How to produce men’s creative, salon-friendly cuts with added personalisation

In our tutorial available now on Leaf Academy Charlie Gray, w men's hair specialist and barber and founder of 'Hair in Motion' education creates this fantastic men's cut using salon standard methods, techniques and tools.

Below are Charlie’s key focuses on how to achieve amazing work every time

The Discussion before / the consultation

In the tutorial, Charlie mentioned how he had a discussion with his client prior to the haircut discussing problem areas, things the client wanted to change and things the client wanted to keep. From this, Charlie could strategise a plan to give the client exactly what they wanted without the need for excess strife. For example, the client pointed out that the weight at the crown was causing him the issue and therefore Charlie knew that was an area he wanted to remove more weight from.

Salon-friendly tools and techniques

All methods mentioned in the video are industry and salon standards. There is no reason why you shouldn’t be able to create really interesting and groundbreaking styles with commercial knowledge. All that was used to achieve this look was a scissor, Charlie used the Leaf x Hair in Motion Cobalt, the Leaf razor, clippers and of course a comb. All of which are available /should be available to you as a hairdresser/barber. 

Using your tools to achieve the personalised look

Charlie used a Scissor over comb technique on the side panels, this is much more personal to the client as you can better control the shortness at which the hair is taken off and it also creates a more textural appearance to the hair.

Charlie also works visually using the Leaf razor away to remove excess length from specific areas, rather than working in a perfect strategy, Charlie assessed the client's hair and made a judgement on which areas needed the most taken off. Working with the razor also added additional texture to the cut and removed the hair with a softness which would not have been possible with a standard scissor cut.

Understanding The Importance of working visually as well as strategically

There are definite ways Charlie worked strategically in areas of this cut, for example using a vertical centre profile from the head in a rounded shape to preserve the focal point i.e. the fringe and working in diagonal back sections on the side panels to create a clear path for the clippers to follow. 

However, it is important to understand the importance of marrying the strategic and the visual. For example when working with the clippers, starting with a higher guard and working down as necessary to remove the risk of taking too much hair off. Charlie also assessed the shape of the hair and the cut before he started making it super personal to the clients and their preference, growth pattern and hair shape.

Finishing touches

It's all in the details. Personalisation really comes through in the small details which makes a style completely unique. For example, in this cut Charlie took special care to preserve features such as the rat-tail braid adding some really cool personality to the final look

As well as knowing when to stop and how much to style the hair there is an art in knowing especially with this hair type and texture when to stop and let it dry naturally.