As most of you may know, I cut and style my own hair at home. A lot of you have been asking for a Tapered Cut Tutorial. I haven’t filmed one as of yet because 1- my haircuts are usually spontaneous, and 2- It’s not a tutorial that I can film myself. I’m all up in the bathroom mirror when cutting my hair and have to concentrate hard to get a precise cut. I sit on the sink with a mirror in one hand so that I can see the back, and clippers in the other. It’s almost impossible for me to get my camera set up in my small bathroom at these angles, so I’ll have to have someone film for me. Hopefully next time. For now I’m sharing with you guys the tools that I use to cut my hair, along with tips for a DIY Tapered Cut.
Some people like to cut their hair wet, but I find that I get a more precise cut when my hair is dry. So my first step is to add a heat protector and blow my hair out, focusing on getting the ends as straight as possible. I use the Rusk Speed Freak along with a Denman-style brush. I then pick out my hair with a Metal Pick to make sure that everything is evenly combed out.
I use the Wahl Chrome Pro Complete Haircutting Kit to do the majority of the cutting.
The guide combs are numbered from 1-8, 1 being the shortest length and 8, the longest. They make it super easy to taper the hair, especially the Ear Taper Guides which I use to taper around the ears. I use Guide Comb #3 to cut down my nape, taper it with Guide Comb #2 and fade near the hairline with Guide Comb #1. I then part the rest of my hair in horizontal sections, and starting from the bottom I go up one number for each section- Guide Comb #4, #5, #6, #7 and #8. The Guide Combs you use depends on how much of a taper you want, and how short you want your hair. The top of my hair is now too long for the longest (highest number) guide comb, so I manually trim it into the shape I want using the Wahl Chrome Clippers without a guide comb. I also do this to even out my entire head after combing out with my metal pick again, and use Styling Shears to clip any strays.
To complete my Taper Cut, I line up (or edge up) my nape and sideburns with the Andis T-Outliner. I do not cut into my natural hairline along the edges as it looks too masculine for my taste.
In the end my hair is cut exactly how I want it. No worries about the barber or stylist not getting it right as I know the look that I’m going for. If I mess it up I can’t blame anyone but myself and I have messed up. The very first time I did my DIY Tapered Cut, I used the ear taper guides upside down and ended up cutting my sides much shorter than planned. It was no biggie though as I just tapered the rest of my hair to match. Going shorter is not really an issue for me, but totally zeeking a patch in the longer areas would be a big problem! Lol. Hopefully I can film a tutorial for you guys soon but let me know if you have any questions.
Are you brave enough to try a DIY Tapered Cut? Share in the comments!
11 Responses
Hey Erica! Thanks for sharing this. I have only recently started cutting off my edges … Hmm after loosing confidence in barbers cutting my hair , I have let my fro grow out of control! I have major problems with my hair tangling and breaking to tears for me 🙁 . I’m going to purchase some clippers and see how it goes ….. Wish me luck! 🙂 ps. You’re beautiful and your hair is amazing!
Thank you so much hun and no problem at all. Good luck with your DIY cut and let me know how it goes!
I so need to get one of these kits! Thanks for sharing because I’m due for another shape up.
You’re welcome!
Thanks for the info one day I will try to do it myself….cant wait to see the video tutorial when you get a chance to do it.
You’re welcome
Do you have a salon in NY?
I don’t have s salon, I do hair from home…
Excellent please do make a video when you next shape your hair ☺
Hi, Erica! You are so beautiful and are speaking to the heart of so many of us who are just over the salon life.
Thank you so much for sharing and posting this. I have been cutting my own hair for quite some time now (COVID pushed me out of my comfort zone) with scissors as I was so tired of paying people to jack my hair up like you and others have stated in so many ways. I have been attempting to learn more about how to taper & as luck would have it I landed on this post. Would you mind sharing which heat protector product you use? I’m hesitant to blow dry because my hair is easily damaged w/ heat.
Thank you again for taking the time to share this.
Thank you so much, and you’re very welcome. I use whatever I have on hand as I get a lot of product samples from brands. The one that I currently use has been discontinued by the brand. I don’t blow out or use heat on my my hair very often.