Glossary - Haircutting

Front 1

space between 2 lines or surfaces that intersect at given point; in haircutting, hair is held away from head to create elevation

Back 1

angle

Front 2

highest point on top of head

Back 2

apex

Front 3

tapering ends of hair

Back 3

beveling

Front 4

haircut, which all hair comes to one hanging level, forming weight line or area; cut with no elevation or overdirection

Back 4

blunt haircut, one-length, zero-elevation, or no-elevation cut

Front 5

haircutting technique done by placing still blade into hair and resting on scalp, then moving shears through hair while opening and partially closing shears

Back 5

carving

Front 6

haircutting technique similar to shears-over-comb, except clippers move sideways across comb rather than bottom to top

Back 6

clipper-over-comb

Front 7

parting haircut in opposite way from which you cut it, to check for precision of line and shape

Back 7

cross-checking

Front 8

area of head between ape and back of parietal ridge

Back 8

crown

Front 9

angle at which fingers are held when cutting, and ultimately line that is cut

Back 9

cutting line, finger angle, finger position, cutting position, cutting angle, and shear angle

Front 10

where and how hair is moved over head; direction hair is combed in relation to base parting

Back 10

distribution

Front 11

angle or degree at which subsection of hair is held, or elevated, from head when cutting

Back 11

elevation or projection

Front 12

points on head that signal change in shape of head, from flat to round or vice versa

Back 12

four corners

Front 13

notching technique in which pieces of hair are snipped out at random intervals

Back 13

free-hand notching

Front 14

triangular section that begins at apex and ends at front corners

Back 14

fringe

Front 15

graduated shape of wedge; in effect of haircut that results from cutting hair with tension, low to medium elevation, or overdirection; has a stacked area around exterior

Back 15

graduated haircut / graduation

Front 16

direction which hair grows from scalp

Back 16

growth patter, natural fall, or natural falling position

Front 17

section of hair, located either at perimeter or interior of cut, that determines length hair will be cut, usually first section that is cut to create a shape

Back 17

guideline, or guide

Front 18

hair that grows at outermost perimeter along face, around ears, and on neck

Back 18

hairline

Front 19

shape of head or skull; greatly affects way hair falls and behaves

Back 19

head form or head shape

Front 20

guideline that is inside haircut rather than on perimeter

Back 20

interior guideline

Front 21

graduated effect achieved by cutting hair with elevation or overdirection; hair is cut at higher elevations, usually 90 degrees or above which removes weight

Back 21

layered haircut / layers

Front 22

thin continuous mark; in haircutting, may be guideline, cutting line or perimeter; can be straight or curved, horizontal, vertical, or diagonal

Back 22

line

Front 23

haircut in which hair is cut at 180-degree angle; resulting shape has shorter layers at top and increasing longer layers toward perimeter

Back 23

long layered haircut

Front 24

back part of neck; hair below occipital bone

Back 24

nape

Front 25

version of point cutting in which tips of shears are moved toward hair ends rather than into them; crates chunkier effect

Back 25

notching

Front 26

hindmost bone of skull blow parietal bones; protrudes at base of skull

Back 26

occipital bone

Front 27

combing a section away from natural falling position, rather than straight out from head, toward a guideline; used to create increasing lengths in interior or perimeter

Back 27

overdirection

Front 28

cutting position in which palms of both hands are facing each other

Back 28

palm-to-palm

Front 29

widest area of head, usually starting at temples and ending at bottom of crown

Back 29

parietal ridge

Front 30

a line dividing hair to scalp that separates one section of hair from another or creates subsections; generally crated with a comb

Back 30

part / parting

Front 31

outer line of hairstyle, silhouette line

Back 31

perimeter or exterior

Front 32

haircutting technique in which tips of shears are used to cut "points' into ends of hair

Back 32

point cutting

Front 33

texturizing technique in which comb and razor are used on surface of hair

Back 33

razor-over-comb

Front 34

texturizing technique similar to razor-over-comb, done with small circular motions

Back 34

razor rotation

Front 35

points on head that mark where surface of head changes or behaviour of hair changes, such as ears, jawline, occipital bone, apex, etc.; used to establish design lines that are proportionate

Back 35

reference points

Front 36

to divide hair by parting into uniform working areas for control; it is created when 2 partings are made parallel to one another

Back 36

section

Front 37

haircutting technique in which hair is held in place with comb while tips of shears used to remove lengths

Back 37

shears-over-comb

Front 38

technique that removes bulk and adds movement through the lengths of hair; shears are not completely closed, and only portion of blades near pivot is used

Back 38

slicing

Front 39

method of cutting or thinning hair in which fingers and shears glide along edge of hair to remove length

Back 39

slide cutting

Front 40

process of thinning hair to graduated lengths with shears; cutting hair strand by sliding movement of shears while keeping blades partially opened

Back 40

slithering or effilating

Front 41

guideline that does not move

Back 41

stationary guideline

Front 42

smaller sections with larger section of hair, used to maintain control of hair while cutting

Back 42

subsections

Front 43

haircuts in which there is an even blend from very short at the hairline to longer lengths as you move up the head; narrow progressively at one end

Back 43

tapers

Front 44

amount of pressure applied when combing and holding a section, created by stretching or pulling section

Back 44

tension

Front 45

removing excess bulk without shortening length; changing appearance or behaviour of hair, through specific haircutting techniques, using shears, thinning shears, or a razor

Back 45

texturizing

Front 46

guideline that moves as the haircutting progresses, used often when creating layers or graduation

Back 46

travelling guideline, moving or movable guidelines

Front 47

effect produced by cutting hair at same length consistently, using 90-degree elevation

Back 47

uniform layers

Front 48

visual "line" in haircut, where ends of hair hang together; line of maximum length within weight area; heaviest perimeter area of 0 degree (one-length) or 45-degree (graduated) cut

Back 48

weight line