When I first started cutting hair I was truly afraid to cut ethnic and curly hair, because it’s so easy to make a mistake or cut the hair way too short. In my studying and with the help of other great professional I was able to uncover some great and simple steps to follow in order to cut curly hair better, and without over cutting or causing frizzyness. The first thing you need to determine is how curly is the hair you’re cutting. Let’s use a number system 1,2, and 3. You are a 1 if you have a natural wave, loose natural curl, loose spiral perm, or loose wave perm. You are a 2 if you have a tighter curl, or tight wave but you can clearly make out all the turns and curves of the curls. You are a 3 if you have very very curly or wavy hair to the point where the actual curves of the curl are almost indistinguishable, and your hair is very suseptable to fizzing and knotting. Below I will seperate instructions for cutting mens hair and womens hair in each of the number categories. keep in mind that there are other techniques and cutting ideas designed for curly hair, these are just my suggestions.
If you are a 1
Mens Hair: At a curly level of 1 a mens short cut can be done with success as though the hair was straight. Shampoo and condition, use clippers and clipper comb on the sides and back and shears or a feather razor on the top, rinse excess hair off and style as usual. Womens Hair: At level 1 a womans hair should not be cut higher than the chin to maintain enough weight to rule the wave or loose curl. Even with a pixie cut this level of curly hair may not look stylish under most circumstance because the curl or wave is too loose. Shampoo and condition hair, cut the hair wet with shears only, use the wide tooth end of your cutting comb to pull the sections of hair down without tension, using your fingers to hold the section of hair make sure you do not use any tension, keep fingers and section a little loose. Trim with shears and avoid using feather razors, even if you want to create layering, face framing, thinning or fringe do not use razors. Because all hair will stretch while wet and bounce back when dry, make sure to cut a little less than you think you need to or else you will wind up with a shorter cut then you intended. Using razors on curly hair can cause the ends to explode and may give the wearer a frizzy look and feel to the hair. With Curly hair never texturize or thin the outside layer of the hair, and make sure that you texturize or thin at least two inches from the scalp for best results, other wise the hairs may stand up and out from the head. I also reccomend that any layering such as increased layers be done long to avoid the hair from poofing out about the clients hair. Style this cut as usual.
If you are a 2
Mens Hair: Shampoo and condition hair, towel dry. At a curly level of 2 a short mens cut can go either way smooth or frustrating. I do not reccomend using clipper guards, because a cut like this one may require special attention to certain areas of the head where curl is more predominate. These areas should be treated similar to caliks, by leaving those areas a bit longer or shorter to counter act the curl. I reccomend using thining shears to blend these ares into the rest of the cut. Use clippers and clipper comb to cut sides and back short, then use shears or razor on the top. A razor on a shorter curly do is reccomended because messy hair is in. I also reccomend you graduate the hair from shorter at the crown to longer at the front giving him some hair to work with at the front, and also to avoid a curly version of what might look like a flat top. Style with gel or palmade and let dry naturaly. Womens hair: Women with curls at this level may enjoy a shorter do but this should be done with caution since it can take more work to keep the hair looking stylish and structured, hair cut above the shoulders should be cut dry. Kep the layers long or go for a curly pixie cut. Anything at shoulder level or below can be cut wet, but in both cases you should be using a wide tooth comb imilar to pick teeth. Longer layers can be cut in shoulder length and longer hair but you shouldn’t exceed the bottom of the ear when cutting your guide for layers, only use the shears or thinning shears never a razor, again start thinning at two inches from scalp. You can use the shears to chip into the very ends of the hair sections to create bouncy curls, in longer hair some layering is a good idea to create a full volume in the hair. Styl as usual let hair air dry or use a diffuser on your blow dryer set to low.
If you are a level 3
Mens Hair: Mens hair at this level will show some curl no matter how short the hair is cut, cut this hair dry only and do not use a gaurd on the top, infact you may want to use the longer stting on your clippers instead of a gaurd on the back and sides. Do not clipper higher than the natural curve of the head or else you will end up with a high and tight. Use shears again on the top cut at finger length, if this doesn’t get the cut tight enough you can use a flat top comb and clippers. Just place the flat top comb snug against the scalp and follow the curves of the head instead of keeping the comb level. Rinse hair and add a leave in conditioner, let air dry. Womens Hair: I highly reccomend that this level of curly hair not be cut shorter than shoulder length, unless you plan to cut a womens fade or pixie cut with the intention that the hair will be straightened with a flat iron. This type of hair should be shampoed, conditioned and given a moisture treatment ahead of time and then dried. Do not flat iron this type of hair before a cut. Leave it to air dry naturaly before cutting. You must use a wide tooth comb similar to a pick and cut each section with shears. With thicker hair you can thin any area of the hair with the exception of the outer most layers. Thinning these areas even in the nape area (back of neck) can cause hair to look frizzy and poke out especially if the client wears her hair in a pony tail. Use shears or thinning shears only to thin this type of hair never a razor. Texturize and thin at least two to two and a half inches away from scalp. Layers are a great way to decrease weight, just be sure you do not cut your guide for layers any higher than the chin for longer hair, to avoid ballooning of hair. This hair also looks best with face framing and a diagnol side sweeped fringe in the front to create visual lines to decrease boxyness and roundness. After the cut wet hair and use a leave in conditioner, you may also want to add a curl gel or straightening balm if you plan to flat iron the hair. If you plan to wear it curly you can use a diffuser on a low setting with your blow dryer or allow it to dry naturally. If you straighten it make sure to use a round brush and direct the blow dryer downward while drying. Then add a thermal protectant such as Redken’s Heat Glide, to protect hair from burning and gradual damage. Flat iron hair straight. Either way add a shine syrum or shine spray to hair after styling.
I used the last technique on my best friends hair, who is African American. Her hair turned out better than I had expected and looked great. Her face framing was very complimentary especially after it was straightened. I hope this helps youe feel more confident about cutting ethnic and curly hair. Good Luck.
