade type, so that blades from a
variety of manufacturers designed to the specific standard may be utilized on a
clipper designed to that standard, regardless of manufacturer.
Outliner/edger clippers have a very fine cutting blade and no taper lever and are
used to outline a defined arch around the ear and for block cuts, the edge at
the nape of the neck. = Guards=
Human scalp hair grows on average about one eighth inch per week or one half
inch per month. Most clipper guards are numbered in eighths of an inch. The
number of the guard denotes the number of week's hair growth left on the scalp
when a clipper with a certain numbered guard is guided over the head with the
guard in contact with the scalp. A #1 guard leaves 1/8", one week's growth of
hair growth on the scalp; a #2 guard leaves 2/8", two week's hair growth, on
the scalp; a #3 guard leaves 3/8", three week's hair growth on the scalp; and so
on. = Blades=
Gallery See also
References External links
Bibliography Booker, Benjamin. The Secret of
Barbering. Unattributed Publisher. Modern Barber College. Modern Textbook
of Barbering. Modern Barber College. Moler, A.B.. The Barbers', Hairdressers'
and Manicurers' Manual. Unattributed Publisher.
Moler, A.B.. Standardized Barbers' Manual. Unnattributed Publisher.
Scali-Snipes, Mara. Milady's Standard Textbook of Professional Barber Styling.
Milady Publishing Corporation. Stewart, Helen; Ford, Gilly.
Hairdressing with Barbering. Heinemann Educational Publishers.
Thorpe, S.C.. Practice and Science of Standard Barbering. Milady Publishing
Corporation. Thorpe, S.C.. Practice and Science of
Standard Barbering. Milady Publishing Corporation.
Trusty, L. Sherman. The Art and Science of Barbering. Wolfer Printing Co.