There are three methods of cutting hair. They are scissor cutting, clipper cutting and razor cutting. We will focus on scissor cutting and clipper cutting because razor cutting is a much more advanced technique which requires a significantly more amount of practice time and it requires much more finger strength. However, the razor can be great for adding texture. Regardless of the method you choose it will require a certain set of tools. Some tools you may use are a cape, spray bottle, 7 inch and rat-tail combs, butterfly or similar type hair clips, hair cutting scissors, clippers and trimmers, clipper guards and thinning shears. You should be able to get all of these supplies at a beauty store near you. Make sure to call ahead of time and find out if they sell products to the general public because a lot of beauty supply stores are actually distributors for licensed professionals only.
When selecting a cape you will notice there are many types to choose from. You will see hair cutting capes, color or chemical service capes, multipurpose capes etc. I recommend trying to find one that is light weight and not too bulky. For example, color and chemical capes are made of a thick plastic to ensure the clients clothes don't get stained with color or get saturated with perm solution. I have found these capes to be too bulky to use for cutting hair so I prefer a cape that is light weight and made of cloth. If you're trying to cut cost you can use a torn garbage bag but please don't use this technique on a small child due to the risk of suffocation. I would avoid using a towel because it is really hard to wrap around the person without a lot of the bulk getting in the way.
The most common comb used when cutting hair is the 7 inch styling comb. It is a great tool for many reasons. First of all, the spacing is different on either side of the comb. One side has teeth spaced really close together and the other has teeth spaced a little further apart. This allows for different amounts of tension. When the teeth are spaced closer together you can comb the hair with much more tension. This is great for creating very precise lines to cut. When the teeth are spaced further apart, it allows you to work with larger amounts of hair. This comb also has markings at every inch which makes it easy for you to determine how much hair to cut or how much hair to leave on the head after cutting.
Another comb I like to use is the rat-tail comb. This comb is great for precisely sectioning hair because of its pointy end. Also, the spacing of the teeth is close together so it works great for stretching small sections of hair in order to cut precise lines.
When selecting clips there is no need to be picky. The main idea when selecting clips is to make sure it will hold a significant amount of hair since it will be used to clip large sections of hair out-of-the-way.
Hair cutting scissors are a must. You absolutely cannot do a decent haircut without them. Really sharp craft scissors will not do the trick. Also, just like you wouldn't use craft scissors to cut hair, don't use your hair cutting scissors to cut anything but hair. Hair cutting scissors come in a variety of shapes and functionality. You don't need to get really fancy when selecting a pair. I would recommend the scissors be a minimum of 5 ¼ inches to a maximum of 5 ¾ inches long.
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