Five Cutting Methods every Hairdresser Should Know!

Cutting hair is the staple of every stylist’s working week, but how many cutting techniques do you use?

According to four-times British Hairdresser of the Year, Akin Konizi from HOB Salons, there are five main methods every hairdresser should know:

Using the right cutting techniques can add movement and dimension to a hairstyle. Once you know the right techniques to use, you can create any shape or texture. It’s about using the right techniques to help you develop your cutting skills.

The five cutting methods every hairdresser should know

1. Layering: The most important technique but often the most underestimated. Good layering helps you create the material for all your shapes. You can use it for every shape, texture, and hair type.
2. Graduation: Graduation is used to build up weight, with geometric lines either with or without tension and will form the outline of any shape you create.
3. Reverse Graduation: This is the best kept secret in hairdressing! It is the opposite of each section getting shorter; each section is getting longer. It was used a lot in the 80s to create hard, strong geometry. The modern version is to use it on one-length styles to combat graduation.
4. Texturizing: Texturizing is not taken seriously enough. It is about cutting shorter lengths into your longer lengths to create an internal shape in your haircut that will work as a structure to your styles. Sometimes it will give a softening effect, or it can be used to thin out the hair. Texturizing offers a whole world of possibilities and potentials by manipulating weight.
5. Precision Cutting: Precision cutting is not just for geometry. It is how I do all my cuts; it is about doing your work precisely; if it is a messy haircut, you still cut it with precision. If you want to create texture or choppiness, you still use precision.