You’re at home because of the lockdown and at least you and your family are reasonably safe from the coronavirus pandemic.
You eventually settle into a routine for the next few weeks but one day, you step into the bathroom and look in the mirror and see you have a tangled mess on your head before you realize with surprise that it’s your hair.
Normally, you’d zip off to the barbershop to get a haircut but guess what? It’s a lockdown and non-essential services are closed.
But don’t worry because you’re not the only one faced with that dilemma. In fact, Google searches for how to cut one’s hair has shot up, with the phrase “how to cut a mullet” surging by 124 percent.
It’s not clear what’s driving this trend, whether it’s Tiger King’s Joe Exotic or just a general revival of the 1980s look.
But if you thought that number was high, searches for “how to cut men’s hair” has also seen a staggering jump of 632 percent.
In any case, L’Oreal color expert Ruby Hook has three simple tips on how to go about cutting men’s hair.
If you’re just going for a trim:
Ruby recommends the use of hair scissors. If you don’t have any (understandable if you’re not a hairdresser), some small scissors or a good set of clippers will do the job.
Ruby says: “You can do this as a dry or wet cut. Begin by using a comb to brush the hair down, and then slowly take off the ends and edges using your fingers and scissors.”
Next, work on the neckline: “Try not to take off too much when you do it as it as a trim and not a full-on hair cut.”
For the buzzcut:
For this one, you need a good pair of clippers.
Ruby says: “First, you need to decide what length you would like and select what guard you will need. On dry hair, take the clippers to the top of the head and move against the grain (front to back) in a straight, repetitive motion.”
Finally, we have the fade:
To make a long story short, Ruby advises against trying it.
She advises: “No matter the hair type – straight or afro hair – to achieve the results of a barber would be hard and could leave you looking uneven.”
Social media is already filled with the evidence of fancy lockdown haircuts gone wrong so that part of the message is clear.
Ruby says this is because people’s hair can grow differently, have different textures, and have varying growth patterns.
She explains: “Depending on what type of hair you have, will determine how often you will need to have it cut [or] shaped up.
“For example, curly hair maintains a round shape as it grows and could last two-plus weeks, but thinner, straighter hair can start sticking out after just a week.”
Replaced!