Hey, I had you in mind when I wrote this, I figured you knew how to cut hair at the least from all your photos I have seen. I been cutting my own hair, but i really want to learn how to do fades better. or taper fades etc.
My goal is to cut my own back and side hair on the bottom at a number 1 guard and fade up into perhaps a number 5 guard at the upper part of where my own back and side hair ends. I been doing it OKK, but not perfect. I still get lines and stuff. I know you skilled guys use clipper over comb etc. But its hard to do this for me holding a mirror. I usually use the "skip a guard technique". Here is my idea, I just wanted to run it by you if I may.
I first was going to buzz my own back/side hair on a Number 5 guard. Than I was going to skip the 4 and go to a 3. Start from the bottom and where I want it to end .. about halfway up, I use a strong rocking motion. I am thinking this rocking motion at the transition between 3, 5 would blend..
Next I was gonna try and create the fade with a number 1. but instead of doing the typical bottom to top motion, I take the clippers sideways as an angle and go around the are I want to fade. Hoping that the angulation will blending into the #3 length . See picture below
Sorry for the long question. Just curious what you think about this method, i haven't tried it yet.. Or if you have any suggestions on how to get a taper fade etc.
That's not going to work. You're going to need to use the guard numbers in between to blend in otherwise there will be a line. Also, a number 5 blade is pretty large and may not pick up the hairs very easily. The largest blade I recommend is a 4.
You will still need a 2 blade and a 1 1/2 blade to fade out the line if you have one. Angling might work, but it still leaves room for error when doing it yourself.
Here are the videos where I got the idea, this guy is supposedly famous or some shit i dunno. Maybe you might find this interesting being a barber yourself. Supposedly this guy has a guinness record or some shit , that he can do the fastest haircuts etc.
Ha. That's funny you linked me to those videos! Ivan Zoot and I actually don't get along in the professional business of haircutting. We've gone round and round for years!
However, the skip guard technique is definitely a useful technique. The side angle technique that he uses I personally don't ever do. I just prefer the skip guard technique to fade out any lines. If I were you, I'd do the 4 or 5 all the way up. Then do the 3 up to midway. Then try to fade out that line with a 4 blade. Then do a 1 about a quarter of the way up. Then try to fade out that line with a 2 and then a 1.5.
But to be honest, its going to be hard doing it at home. I'd find a local barber who is willing to take some time and not cut anything off the top or go too high. Most barbers are familiar with toupees since them or their barber friends most likely worked with them at some point. They became very popular after the Vietnam War since many guys bought toupees to wear so that they weren't recognized because short military cuts were basically only worn on those in the armed forces!
Best of luck. Let me know how it goes! Maybe video tape it and send me the video so I can let you know some pointers, if at all.
Hey thanks for the info. Yeah i have used the skip a guard technique the last time and it worked pretty well. But sometimes I get a line and its a pain to get it out and takes a long time. thats funny you know that guy, he speaks like a friggin TV infomercial or something. He could be the next billy maze.
Yeah I really wanted to get some kind of fade going cause I think people don't associate hair systems with taper fades or bald fades at all. I wish you lived in nyc lol. I really would prefer to learn it myself because its kind of embarrassing walking into some place and telling them I wear a hair system, and besides that I think its so much easier to be able to groom your own hair when you need it. If i can't do the fade, Ill just do a regular cut with buzzers that I can manage for sure.
I know the right way is clipper over comb. but i really would need to practice that and buy a 2 way mirror. My system hair i just cut with a robocut and than when i get it to the length i want I use thinning sheers or point cutting to give it a textured look.
WEll I tried it, lol. I couldnt get the side thing to work out right, I used the skip a guard with OK success.. it took some time but i did it decent. Some spots were messed up and i had to use a make up pensil to fill in the line.
The main problem for me is, I have to go from a 1 to a 5 in a short amount of distance. I don't have a lot of my own back hair to work with. So I need a quick transition fade. My system hair is around 1 inch long, so i am figuring I need to cut my own hair at the top on at least a number 5 guard to blend into the 1 inch hair of the system. Am I wrong with that assumption?
I think next time what I am going to try, chip away at the line just a little bit with higher and higher guards. like as soon as i feel the hair cutting i flick the transiition line.. Like go to a 1.5 flick it than a 2 flick it than a 3 and keep flicking the line a little bit at a time to hopefully get a radical transition. Do you think this might work sorry to be a bother and keep annoying u with this lol.
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