Lockdown Day 70: Hawk Haircut
Getting a haircut has actually been one of the things people seem to stress about with the Coronavirus lockdowns. Hair salons have been closed as they're not deemed essential businesses (in most places). On various social media "I can't wait to get a haircut!" has been a common topic. And now, as various states have been relaxing restrictions over the past few weeks, "I finally was able to get a haircut!" has been a popular topic.
Here on Day 70 of the lockdown in the San Francisco area hair salons are still not open. While I've been among the few trimming my own hair for weeks now and been very happy with the results, Hawk has remained in the much larger camp of people unwilling to trust anyone other than a favorite stylist. Until today. Today she finally warmed up enough to trust me- or got so sick of her hair getting longer and longer; I can't be sure which- to cut her hair for her.
As I noted several weeks ago it's not hard to cut your own hair. I've paid attention to what a stylist I like does and have learned how to imitate her techniques. I've noticed that most people don't. They don't understand the techniques and can't follow descriptions of them so they can't/won't form trust in others to do the job right.
I talked through this a few times with Hawk and reached agreement that she wanted a clipper cut. Yes, that's a short cut; the guides on clippers only extend out to about 1" (2.5cm). FWIW that's shorter the most, if not all, stylists are willing to cut a woman's hair, save perhaps on military bases. Ultimately I think Hawk realized she had to come to me to try it as short as she's always wanted. 😏
We started with the No. 8 guide on the clippers, a 1" cut. We agreed we could always go shorter on a subsequent pass. Once it's cut there's no way to uncut!
Even just trimming her hair from its grown-out length of 2 ~ 2½ inches (5-6cm) created piles of hair everywhere. Unlike my hair, which is thin and fine, Hawk's is thick and dense. I used my pro-quality clippers for this job instead of the lighter, cordless trimmer I use for myself nowadays. The picture above shows just the piles on the sink counter. There were piles all over the floor, too. "It looks like swarm of spiders in here!" she exclaimed.
I thought the results of the No. 8 looked fine. Hawk wanted to go shorter. I suggested first we shorten the sides to a No. 4 and taper at the top. Men who get clipper cuts know that walking into a hair salon and saying something like, "5 on the top, 3 on the sides" is a common request. Again, we were starting at longer cuts and going shorter because it's not possible to go back.
I cut to 8 on top, 4 on the sides. Hawk still thought it was too long. I suggested trying a No. 6 on top next (3/4 inch). Again, incremental changes.
I thought the result with 6 on top/4 on the slides looked great. Hawk wanted it even shorter. It's her hair! So I cut it to a No. 4 (half inch) on the top next. She really liked that length. I suggested finishing it up with a No. 2 to taper around the ears and in the back, and to shave the in the back to raise the hairline further above the collar, too. She agreed.
Here's the finished product. It's like a buzz-cut in that it has completely removed the natural wave in her hair. But not like a buzz-cut in that it's not that short. She really likes it.
Here on Day 70 of the lockdown in the San Francisco area hair salons are still not open. While I've been among the few trimming my own hair for weeks now and been very happy with the results, Hawk has remained in the much larger camp of people unwilling to trust anyone other than a favorite stylist. Until today. Today she finally warmed up enough to trust me- or got so sick of her hair getting longer and longer; I can't be sure which- to cut her hair for her.
As I noted several weeks ago it's not hard to cut your own hair. I've paid attention to what a stylist I like does and have learned how to imitate her techniques. I've noticed that most people don't. They don't understand the techniques and can't follow descriptions of them so they can't/won't form trust in others to do the job right.
I talked through this a few times with Hawk and reached agreement that she wanted a clipper cut. Yes, that's a short cut; the guides on clippers only extend out to about 1" (2.5cm). FWIW that's shorter the most, if not all, stylists are willing to cut a woman's hair, save perhaps on military bases. Ultimately I think Hawk realized she had to come to me to try it as short as she's always wanted. 😏
We started with the No. 8 guide on the clippers, a 1" cut. We agreed we could always go shorter on a subsequent pass. Once it's cut there's no way to uncut!
Even just trimming her hair from its grown-out length of 2 ~ 2½ inches (5-6cm) created piles of hair everywhere. Unlike my hair, which is thin and fine, Hawk's is thick and dense. I used my pro-quality clippers for this job instead of the lighter, cordless trimmer I use for myself nowadays. The picture above shows just the piles on the sink counter. There were piles all over the floor, too. "It looks like swarm of spiders in here!" she exclaimed.
I thought the results of the No. 8 looked fine. Hawk wanted to go shorter. I suggested first we shorten the sides to a No. 4 and taper at the top. Men who get clipper cuts know that walking into a hair salon and saying something like, "5 on the top, 3 on the sides" is a common request. Again, we were starting at longer cuts and going shorter because it's not possible to go back.
I cut to 8 on top, 4 on the sides. Hawk still thought it was too long. I suggested trying a No. 6 on top next (3/4 inch). Again, incremental changes.
I thought the result with 6 on top/4 on the slides looked great. Hawk wanted it even shorter. It's her hair! So I cut it to a No. 4 (half inch) on the top next. She really liked that length. I suggested finishing it up with a No. 2 to taper around the ears and in the back, and to shave the in the back to raise the hairline further above the collar, too. She agreed.
Here's the finished product. It's like a buzz-cut in that it has completely removed the natural wave in her hair. But not like a buzz-cut in that it's not that short. She really likes it.