Hair Care and Haircutting
Analyze before you cut
Four tests drive every haircut decision: texture (fine, medium, coarse), density (how much hair per square inch), porosity (the cuticle's ability to absorb - spray water on a strand or float it), and elasticity (a wet strand should stretch and spring back; poor elasticity means no chemical service). Also read growth patterns, whorls, and hair stream, because they decide where a part or fringe will fall.
The four basic forms
Blunt or one-length: 0 degrees elevation with a stationary guideline, all hair falling to one level. Graduated: 45 degrees with a traveling guideline, lengths building up in the back. Uniformly layered: 90 degrees, creating even layers. Long-layered or increased layering: 180 degrees, shorter layers sitting over longer lengths. Distribution - natural fall, perpendicular, or shifted - decides where the hair goes; elevation decides how long it ends up.
Working technique
Section consistently, keep tension even (more tension equals a shorter result), cut with blades parallel to the section, and cross-check opposite sections before finishing. Texturizing tools - point cutting, notching, slicing, razor, clipper-over-comb, shears-over-comb - remove weight without changing the outline.
Traps
Mixing elevation with distribution; thinking 90 degrees produces a blunt line; using a stationary guide when layers are wanted; ignoring a cowlick and fighting it instead of working with it.
Memory hook: 0 flat, 45 stack, 90 square, 180 over.
Worked example: a client wants a bob that sits shorter at the nape - that is graduation, so cut at 45 degrees elevation with a traveling guideline rather than a one-length cut.