Salon Haircut Guide: An Introduction
1) Determine Your Hair Type & Lifestyle Needs
2) Haircut for Your Face Shape
3) Women & Men's Haircuts
4) Hair Cutting Techniques Used by Professionals
5) Haircut Trends Today
Privacy Policy. Terms and Conditions. © 2024 by Assembly Hair + Beauty Bar.
1) Determine Your Hair Type and Lifestyle Needs
Everyone is unique and deserves to approach their salon haircut (and style). The hairstylist accomplishes this in a way that best meets their needs and individual hair type.
There are 4 key components to hair type
-
How much or how little curl pattern you have
-
The thickness or thinness of your natural hair
-
Cuticle health and reaction to moisture and styling ingredients
-
Scalp health in relation to your hair
A hair consultation with a professional hairstylist will often be the best approach to determining these four factors and improve your salon haircut experience.
Lifestyle and Your Haircut
Each individual is unique in respect to their personal and professional lifestyle. You may be a busy parent or a working mom with little free time. Your haircut may need to reflect a low maintenance approach due to time constraints.
You will need to consider your job and professional needs. You may need to have a haircut style that fits your personal or professional lifestyle. This can include business situations, client contact, or professional considerations.
You may need versatility for a professional look during the day and more casual at night. Lifestyle activities for health and recreation come into play. Review what type of indoor or outdoor health, fitness, or free time activity are you regularly involved in. Then think about how your haircut should reflect those activities? Share this information with your stylist at the next salon hair cut.
Texture, type, and density matter when choosing what’s considered easy or hard to create at home.
2) Criteria for Selecting the Right Haircut for Your Face Shape
The 6 Face Shapes
Face shape is an important factor in selecting haircut styles that best compliment you. Face shape fits into these 6 types:
-
Round Face
-
Oval face (ideal face shape)
-
Heart shaped
-
Square
-
Triangular
-
Diamond
It may help to discuss this for your salon haircut to get an accurate viewpoint.
Haircuts for Each Face Shape
Round Face: Depends on what you want to do but hairstyles that elongate the face tend to be more flattering. You will want to either layer your hair to heighten, or add/keep length to elongate the face. If you have a round face, but wish to have shorter hair, a long bob (otherwise known as a lob) will suit this face shape. The goal is to add some height by the top of the head, and sleek throughout the sides to create a more angular effect. This decision may also depend on the lifestyle of the client and facial features.
Oval Face: It is the most versatile face shape and can suit many different looks. If you have this face shape you will want your haircut to enhance your natural symmetry. Facial features and lifestyle influence the style of cut.
Heart-Shaped Face: A heart shaped face is skinnier towards the chin with more width at the forehead. A haircut that balances out the proportions of the heart-shaped face will suit it best. An example of this is softening the forehead area while enhancing the jaw area to create a more balanced look. Many looks can go with this face shape depending on the lifestyle of the client and facial features.
Square Face Shape: A square face shape is characterized as a face where the width of both the forehead, cheeks, and jaw is equal. The goal of a haircut for this face shape is often to soften the angular features created by the square shape. It is important to have soft shape angles that include layers and waves or curls. Side-swept bangs can also help break up the line of the forehead. Ultimately your haircut will be influenced by lifestyle needs and personal facial features.
Triangular: A triangular face shape is characterized by a smaller forehead and prominent jaw. The goal of a haircut for this face shape is to add volume to the area by the forehead. You may need to fill out and balance the forehead with bangs or fringe. Shorter layers higher up helps them grow into longer layers.
Diamond: A diamond face shape is characterized by broadness through cheeks or temples compared to a narrower jaw and forehead.This is like a heart shape that just has more softness. Long, face framing layers can help bring softness to the cheekbone area, and layered cuts in general can provide texture and volume where you might need it.
Here is a valuable reference for understanding the details of face shape and haircut styles >>>Glamour
Our Story
4) Hair Cutting Techniques
The trained professional hairstylist can apply their skills to cutting and styling a wide range of looks. Their professional hair cutting training covers important skills. Techniques such as controlling the vertical and horizontal direction, cutting angles, sectioning, and layering, shaping the hair around the face. Adding texture to blunt-type cuts and much more.
Here are the most common techniques for various hair types:
Layering Techniques: The use of layering helps to reduce density and develop movement. Difference between horizontal and vertical. If you are cutting one length this adds weight.
Thinning: Where the goal is to reduce “bulkiness” the use of thinning shears the stylist can create fine hair layers. This can result in adding dimension to the look.
Cutting Line: Used by a stylist to determine a given hairstyle. The angle created will establish how close or far apart the layers will look.
Weight Line: Refers to the specific area of the haircut that will contain the most weight. Often used in blunt cutting or a hair Bob. The stylist may reduce the weight line by using thinning shears to blend the hair.
Stacked Haircut: Also referred to as a “Graduated Hair” cut, is a procedure that establishing a line of less than a 90-degree angle. This cutting technique provides the hairstylist with control of the shape by stacking layers more on top of each other.
The Wedge Cut: Using this technique produces a 45-degree angle to the cut. The cut at the nape is always the shortest and the layers toward the top of the head gradually expand outward.
The Choppy Technique: Where the objective for the stylist is to add texture, this technique is cut with short layers. Usually, this technique is used to create short cuts or shoulder-length styles.
Blunt Technique: To produce this cut the blunt cut results in the hair falling at one length. Referred to as “bob cuts” this technique is used for thinning hair to produce the look of volume.
Haircutting techniques and skills form an extensive part of professional training for hairstylists helping clients get their best haircuts. For a detailed review of these skills and procedures see the Ultimate Guide to Hair Cutting Techniques by Sam Villa.
Our Story
5) Haircut Trends Today
The trends in hairstyling change every year and with the seasons. No matter how popular a new hairstyle becomes it will require the corresponding hair cutting techniques for today’s salon haircut ideas.
For Today’s women’s haircuts Trends, we would suggest the following hair cutting techniques for the top styles seen today for salon hair cuts:
Blunt Cuts & Bob: to facilitate a textured bob and continue the current trend toward shorter hair the stylist uses a bob cut with textured ends.
Long Hair Styles: Even with the trend toward short haircuts, many women will still prefer their long hair. This look will include cutting techniques in longer understated layers. For those moving from their short haircut to longer hair the use of hair extensions as the hair grows out could be in order.
The Shag: If it is versatility as your haircut style the shag cut with many heavier layers is the technique.
Sublet Layered Cuts: used by hairstylists to create more volume and the impression of “movement” in the hairstyle. A layering cutting technique is most suitable for medium-length hair.
Pixie with Layers: The pixie style cut, like bobs, is an option. Cutting techniques for the pixie with soft layers.
Bangs: A Continued trend…think bangs from the 1970” look. The cutting will produce somewhat less volume and a bit of a wave. The look will have bangs separated (parted) in the middle. For longer hair a cut that produces “curtain bangs” will be popular.
Haircutting techniques are closely related to hairstyle trends and styling salons. For more information on “hairstyles” you can read more on our Hair Styling Article.
Conclusion
When I founded Assembly Hair + Beauty Bar in Cincinnati, Ohio, one of the primary goals was to continue to learn, study and research the salon hair services industry. This has allowed us to stay current with trends, techniques, and safety issues for hair cuts, hair styling, hair coloring, and hair lightening services to answer customer questions such as these frequently asked questions on salon hair cuts.
We often see many articles that focus on age or other general factors as criteria for best haircuts. Frankly, the best haircut is the one that is most appropriate for the unique needs of each person. The cut selected should best complement their best features for the right salon haircut.
The salon’s professional hair cutting and styles will depend on each unique person in the chair. Factors such as age, gender, and other factors have absolutely nothing to do with what a hairdressing salon professional does in relation to each client. What makes the client feel best works for their benefit always. We are committed to meeting the unique needs and characteristics of every customer at Assembly Hair + Beauty Bar.
References:
1). https://www.glamour.com/gallery/how-to-find-the-best-hairstyle-for-your-face-shape-2009-03
Our Story
Our Story
3) Haircuts for Men
Many of the same factors and considerations for selecting women’s haircuts apply to men as well. Facial shape, hair texture, and lifestyle all come into play. Modern styles for men differ widely.
The following lists some of the most common haircuts for men today:
Tousled “Bed" Hair: Think a stylishly rumpled look. Short on the sides and tousled on top.
Brushed Forward: Also “disheveled” but with style brushed over with a slanted bang.
Short and Even Length: This is a well groomed that shows as casual and natural. The sides are a bit shorter than the top which may need a more frequent cutting to keep looking good.
Short Layered Haircut: Medium length sides and a longer top with volume combed up.
Long Dramatic Style: A very stylish look with long hair combed in various directions to fit the style desired.
High Face with Mohawk: Short sides, often with designs cut in, and longer mohawk top combed to stand up
Short Hair with High Skin Fade Crew Cut: Short close-cut sides and medium length top brushed up
Side Part: A distinct side part with hair at various lengths on both sides and crown. A Versatile cut that may be helpful for business and social settings.
Full Taper: Using a full taper and combed back can be easy and serve multi-purpose situation.
Today’s Salon Haircut for Women
About Emily Witko
Founder Assembly Hair + Beauty Bar, Cincinnati, Ohio
Emily Witko is the owner of Assembly Hair + Beauty Bar salon in Cincinnati. She has 10 years of working behind the chair with guests and has a wide range of professional experience in many salon atmospheres. Emily’s passion began with color theory and a complete understanding of the hair strand. Traveling extensively for advanced education in the beauty industry including Lisa Hart Walker classes, Sassoon Academy in Santa Monica, and so much more.