How To Get The Cut You Want
How To Get The Cut You Want
Author: Jenna White | San Francisco Hairstylist
April 22nd, 2021
April 22nd, 2021
If you've ever raced out of a salon with tears in your eyes, you already know it's hard to explain to a stylist exactly what you're hoping to get. While it's not always this dramatic (and possibly good for your personality to have at least one bad haircut in your life), rest assured the struggle is over.
In this post, I'll explain haircut verbiage and give tips for communicating the haircut you want.
Length
The place where the longest pieces of your hair end. Always point to where you think this should be on your body or face. If your desired length is really short, showing pictures is a must. Telling the stylist when your last haircut was also helps teach them about your length preference. Keep in mind that length can vary at different places on a haircut, hence the next section "Shorter Than Length".
Shorter Than Length
Pieces that are shorter than the length of your hair, and live (i.e. grow) at the very top of your head, help add movement to your look. Texture is the opposite of having a cut that is all one length. It breaks up the hair into shorter pieces that blend into your length (aka layers). When asking your stylist for texture, show photos of what you like and don't like.
For shorter hair around your face (aka face framing layers), point to where you think the shortest piece should be. When talking to your stylist, say things like: "I want to have soft layers no shorter than my shoulders, but only around my face" or "I would like the shortest pieces around my face to start at my chin". Again, physically pointing helps communicate what you want to the stylist. For shorter hair around your forehead (aka bangs), follow the same system.
Blunt Ends
Blunt ends give the appearance of a shelf or sharp line where the length of your hair stops. When done correctly, they provide a clean, crisp appearance, and are associated with the look of "freshly cut" hair.
Blunt Ends
Blunt ends give the appearance of a shelf or sharp line where the length of your hair stops. When done correctly, they provide a clean, crisp appearance, and are associated with the look of "freshly cut" hair.
Soft Ends
Soft ends are the opposite of blunt ends. Instead of a sharp line, there is a tapered appearance where the hair seems to end in "points" or "tips". Common terms to describe them are "lived in" and "broken up".