How to Cut Men’s Hair with Clippers at Home? (Beginners Guide)

People with cool haircuts are always worth a second stare, aren’t they? If you have ever stumbled on any reels or videos of cool and jaw-dropping haircuts, you would understand what it means to have one too. And we all do wish we do. Some of us spend a ton on having one of those nice haircuts that could put you in a position worth drooling over. If only wishes were horses, right? But then, this is not so for many of us.

And with the global economic downturn, we understand the heightened frustration that comes with having to depend on someone else for your haircut at such an expensive rate. Well, if it was a long-lasting one, perhaps, we could jolly in that unfortunately, you have to go back for yet another cut, now and then – pathetic, yeah? We know!

How would you feel if we told you we have a solution for you? Asking how? then this article is for you and you should not miss reading any part of it for anything – not even for a slice of pizza!

We understand your haircut plight and so to share in your burden, we have written an article to help you begin your journey of learning how to do-it-yourself (DIY). Contrary to popular opinions, cutting your hair all by yourself isn’t as stressful as people paint it to be. In fact, the process is simple and super easy if you follow the right steps. So, in this article, we give a brief intro on the tools you need to cut your hair and we discuss how to cut men’s hair with clippers at home in a very easy and beginner-friendly way (that is what the title says, after all). Without further ado, let’s get right into it. Enjoy!

Haircuts or not?

First, we need to clarify this and get it right out of the way. So, in the real sense, this should not be up for debate. Why do we say this? Well, let’s just say individual differences are a major factor playing out here and so, no one should be under any obligation to cut their hair. Haircuts should be a matter of choice and not enforced. However, whether you decide to have that haircut or not, one thing is certain, the need to keep your hair tidy – sure you don’t want to go about looking like some lost dude. So, you must do a little touch-up here and there to keep things together and look cool for yourself.

With this out of the way, we can better focus on the most important aspect of this article – how to cut men’s hair. So, if you belong to team “haircut”, you can proceed with immersing yourself in the subsequent sections as they would be of great help to you. On the other hand, if you belong to the team “no haircut”, we would advise that you read these sections too, you never can tell where it would come in handy in later times.

Tools needed for a haircut

Before you get started on anything, the first and most important thing you want to do is to purchase a personal clipper (that is if you don’t own one yet). We advise that you do this because it is one of the most important factors that guarantee that you would take your DIY haircut seriously. By the way, who goes to work without the necessary tools? So, having your haircut kit is a good indication that you are ready to get started. Now, you ask, what are these tools? For a beginner, we would recommend that you get the following to begin with:

• Clipper
• Comb
• Hairbrush
• scissors
• Mirror

As you progress in your learning, then you can incorporate all other sophisticated tools and kits to ease your haircut process including:

• Hair shears
• Hair iron
• straight razor
• All-purpose shears
• Three-way mirror

Having gotten all these tools, then the next crucial thing to do is to learn how to use the clipper because that is the tool you would be using primarily;

How to use a hair clipper

As a beginner, the basic haircut is what you would most likely begin with. And to do this, you would need to first learn the blade numbering system of your clipper guards. Too much technical jargon? not to worry, we’d unpack that in a bit.

Each clipper guards come with their respective numbers. These numbers are not just there for decoration, they serve a purpose – they help you know the length to which the guard would cut the hair. There are 8 different guard numbers ranging from 1 to 8, where a lower guard number indicates cutting to a shorter length. For instance, guard number 2 means that you are having a very low cut, and guard number 1 indicates that you are having the lowest cut. On the other hand, guard number 8 would cut your hair to a length of 1 inch. So, the lower the number, the shorter the hair length it would cut to, and vice versa.

Guard number 1: 1/8 inch

Guard number 2: ¼ inch

Guard number 3: 3/8 inch

Guard number 4: ½ inch

Guard number 5: 1/8 inch

Guard number 6: ¾ inch

Guard number 7: 7/8 inch

Guard number 8: 1 inch

Also, you would notice there is a “0” setting on the clippers, this means that you are using your clippers without any blade guard or other attachment.

Now, that we have addressed the clipper, guard numbers, and settings, let’s begin on how to cut your hair using a clipper.

How to cut men’s hair with clippers at home

1. Wash your hair

The first step involved when about to cut your hair is to wash it. Well, the simple reason for doing this is that washing the hair helps soften and detangle (if your shampoo serves this purpose) your hair and so it is easier for a comb to go through it. So, you can get a shampoo or mild soap for your hair. However, if your hair is somewhat detangled or knotted at the top, you should first find a means of detangling it before shampooing. Some brands of shampoos serve a dual purpose of a detangler and shampoo, so, if you are looking to save some money, you can opt for this option. Apply a generous amount to your hair and massage with your fingers to your scalp. Doing this will not only soften your hair but also help with blood circulation to your scalp to ease cutting.

2. Dry your hair

The clipper is most likely an electric one and so will not work on wet hair – all you would get is that roaming sound without any effect. So, you want to make sure you dry out your hair completely before using the clipper. If you can’t wait to manually dry your hair, you can use a hand or blow dryer to help you. Using this would save time and also make the process of cutting faster.

3. Get in the right position

This is a very important part of cutting your hair. Because you are doing the cutting yourself, you need to assume the right position to help ease the process. Although, you may have to take some positions that may be uncomfortable depending on the part you are trying to cut. So, be sure you get the right angle to sit or stand while cutting your hair, and then move your mirror accordingly.

4. Cover-up your body

The next step is to get a cloth or any material to cover the exposed part of your body including your shoulders, chest, back, and laps. This is because hairs falling onto your body could stick to your cloth or skin and cause itching. Advisedly, getting a barber’s drape or an overall is highly recommended to properly cover your body. When done, you can flap the covering to get rid of hairs on it.

5. Choose the blade guard

Now, you are ready to use the clipper. Usually, as a beginner, you would want to do something basic, say a low cut. However, if you decide to spice things up a bit, then you want to combine styles. Either way, you need to select the blade guard that has the longest length for your preferred style. Attach the guard to the blade of the clipper till you hear a clicking sound that indicates the guard is well positioned. The go-ahead is to move the clipper around your head in a uniform pattern. Once done, you can go back to do it a second time depending on your preferred hair length.

6. Cut in the opposite direction of hair growth

Next, you want to focus on the back and unfortunately, this part usually proves a bit tasking because you can barely see what is going on there. So, you need to be extra careful when cutting this part of your hair. Hold your clipper in an upside-down position such that the top of the guard is against the scalp then, begin cutting on either side of your head at the nape of your neck then gently move the clipper up towards the top of your hair against the direction in which your hair is growing.

As a rule, you should begin cutting from the front to the back of your hair when using your clippers on the top of your hair. Doing this would help you move uniformly and not skip any sides.

7. Use the clipper blade to remove hair from your head

Keep the top of your clipper blade close to your skin and use the blade to remove hair away from your scalp in bits using short scooping strokes. Do this by moving the clipper blade all around your head. Try not to lift the clippers right away from your head so it doesn’t leave an unwanted line in your hair.

8. Finish by blending hair with guards in between lengths

Give some finishing touch by evening out varying hair lengths. At this point, you can use a comb to comb the hair out to help you detect where hair lengths are not uniform and then use a blade guard between the ones you have previously used to blend the hair length. Again, do this against the direction your hair is growing.

Final note

As we mentioned earlier, using the clipper for a DIY haircut is just as easy as you can imagine. You can cut your hair even right from the comfort of your home, so, you do not have to worry about those multiple visits to the salon or an endless queue at the barber’s shop. More importantly, you would be saving some bucks in the process, so what’s there not to love about learning how to cut your hair all by yourself?