Haircutting and Clipper Work
Haircutting items test sectioning, elevation, guide use, and clipper control. The exam expects you to predict the shape a cut will produce from the elevation and guide you choose, then blend that shape safely with clippers.
Sectioning and elevation
- Use a center part and horizontal or vertical subsections; know the parietal ridge, crown, occipital bone, and nape.
- Elevation controls shape: 0 degrees gives one length, 45 degrees gives graduation, 90 degrees gives uniform layers, and 180 degrees gives long layers.
- A stationary guide does not move; a traveling guide follows the previous section and can build length or weight.
Clipper work
- Guard numbers commonly run #1 at 1/8 inch, #2 at 1/4 inch, #3 at 3/8 inch, and #4 at 1/2 inch; blade sizes run from 000 to 1.5, and the taper lever adjusts closeness.
- For a fade, establish a guideline, work upward, blend smaller guards into larger guards, and cross-check.
- Clipper-over-comb means holding the comb flat, keeping the blade parallel, and cutting over the comb without digging corners.
- Use a neck strip, cut dry hair with clippers, oil and align blades, and check for lesions before cutting.
Worked example
A client wants a low fade. Set a bald line at the nape, create a guideline with a #1, blend upward with #2 and #3, then use clipper-over-comb to merge into the top. Cross-check by combing the hair in the opposite direction; if a line remains, re-blend with the next guard rather than pressing harder.
Traps that cost marks
Cutting past the guideline, using too much pressure, skipping cross-checking, forgetting the neck strip, using dull blades that pull, and running clippers through wet hair.