Hair Cutting Techniques – The Art Of Slide Cutting
It is not only important for a successful hairstylist to learn as many hair cutting techniques as possible, but they must also keep themselves skilled and up to date with the requirements of the hair cuts as many of the hairstyles are dependant on the cut. One very important technique for cutting hair is the slide cutting. Its primary purpose is to remove the excess bulk to the hair without losing the cutting line. This is not to be misconstrued as slicing or feathering. You finished product should be a look of softness and the hair should have a natural movement but still be used within a structured cut.
Slide cutting is versatile when it comes to hair types. It works perfectly for those clients with medium to coarse hair. Then on the other hand for those clients that have lots of hair but it is fine and has the appearance of being fragile then the slide cutting can be used to give it some lift and proper movement, or controlled movement rather than the flyaway look that often comes with this type of hair.
The first two things you must ensure are that your scissors are not dull and that you do not wet the hair. As you are most probably aware, wet hair has less bulk. It is always an ideal situation when you can visualize your results and by using this technique on dry hair, you can readily see this. One of the problems you may find you are having is that the scissors are catching the hair and as a result, your cuts are too deep. This is simply rectified by not opening the scissors too far. In fact, they should only be opened to a maximum of one third. If you do this then you will put an end to your problem. This will allow you to perform smooth strokes when you are cutting as it gives you the perfect angle. When you have the hair shaft held properly then adjust your angle so the blades of your scissors at approx 30 degrees in relation to the hair shaft. Be constantly aware that you must not cut into the base line or you will have an inferior finish and don?t start too close to the scalp.
Two major components are going to lead you to be highly successful with this technique. That is the willingness to practice, and the decision to invest in the correct scissors for the job. Inferior scissors will lead to an inferior job no matter how great your cutting skills are.
The ultimate scissors should have a full convex blade and you should not be able to see a separate edge, which means it, must be high precision scissors. You can easily identify these types of scissors by their fine edges. This is what allows you to be successful with the open blade techniques you are required to perform. They are precisioned for soft cutting. Many stylists attempt to use medium precision scissors for this technique but find they do not slide well. A good pair of precision scissors is certainly not cheap ranging between $400-$600. There is no need to remind you that an investment as costly as this needs constant protection against damage.
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