Sending your child to university to get a psychology degree tends to entail that you have to make sacrifices to help him attend school without worrying about student loans. For one, you might work double shifts or look for a part-time job. You may also sell a property to be able to pay for their tuition in full. You are a dad, so no one will question your decisions to give your child everything that he or she needs.
Now, in case you want to give up going to a barbershop to save some money, you should know that you can taper your hair even if you are not a professional.
Tools You Need
- Clipper Guards
- Hair Clipper
- Comb
- Scissors
- Mirror
- Shaving Cream
- Razor
- Fade Brush (Optional)
Method 1: The Free-Hand Taper
Step 1: Picture Out The Cut
How short your shortest hair will become depends on you. It’s alright to copy your favorite Hollywood artists’ do or search for the cut that will match the shape of your head and face.
Step 2: Utilize The Scooping Motion
After thinking about the haircut, attach the guard to the clipper. The scooping motion is a technique in which you run the tool from the nape to where you want the taper to end. Feel free to interchange the guards to blend the style.
Step 3: Trim The Sides
Take the comb to roll the strands upwards and then the clippers to chop off the hair that sticks through the former. Since it’s a taper, your locks have to thin out from top to bottom.
Step 4: Cut The Fringes And Top
The scissors come in handy in case you wish to create bangs or shorten the top. Just remember to comb up for the latter and comb down for the fringes. Considering it is the first time you’re doing it, perhaps make tiny cuts until you get satisfied with the length.
Step 5: Check For Irregularities.
The final step is to get your handheld mirror while facing the bathroom mirror to ascertain your taper is smooth.
Method 2: The Sportsman’s Taper
Step 1: Chop Off The Top Portion
Utilize the clipper with a 1/8-inch blade to trim your mane starting from the crown towards the forehead. What it entails is that you are cutting with the grain of the hair so that it stays a bit longer.
Step 2: Cut The Locks At The Back And The Sides
Continue working along the same direction of the hair. Take your time to ensure that it’s even on both sides.
Step 3: Taper From The Temples To The Ears
Attach the ¼-inch blade to the clipper and move your hand diagonally from the temple to the ear area. Then, instead of removing it abruptly, pull the tool away from the head. It should make the blending easier.
After that, change the attachment with the 1/8-inch one. Taper with it in both open and closed positions respectively, and do the same thing for the 1/16-inch blade. Unlatch the guard once done before running the clipper without any accessory over the blended portion.
Finish the step with the 1/8-inch attachment to get rid of the excess waves on the hair.
Step 4: Work On The Hairline And The Back
It is very significant to run your clipper up to the middle part of the ear with the ¼-inch guard to create a division between the top and bottom layers. This will remind you of where to stop the tapering.
The next thing to do is perform the scooping method like how we’ve explained it in the first method. The only difference is that you need to do it with and without attachments. The order to remember goes this way: 1/8-inch blade (open and close), 1/16-inch guard (open and close at a 45-degree angle), and no attachment (open, half-closed, and close). You also have to blend everything with the 1/8-inch guard after all of that.
Step 5: Line Off The Hairline And Temple Area
Press your clipping device lightly into the central part of the hairline. It serves as your guide in doing a straight line closest to the forehead. Follow through by making a sharp cut where the hairline meets the temples on both sides. Be sure to have a large mirror in front of you.
Step 6: Create An Outline Behind And Around Your Ears
After curving the haircut down the sideburns, pull one ear away from your head to reveal the hairline behind it. Trim this portion diagonally in a similar manner as with the strands on the temple area.
Step 7: Clean The Outline With A Shave
Cutting the hairline can leave patches of hair detached from the rest. For this reason, you have to smear the shaving cream on them and shave off with a straight razor.
Step 8: Style It As You Please
The sportsman’s taper is usually short on every angle, so you can brush the hair forward and apply pomade on it.
Method 3: The Gentleman’s Taper
Step 1: Cut The Top Layer
Combing the hair parallel to the ground, chop off several inches from the crown area. The length left should be long enough, however, to prevent it from sticking upwards. It becomes your guide as to how long the strands on the sides and the back have to be.
Step 2: Start Blending Around The Head
Maintaining the same position of the comb, utilize the scissor-over-comb system for blending the hair from the crown to the top section. Always begin at the middle going to the left and right sides to keep the balance.
Step 3: Blend The Side And Back Areas
This time, work on the lower segment of the head with the same technique to mix it with the upper layer.
Step 4: Use The Clipper For A Semi Finish
The fourth step asks you to practice clipping over the comb to produce a semi finish. Angle your clipper at 45 degrees to cut the hair near the temple area nicely. By placing two fingers above the ears, you see where it should end.
Step 5: Apply The Blade-On-Skin Technique
You may put the comb away for now and adjust the hair clipper to the open position. Perform the scooping movement for this step so that it seems naturally tapered, and do it again with the blades half-closed and closed.
Step 6: Tidy Up The Sideburns And The Ear Section
If you are already happy with the outcome, get your T-trimmer to emphasize the sideburns and remove the excess strands behind both ears.
Step 7: Shape The Neck Area
Line off the neck area at the back of the ears as well and shave up the back without touching the tapered part. It is supposed to clean the hairline.
Step 8: Shave The Outline
Considering the T-trimmer has left stragglers out, you can eliminate them with a razor after applying the shaving cream.
The Verdict
As you have probably noticed from the methods above, the necessary tools for each are almost similar with small variations. With practice, we are pretty sure that you can do any of these methods and will not have to hire a professional to achieve the tapered look ever again. Cheers!