Hairstylist-Approved Guide to Cutting Men’s Hair at Home

• Ask him about his hairstyle preferences and agree on a look that will flatter his face shape and hair volume.
• Choose a clipper attachment appropriate for the cut you're giving. The shorter the guide number, the shorter the cut will be.
• Pinch and pull up the top of his hair with your fingers. Using scissors, trim the hair at an angle above your pinched fingers for an even-looking cut.
• Blend the scissor and clipper cuts together with a shear-over-comb technique.

Preparing to Cut

Ask how he wants his hair cut. Before you start his cut, it’s important to find out how short he wants his hair, how uniformly he wants it cut, and how he plans to style it. Asking these essential questions will help you better understand what his desired look is, as well as avoid any potential misunderstandings. Start off by asking questions like, “This is the length you want, right?” When cutting men's hair, section it into 7 parts: the top, left side, right side, back, left sideburn area, right sideburn area, and the fringe. This way, they can describe how much hair they want to be trimmed or buzzed from each section. As you cut the man's hair, periodically ask whether or not it's to his liking. Give him access to a mirror (wall-mounted or hand-held) where he can review the cut to ensure that you’re both on the same page.

Choose a face-flattering haircut suitable to his hair volume. Work together to choose a cut and style that is appropriate for the hair volume he has. For example, a man with a full crown of hair might be interested in a pompadour, while a man with thinning or balding hair might prefer a buzzcut. More dramatic hairstyles like quiffs and pompadours work best when a man has a fuller head of hair. More conservative hairstyles like an all-over trim or buzzcut are particularly flattering for men with thinning or balding hair.

Give yourself plenty of time to execute the cut. Around 1-2 hours of uninterrupted time to execute the haircut should be perfect. It's important not to be in a hurry when cutting hair, especially if you have little experience. The less time you have, the less you’ll be able to dedicate your efforts to the task at hand.

Set up your work area. Seat him in a sturdy chair, and ensure you can reach his head without straining. Cover his shoulders with a barber’s cape, bed sheet, or towel to keep the hair off of him and make cleaning up easier. Make sure to set up your work area on a surface that will be easy to clean afterward. Tile, wood, linoleum, and concrete are all great choices, whereas carpet will swallow clipped hair and make cleaning up difficult. Bathrooms, kitchens, and patios are ideal locations for haircutting.

Start with clean hair. Shampoo the man's hair before you begin the cut. Starting with a clean base makes the cutting process easier, as you’ll be better able to tell where the hair falls naturally, free from oils or product build-up. Then, lightly towel the hair dry, so it’s still somewhat damp.

Detangle his hair by running a comb through it. Combing through his hair will give you a good idea of where it needs to be cut. Then, comb his hair in his desired style: some men prefer a side part on the right or left side of their head, whereas other men prefer a middle part. Comb the hair from bottom to top to make detangling easier.

Trimming with Clippers

Choose a clipper attachment. Use your clippers to trim the back and sides of the head to tidy up excess hair or even to buzz the entire head for a uniform finish. Electric clippers come with blade-guard attachments that determine the length of the hair that gets cut. The longer the clipper attachment, the less hair gets cut. Many men have a preference for what guard you use, so it’s a good idea to ask him if there’s one he prefers—most clipper sets come with 6 guides. Use a 6 to keep the hair on the longer side. Use a 3 or 4 for a standard cut. Use a 2 for a close cut and a 1 for a "buzz cut." The lower the guide number, the shorter his hair will be.

Hold the clippers firmly between your thumb and first two fingers. Your grip should be strong and steady but comfortable. You don't need to squeeze them or do anything fancy with the clippers. So long as you have a steady grip, they’ll easily glide through his hair.

Start clipping at the base of his head. Hold the clippers against his scalp, and run them through his hair from the nape of his neck to about halfway up his head. Round the clippers up and out to finish that cut. Work around to the sides, cutting upward and against the direction the hair is growing. Slowly work around the head, carefully cutting around the ears. Leave the top of the head for your scissors.

Line up the back of the head using clippers. To line up the back of the cut, the goal is to keep the existing hairline and remove any stray hairs outside of the line. Turn the clippers upside-down, press the blades perpendicular to the head, and cut downwards. Have the man look downwards to get a close cut, then have him look straight ahead to ensure it’s even. If the man has a longer tail of hair at the nape of the neck, be sure to clip that off too.

Line up the sides of his head using clippers. Line up the sides of the hair by using your clippers to cut the hair up and off of his ears. Turn the clippers on their side and use the edge of the blade to cut the hair from back to front, going against the grain. Tilt the clippers at a 45-degree angle so the hair blends and fades better.

Trimming the Top and Bangs

Wet the top of the hair and comb it forward. Use a spray bottle to lightly spritz the uncut hair at the top of his head. Comb the hair forward and part a line down the center of his head as if it were between his eyes, separating the right and left sides. You can also section the hair with clips if you need to.

Trim the top hair with scissors. Comb up a half-inch section of hair, beginning at the back and working forward along the line you just parted. Pinch the hair between your index and middle finger, and slide your fingers up or down to the length you want. Leave the hair below your fingers on his head, and trim the hair above your fingers away. Snip the hair at a 45-degree angle with haircutting scissors so it won’t look blunt or uneven. Cut perpendicular to the hair’s direction for a clean cut. For example, if his hair points downwards, towards the back of the neck (vertical), cut horizontally across the back of his head. Don't cut one big clip with the whole scissor blade. Instead, use the tips of the scissor blades to cut the hair in short spurts. If you're nervous, just cut a bit at a time. You can always cut more if you need to.

Cut a new section at the front of the head using scissors. You should notice the difference in length between the section you just cut and the section you’ll be cutting next. When cutting a new section of hair, always take a part of the just-cut section between your fingers to use it as a guide length. Then, point cut the hair with the tips of the scissors to match.

Blend the top of the head with your scissors. Using the prior cut as your guide, make another part to either the right or left of your original one. Use the trimmed section as a guide, and cut any hairs that stick up past that length with your scissors. Continue sectioning and cutting the hair from front to back, always taking a bit of the previous section to help show you what length to maintain.

Trim his bangs with scissors. When you reach the front of his head, comb his bangs down his forehead. Holding the scissors vertically with the tips pointing up, make little snips using the points of the scissors at his desired length. Cut at a 45-degree angle for better blending. Be sure to step back periodically while cutting his bangs to check how the overall haircut looks. Remember that you can cut more hair off but can't add it back on, so be sure you know exactly where you're cutting. Make sure that the bangs are damp and take drying into account. After spritzing the bangs with a spray bottle, keep in mind that curly hair can shrink up to 4 inches (10.2 cm) when it dries, and straight hair can shrink as much as 1 ⁄2 inches (3.8 cm), so don’t overcut.

Blending and Finishing the Cut

Blend the clipper cut with your scissors. Using the fine-tooth end of your comb, comb upward at the point where the clipper cut meets the scissor cut. Use your scissors to trim the hair that pokes out of the comb, blending, or fading, the harsh line that separates the clipper cut from the scissor cut—this is called the shear-over-comb technique. Repeat this technique all the way around the head for an even, well-blended finish. As you use the comb, hold it with the teeth pointing straight up, ensuring you aren't angling it towards or away from you.

Trim his neck and sideburns using clippers. Trim the neck and hair around his ears using the clippers without an attachment. Trim his sideburns, stepping back occasionally to look at him head-on to make sure they’re even. Start at the top and work the clippers downward, so you don’t clip too high. If he asks you to trim his beard, use the clippers to shave or clean up the hair below his sideburns. If you are shaving, use a razor (for a close shave) or clippers without any attachment (for a rough shave). If you’re cleaning up the beard, ask him how short he'd like it, and choose a clipper attachment accordingly. You can also use scissors to snip away the longest hairs of his beard for a uniform finish.

Comb the hair one last time to make sure you didn’t miss a spot. After trimming the entire head, look over his hair to ensure you haven't missed any spots, and touch up rough areas with scissors or clippers, if necessary. Let the man see your handiwork in the mirror, and ask for feedback to see whether he likes it—you can always cut more if needed.

Towel his hair and neck dry to dust off any hair clippings. No one likes an itchy dusting of hair after a haircut, so be sure to gently towel his hair and neck dry after you’re finished. If you’re feeling extra fancy, you could blow dry his hair to add volume and eliminate those pesky hair particles once and for all. For an extra-polished look, add styling products, like a quarter-sized amount of matte pomade throughout his hair for a tousled, yet put-together look.

Sweep the floor before you let him out of the chair. Hurray, you’re almost done! Take a minute to sweep and dispose of all the loose hair clippings off the floor. Sweeping the hair off the ground is a necessary safety precaution, as fallen hair can make the floor very slippery. Don’t forget to run your comb/scissors/shaver under water in the sink once you’ve finished his cut.