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Every day behind the chair we are met with all different types of hair- short, long, thick, thin, curly, straight.. The list goes on and on. You will undoubtedly be asked plenty of times to remove weight or bulk from a haircut. It is important we take into consideration the different hair textures and thickness when determining how we will help achieve our weight removal goals. There are many techniques we can use on our clients' hair to help us with removing weight. Let's see which is best for you !
The most common way to add movement and remove weight in a cut is to add layers. Layers are basically cut to give you shorter to longer hair, or pieces of hair that are different lengths from each other. This removes the weight at the end of the hair that you get when cutting hair blunt.
You can have long layers or short layers, subtle blended layers or more short and choppy layers. You can add layers to most hair types to achieve a weightless cut full of movement. Thick hair, wavy hair and curly hair will benefit the most if you create layers in the cut. Thin hair can have layers as well, however more subtle layers, internal layers or disconnected layers, can be added to help give the hair some more volume and movement. Layers help us remove bulk and add movement, without losing length.
Point cutting is a technique used to soften a blunt line and add movement and texture to the ends. Point cutting can be used to remove length, or to maintain length and remove bulk. When cutting thick hair in a blunt cut you may find the straight line to be too heavy, instead you could point cut that line to break up the bluntness and add movement. This technique can be great when cutting a bob. It will eliminate that super straight, heavy line and give you a much softer finish.
You can use point cutting to keep length and just remove the bulk. This technique is achieved by cutting in to the hair with the point of your shears. The more parallel your shears are to the hair the softer the texture. Depending on how deep you point cut into the hair will determine where you will remove the weight from. If you point cut closer to the ends you will just soften the ends of the cut, if you go for a much deeper point cut, you will be removing more weight from the interior of the cut. This technique is best used on thick hair. To achieve the best results this type of point cutting should be done on dry hair.
Slide cutting is another great bulk removing technique. There are a few different names for this technique, and also different ways to use it.
Slide cutting can be done on wet or dry hair. Wet hair is best for when using slide cutting to remove length, dry is best for removing bulk. When slide cutting we begin more towards the base ( or root of the hair) and use our thumb to slightly open and close our shears. You do not want to ever fully close your shears, as that will create a blunt cut. You are sliding your shears along the hair shaft from the top to the bottom. This technique can help remove the bulk, add movement and blend layers.
Slicing is done similar to slide cutting, but the reverse, from inside out. With slicing you lift sections of the hair and begin slide cutting from the inside to the ends of the hair. This way you are removing more weight from the inside of the hair cut. Slicing is best done on thick hair. Slicing is also able to help you shape your cut nicely and get it to lay perfectly. We can also use these techniques to add volume to thin hair.
These scissors were created with the sole purpose of helping you remove the weight from your haircuts. These are the shears with different teeth on them, which help to remove bulk without removing too much length from your cut.
Thinning shears have more teeth which will help you soften lines and remove bulk quicker. These scissors should only be used towards the end of a hair cut to break up hard lines and soften edges. Because they have so many teeth we have to be careful not to over use them as they will remove too much hair.
Texturizing shears have less teeth that are more spread apart. These scissors are best used for removing more chunky pieces of hair. They will add a lot of texture to a cut and can be used on long, short or medium length hair. Texturizing shears are best used on thick hair, and neither should be used for curly hair. Both shears are great for removing weight and achieving a textured look.
Not all ways of removing weight are created equal. Some techniques will work better on straight hair, others will work better on curls. It is important to take all aspects of your clients hair into consideration when cutting to remove bulk. Most weight removing techniques are best done towards the end of a hair cut, to help the hair fall better and achieve the best style.
And as always, remember, too much of a good thing is not always best. It is possible to remove too much bulk and make hair appear thin and stringy.
Hopefully some of these weight removing tips will help you achieve all your styling goals!
