Milady's Chapter 9: Haircutting

Front 1

ANGLE

Back 1

Space between two lines or surfaces that intersect at a given point.

Front 2

APEX

Back 2

Highest point on the top of the head.

Front 3

BANG (FRINGE)

Back 3

Triangular section that begins at the apex and ends at the front corners.

Front 4

BEVELING

Back 4

Technique using diagonal lines by cutting hair ends with a slight increase or decrease in length.

Front 5

BLUNT HAIRCUT

Back 5

Haircut which all the hair comes to one hanging level, forming a weight line or area; hair is cut with no elevation or over-direction; also referred to as a one-length, zero-elevation, or no-elevation cut.

Front 6

CARVING

Back 6

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

Front 7

CLIPPER-OVER-COMB

Back 7

Haircutting technique similar to scissor-over-comb, except that the clippers move side to side across the comb rather than bottom to top.

Front 8

CROSS-CHECKING

Back 8

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

Front 9

CROWN

Back 9

Area of the head between the apex and back of the parietal ridge.

Front 10

CUTTING LINE

Back 10

Angle at which the fingers are held when cutting, and ultimately the line that is cut; also known as finger angle, finger position, cutting position, cutting angle.

Front 11

DISTRIBUTION

Back 11

Where and how hair is moved over the head.

Front 12

ELEVATION

Back 12

Angle or degree at which a subsection of hair is held, or lifted, from the head when cutting; also referred to as projection or lifting.

Front 13

FOUR CORNERS

Back 13

Points on the head that signal a change in the shape of the head, from flat to round or vice versa.

Front 14

FREE-HAND NOTCHING

Back 14

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

Front 15

FREE-HAND SLICING

Back 15

Technique used to release weight from the subsection, allowing the hair to move more freely.

Front 16

GRADUATED HAIRCUT

Back 16

Graduated shape or wedge; an effect or haircut that results from cutting the hair with tension, low to medium elevation or over direction.

Front 17

GRADUATION

Back 17

Elevation occurs when a section is lifted above 0 degrees.

Front 18

GROWTH PATTERN

Back 18

Direction in which the hair grows from the scalp; also referred to as natural fall or natural falling position.

Front 19

GUIDELINE

Back 19

Section of hair, located either at the perimeter or the interior of the cut, that determines the length the hair will be cut; also referred to as a guide; usually the first section that is cut to create a shape.

Front 20

HAIRLINE

Back 20

Hair that grows at the outermost perimeter along the face, around the ears, and on the neck.

Front 21

HEAD FORM

Back 21

Shape of hte head, which greatly affects the way the hair falls and behaves; also called head shape.

Front 22

INTERIOR

Back 22

Inner or internal part.

Front 23

INTERIOR GUIDELINE

Back 23

Guideline that is inside the haircut rather than on the perimeter.

Front 24

LAYERED HAIRCUT

Back 24

Graduated effect achieved by cutting the hair with elevation or over-direction; the hair is cut at higher elevations, usually 90 degrees or above, which removes weight.

Front 25

LAYERS

Back 25

Create movement and volume in the hair by releasing weight.

Front 26

LINE

Back 26

Thin continuous mark used as a guide; can be straight or curved, horizontal, vertical, or diagonal.

Front 27

LONG-LAYERED HAIRCUT

Back 27

Haircut in which the hair is cut at a 180 degree angle; the resulting shape has shorter layers at the top and increasingly longer layers toward the perimeter.

Front 28

NAPE

Back 28

Back part of the neck; the hair below the occipital bone.

Front 29

NOTCHING

Back 29

Version of point cutting in which the tips of the scissors are moved toward the hair ends rather than into them; creates a chunckier effect.

Front 30

OVER-DIRECTION

Back 30

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

Front 31

PALM-TO-PALM

Back 31

Cutting position in which the palms of both hands are facing each other.

Front 32

PARIETAL RIDGE

Back 32

Widest area of the head, usually starting at the temples and ending at the bottom of the crown.

Front 33

PART/PARTING

Back 33

Line dividing the hair to the scalp that separates one section of hair from another or creates subsections.

Front 34

PERIMETER

Back 34

Outer line of a hairstyle.

Front 35

POINT CUTTING

Back 35

Haircutting technique in which the tips of the shears are used to cut "points" into the ends of the hair.

Front 36

RAZOR-OVER-COMB

Back 36

Texturizing technique in which the comb and the razor are used on the surface of the hair.

Front 37

RAZOR ROTATION

Back 37

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

Front 38

REFERENCE POINTS

Back 38

Points on the head that mark where the surface of the head changes or the behavior of the hair changes, such as ears, jawline, occipital bone, apex, and so on; used to establish design lines that are proportionate.

Front 39

SECTIONS

Back 39

To divide the hair by parting into uniform working areas for control.

Front 40

SCISSOR-OVER-COMB

Back 40

Haircutting technique in which the hair is held in place with the comb while the tips of the scissors are used to remove the lengths.

Front 41

SLICING

Back 41

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

Front 42

SLIDE CUTTING

Back 42

Method f cutting or thinning the hair in which the fingers and shears glide along the edge of the hair to remove length.

Front 43

SLITHERING (EFFILATING)

Back 43

Process of thinning the hair to graduate lengths with shears; cutting the hair with a sliding movement of the shears while keeping the blades partially opened; also called effilating.

Front 44

STATIONARY GUIDELINE

Back 44

Guideline that does not move.

Front 45

SUBSECTIONS

Back 45

Smaller sections within a larger section of hair, used to maintain control of the hair while cutting.

Front 46

TAPERS

Back 46

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

Front 47

TENSION

Back 47

Amount of pressure applied when combing and holding a section, created by stretching or pulling the section.

Front 48

TEXTURIZING

Back 48

Removing excess bulk without shortening the length; changing the appearance or behavior of the hair through specific haircutting techniques, using shears, thinning shears, or a razor.

Front 49

TRAVELING GUIDELINE

Back 49

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

Front 50

UNIFORM LAYERS

Back 50

Hair is elevated to 90 degrees from the scalp and cut at the same length.

Front 51

WEIGHT LINE

Back 51

Visual "line" in the haircut, where the ends of the hair hang together.