The times have changed from when I used to go to a black barber to shape up and fade the sides and back then visiting another barber capable of scissor-cutting the hair on the top of my head. Not only was this expensive, but it was time-consuming.

Fast forward to 2021 in the UK where a nationwide lockdown was mandatory to prevent the spread of coronavirus with all hair and beauty salons closed for business. Learning to cut my hair was one of the biggest game changers as it saved time and money and explained to the fifth barber what I wanted. What annoyed me about going to barbers was the long wait time, lack of consistency (with the haircuts) and a debatable queueing system for my 'favourite' barber.

Whilst I enjoyed the male environment, banter and catching up with the local community this was an unproductive use of my time. In all honesty, it took me a few years to become comfortable with holding the clipper, positioning the 360 mirrors for the best light and avoiding accidentally knocking the mirror off the wall. Here are my best practice tips to get started:-

1 - Light:- Complete your cut during the day and not late into the evening when the natural light is lower. Try to avoid being directly underneath a mirror or where a shadow may be cast on your head. This is key as visibility at a very close range can make or break the result as you can see every detail up close and personal.

2 - Temperature:- If it's hot and you're wearing a cutting cape indoors, be prepared to sweat (especially if you are moving around a lot). Open a window if needs be to regulate the air flow and temperature in the room but be warned, if you start sweating under the cape the clipper blade tends to stick to your head. In addition to this, it causes a huge amount of stress once you've started and is also impossible to stop once you've taken chunks of hair off your head and started making a mess.

3 - Tools:- These quite simply make or break your final product. I do not use any tools that I would never use in a professional barber shop. You don't need expensive American equipment that requires electricity converters like the old-school Jamaican barbers from back in the day however brands I stick to and trust will always be Wahl. They are powerful, affordable and easily replaceable. The quality has always been great although if you work in a barbershop they do need replacing every so often. 

4 - Accessibility:-

Make sure your tools are all at arm's length of your cutting area. Nothing is worse than having to bend down to pick something up from the floor and not having anywhere to put it only to find you can't find it. In addition, make sure you don't shake all the excess hair all over the room which is difficult to clean and above all unhygienic if you are in a room which has a lot of foot traffic. A table or shelf situated next to your cutting area is a good idea although barber trolleys from Ikea also do the trick as they don't collect hair.

I hope the above 4 points help you start to plan and prepare your environment. Preparation is key and so is your location. You will be spending a lot of time here learning so be sure you are comfortable in your surroundings free from distraction and able to spend at least 6o minutes on your hair once a week or once every fortnight. Practice makes perfect so knowing how and when to execute will be key to creating an excellent fade.

How to prepare and clean your trimmer or clipper

We've always heard the adage that prevention is better than cure and this is completely correct. Like most things, we learn through trial and error. If we all had a big brother or a father figure to tell us small important things about something as simple as shaving, it could have made a huge impact on the way we approached grooming and self-care as individuals. One of the best things I've learnt about being able to cut multiple hair types is that skin types, hair types and people are all different. Here's a brief overview of some things that I genuinely believe can contribute to a better finish, less irritation and general knowledge of one's skin/ hair type.

The tools of the trade

After years in the business grooming myself and others, I learnt that, unlike a lot of other trades, your choice of tool is only one facet to getting the right result. The quality of the battery life in your clipper of choice is almost as important as the type of trimmer blade you are using. For example, my trimmer of choice is the wireless Wahl Detailer 5 Star range by none other than German manufacturer Wahl. For my skin type (South East Asian, Fitzpatrick scale 3/4) I've always suffered from razor burn and hairs growing back sharper and thicker than previously so my choice is to dry shave using a Wahl detailer and know razor/ blade. Whilst the wet shave feels great on the day, a few days afterwards I get red sore skin which is blotchy in appearance with the skin raised. This is also sometimes the case when I have a skin / bald fade haircut the the foil shaver is used to bald the skin. The first day always looks fantastic but after a few days of regrowth, contact with surfaces which can get hot (i.e. leather from a sofa, snapback strap on a hat) can irritate the skin especially if the hair wants to grow back. A few things I'd suggest as follows:-

1) Opt for a trimmer which has a great battery life which is fully charged and doesn't appear or sound like it's struggling to cut hair.

I've found that the slower the blades move the higher the chances of the blade pulling hair which causes a lot of irritation on the day and the days after. Always give the trimmer ample time to recharge. If its old and the battery doesn't take a long charge, then it's time to consider replacing the whole unit.

2) Trimmer oiling - keep them lubricated

The metal blades are moving at such a fast rate that a build-up of heat and friction can cause irritation or even cut the skin. This is something we have to avoid at all costs no matter if it's a client or we are cutting ourselves. My choice of clipper/trimmer oil is by Andis. After thoroughly cleaning the blades with a stiff brush, I usually use a cutthroat razor blade in between the top and lower teeth to remove any debris caught between the blades to allow better operation. At this point, I would then spray with a disinfectant such as clippercide spray and then I would apply the oil before.

3) Allow the trimmer blades and trimmer motor to warm up

This step can go before step 2) however I usually do this at step 3) to allow the clipper oil and clippercide spray to lubricate the blades. All this simply requires doing is turning on the clipper for 3-5 minutes before you begin your haircut or service. You'll find when you do this after cleaning all the gunk and debris from the blades, oiling and disinfecting there will still be traces of hair and debris which seem to leak about the clipper or trimmer head. This is normal. What I recommend doing after approximately 2 minutes of the 'warm up', is take a new fresh piece of kitchen towel and wipe off any excess oil. Only a few dabs of oil are needed (see below) because if you over-oil the blades, the oil can seep into the clipper housing and it can make the performance of the blade cutting very poor. A little bit goes a long way.

After wiping of the excess and allowing two more minutes operation, you'll see that the oil subsided and the appearance will look slightly dryer.

Top tips

Overcutting

You may be asking why the preparation of the clipper or trimmer helps to avoid irritation and razor bumps. My answer is that the better the initial cut, the less need there is to continuously shave the same area repeatedly. Think of it like a razor-sharp samurai sword going through bamboo once with one swift swing as opposed to using a lawnmower to cut it repeatedly. This is the same as using a weak motor clipper powered by a poor battery life.

Talcum powder

I grew up watching master barbers use talcum powder to line the trimmer blades to draw out a straight line. This happened predominantly on Afro-Carribean hair to act as a guide when it's hard to see where you are cutting (i.e. dark skin, fine hair, symmetry etc). My advice is not to use this technique as the mix of talcum powder, and moisture from the skin/ sweat/ trimmer oil can cause the blades to clog. This causes a reduction in performance. If you have used this technique in the past, complete the full 3-step clean to remove all dirt between the blades using a stiff brush. Post-haircut, talcum powder is good for adding that fresh baby powder smell soaking up any moisture left from water or sprays and reducing friction. Outside of this, it's messy during the cut and can leave white powder marks all over your cutting area and tools.

Tool quality

The better the quality of the clipper, the better the result. When I first started my tools were from the Argos catalogue and were aimed at home use, not professional salon or barber shop use. As I got older, made better money and saw what the other master barbers were using I started shopping at Sally's Hair & Beauty in the UK and purchased only barbershop quality equipment. If you can afford to buy professional equipment, it will last you longer and will give you peace of mind because you won't have to worry about your equipment letting you down (links to my tools of choice will be below).

Hygiene and cleanliness

As mentioned above, a reputable disinfectant should be used before/ during and after cutting. If you've ever had a haircut or a shave when you are clean as opposed to when you are dirty after the gym or football, you'll notice the difference in the result. The clipper and trimmer blades do not stick to your skin cause there's less friction which makes the whole cut straightforward. In other words, always make sure your skin on your face and hair or head and face are both clean before starting. I would add that towel drying before using a blow dryer helps to see the hair's natural growth pattern when it's dry. If it isn't obvious, don't cut your hair or go to the barber as soon as you've finished sweating. The skin may be more supple and vulnerable to cuts and the tools will struggle to cut.