Barber educator, entrepreneur and business coach Ivan Zoot says that “most ideas in haircutting are short enough to be covered in a sound bite."
For his latest book, Ivan Says … Practical Advice for Barbers and Cosmetologists in Bite-Sized Bullets, Zoot compiled more than 500 quickie tips to make life behind the chair easier, safer, more comfortable, and more lucrative. Here are 30 of them.
1. Rough in the edges of your haircut early. You will see the finished look faster.
2. Line up blades in order in the blade rack for sure, fast, proper pickup.
3. Re-orient the client to your cutting position. Spin the chair. Put the miles on your client, not on your feet.
4. Talc your tapers for increased visibility of lines and steps.
5. Cut down from long to short, not up from short to long. Better blending, faster, easier.
6. Oil every clipper, every trimmer, every client, every time.
7. Only zero-gap trimmer blades if you are sure you’re doing it right. Overgapped blades will cut clients.
8. Use a 1A blade for beautiful baseline tapering.
9. If you cannot sanitize that neck duster, don’t use it.
10. You can’t cut what you can’t see. Light hair, dark combs. Dark hair, light combs.
11. Wavy tooth combs stagger hair for better blending on straighter textures.
12. When tapering clipper-over-comb, only cut when the top of the tips of the teeth are tipped out towards your torso.
13. Use overlapping vertical panels to taper across the head. Each panel is the guide for the next panel.
14. Finish that tool. Cut all you can with a tool. Put it down and do not pick it up again. Efficient.
15. Do not top off the Barbicide. Dump and mix fresh daily.
16. Never do a haircut consultation with your tools in your hands. You are not ready to go to work yet.
17. Use razor rotation to smoothly blend coarse hair.
18. Palm your scissors when combing for safety and control.
19. Spray the hairline with witch hazel-based hair spray to crisp up the line for cleaner trimmer lines and edges.
20. Forget the clock. Focus on cutting hair better, and one day you will magically be faster.
21. Backhand clipper cutting, keep the comb and clipper in the same hand. No transferring.
22. Use guards with the adjustable blade lever in the 000 position.
23. Taper clipper-over-comb with a #1 guard in place as clipper insurance.
24. Buy the extra clipper or trimmer blade the day you buy the tool. Have it before you need it.
25. Use blending scissors, from mid-strand to ends, to reduce bulk on medium to thick hair textures.
26. Fingers can be used as clipper guards. Your hand has a set of four in different sizes.
27. Right-handed haircutters: cut the left side first; it’s the easy side. Lefties, vice versa.
28. Use the mirror to get sideburns even. Turn the finished one to it to easily see both.
29. Overdirect fringes for additional length for styling options and style.
30. A comb with a tooth missing is a dangerous weapon. Toss it.
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