Craft hairdressers are playing a major role in bringing the haircut back. Joseph Longmore, Sam Villa Show Ambassador, explains how these stylists’ pursuit of excellence has brought precision cutting into the limelight.
Craft hairdressers push the limits of haircutting by simplifying their approach. They take definitive sections with intent and use a combination of tools and techniques to precision cut for predictable results. They are connected and post their methods and results without any expectation of feedback. They are cutting for the love of cutting and constantly striving to streamline tools and techniques to be better… and that is what makes them so good.
“By pre-sectioning haircuts and providing a roadmap of how we want each section to live, we can effectively understand the principles of haircutting while simultaneously predicting the end-result. It takes a great deal of practice, patience, and persistence to discipline, or even shift, our mindset toward a new approach to cutting, but it’s incredibly rewarding,” says Longmore.
With many guests requesting strong foundations with an undone softness that makes the shape more livable, it’s time to turn to precision cutting again. “True, a precision bob requires smoothing and gripping products to keep it from becoming too heavy or boxy, and it’s not the textured bob that most women want today, BUT we can still infuse the same discipline and structure to a highly textured bob by simply changing the technique we choose to remove the hair. The structure is infused by the elevation, over-direction, cutting line and sectioning, while either razor cutting or very deep “peak and valley” style point cutting can provide a shape that floats and moves with the individual,” adds Longmore.
As with any technique, using the right shear and sectioning creates more control and precision. Longmore gives these tips and shares that it requires a blend of sectioning, varying styles of shears and multiple cutting techniques to achieve the complexity displayed in modern haircuts.
– When working with smaller more detailed sections, use a small shear
– For difficult graduation angles, use a Sam Villa Signature Series Swivel Shear
– Cutting larger more compressed sections requires a longer blade for more control
– If the targeted end-result is a highly refined clean edge, use smaller sections
– If the desire is to create a loose textured edge, larger compressed sections are more efficient
Credits: Hair/Sam Villa ArTeam; Photographer/Mitch Meyer; Makeup/Keri Hatfield; Wardrobe/Michelle Boucher assisted by Carmen Nydegger