Today Lindsey is looking to change her hair up dramatically. Having long hair for most of her life, she decided to try something shorter. After a brief consultation and education on the maintenance and upkeep of this new shorter look, we began her haircut. We decided on a solid one length haircut with a lot of texture on the interior. The goal is to keep the blunt appearance when she wears her hair straight but to have a layered look when she curls her hair.

I began the haircut on the front side to establish a length she felt comfortable with. It is important when setting your perimeter to keep a low elevation. I’m cutting in my comb to avoid any unnecessary tension or elevation while cutting. After repeating the same process on the opposite side I take a second to check my balance before moving on. I’ll continue up the head on both sides until the perimeter is solid. Once complete I’ll progress up the heavier side of the part first. It’s my preference to complete one side of a haircut before moving to the opposite side. It helps me to keep momentum and pace in my work. At the front hairline, I comb the hair back to a more natural fall to simulate how Lindsey will sweep her fringe area off of her face.

After completing the heavier side I then move on to the weaker side of the part. When working around the ear I make sure to release the tension to avoid a hole. To make sure the two sides are symmetrical around the face I comb the hair to a more natural fall around the front hairline before cutting. When the weak side is complete I blow dry the nape to prepare for refinement. In the nape I take horizontal sections, omitting the hair around the hairline, and point into the ends at a high elevation. The will diffuse any pointing when at natural fall and translate as texture or movement when worn with a curl. Leaving out the hair at the hairline allows the perimeter to still look blunt when worn straight. Once complete I repeat the blow-dry and point cut at a high elevation process in the middle of the haircut as well.

After your refinement is complete, blow-dry the top of the haircut. I did not point cut into the top so that the surface of the shape maintained a blunt look when worn straight as well. Be sure to recap the discussion on maintenance and styling options at the end of the surface.

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