As a hairdresser, the basic haircut is your bread and butter. It’s one of the foundation bricks for your entire career. If you can fine-tune your basic haircut you can develop the muscle memory needed to accelerate your speed and accuracy.

Because no two hairdressers cut hair exactly the same way, even when given the same education and training, you will develop a unique signature to your work. That’s the artistic part of the job. These 5 steps to the basic haircut will help you fine-tune your method. Put your artistic spin on this skill and make it your own.

1. Perimeter

Cut the perimeter all the way around the bottom first, including bangs. It’s quick and easy. Establish your length with a zero degree elevation, straight down.

2. Top Center – Part line

If you are doing layers, set a guide length down the part line. From the front hairline at the bangs to the crown, top back center, take a thin strip of hair, and pull it straight up. This is called your top guideline. It will be the shortest part of the layers. This step is not necessary if you are not doing any layers, a one-length style.

Comb it straight up, then pull it down to get an idea of where it will land before you cut this guide. You can always take more off to adjust the shape of the style if needed, but you can’t put it back on if you take too much.

3. Crown layers

The top layers or crown layers can be cut Square or Round. Take reasonably sized, vertical sections around the top of the head. If you were looking straight down at the top of the head, your pattern would look like a U-shape. Sections will go down one side of the part line, around the crown in small pie shapes, and back up the other side of the part line.

Square layers are vertical sections that get brought straight up and cut along a horizontal line. Think of kids hanging up side down on the monkey bars and cutting the ends of their hair in a straight line with the horizon.

Round layers are vertical sections that are pulled out at a 90-degree angle to the curve of the head. Think of drawing a circle (the head) and drawing a bigger circle around the outside of that. This curved line is where you cut for round layers.

4. Bottom layers

For round layers, pull a vertical section of hair out from the head at 90 degrees, including the bottom perimeter. Starting either in front of one ear and working around the head. Or from the back center and working forward on one side, then on the other.

This part is important. Let a bit of the perimeter drop before you cut. If you don’t, you will cut a hole in your already established perimeter line. For round layers, you can pull the same section again and include some hair that is a little higher, closer to the part line, and connect the crown layer that you previously cut to the bottom layer you are working on.

True square layers pull all the hair, crown layers, and bottom layers, from the nape and around the ears straight up and cut on that same vertical line that you established for the crown layers. Again, this does not apply to one-length haircuts, with no layers.

5. Details

Here is where you are going to look at your work from an artistic view. Add texture if needed or desired. This is also where the rest of the details happen too, like eyebrows, ears, neckline, or facial hair, i.e. beard and mustache.

You can use several detail techniques at this point in your haircut to customize it and make it unique. From the type of tool you use, to how you use said tool, will define each cut you do as your personal piece of artwork.

Texturizing can be done with straight-edge scissors, a razor, or texturizing (thinning) shears. Point cutting, knuckling, slide cutting, and twist cutting, are a few different techniques that can be used.

Practice these 5 steps to the basic haircut. Customize them to what order and detail works best for you. Remember that no two stylists cut hair the same way. However, you do it is not wrong, just because someone else doesn’t do it that way.

The customer is the most important person to make happy, no matter what they may ask for. Just keep it professional and make sure your clients are making fully informed decisions, especially before something drastic. And have fun!

As always, feel free to comment or contact me to ask questions. I love the feedback. Also, follow me on social media for a heads-up when new articles post. Facebook, X(twitter), TikTok, Instagram, and Pinterest.

Another great read to improve your haircut is Details Matter. Check it out and have fun.