Ellen in NYC

Create the Front Sections

• Dampen the hair to facilitate clean sectioning.
• Create the front section by parting the head from ear to ear.
• Part out section 8, taking note that the right side is higher than the left. Trace your comb to the divided line shown and clip away the hair. 
• Take out section 7 by drawing a line ½ inch from section 8 and draw back to divided line. Clip away.
• Clip away the lower side sections which will become sections 3 and 4 in later step.

• Take your comb and draw a line from bottom of section 8 to the left back corner
• To find the left back corner, use two cutting combs, placing one of the left side of the head and one in the center back.
• Take line from this left back corner to center back.
• Clip section 5 out of the way.

• Take your comb and draw a line from bottom of section 7 to the right back corner.
• To find the right back corner, use two cutting combs, placing one of the right side of the head and one in the center back.
• Take line from this right back corner to center back.
• Remember to keep this section lower than section 5 to keep asymmetric shape
• Clip section 6 out of the way.

• Create sections 1 & 2 by dividing hair at the nape from ear to ear.
• Clip section 2 up and comb section 1 down (this is the first section we’ll cut.)

Note: Sections 1 & 2 are not sectioned out on the mannequin in this picture. I did this because it is easier to focus on the rest of the sectioning, creating sections 1 & 2 when we are ready to cut, which starts in the next step.

• Comb out section 1.
• Standing at the center back take out a ½ in section hold it straight out from the head diagonal angle from longer to shorter.
• Using your razor cut a soft like working the blade in a zig zag pattern. ( make sure blade is new).
• Work left side in a travelling guide ( moving the body with each section) take a little piece of previous section and cut at a diagonal from long to short working to behind the left ear.

Transition

With section 1 complete, comb section 2 down over section 1.
 

• Take center of section 2 hold straight out from head and cut a soft line about 3 inches.
• Work to the left ear in a travelling guide and then the right ear in the same way.

Hold section down with comb and point cut the perimeter using 4.5 shears.
 

Connect Back with Left Side

Unclip section 3 and comb down to connect the left side with the back.

First cut of section 3

• Cut back to front using the 4.5 shears.
• Start at the middle of the ear using a small piece from the back.
• Connect by sliding with the apex of shears in a c shape from short to long. Note: apex of shear is where the blades connect.
• Stand behind head.

• Reverse and cut front to back, still using the 4.5 shears.
• Start at the highest point of the cheekbone slide from short to long in c shape using apex of shears as in previous step.
• Stand facing front.

• Cut front to back using the 4.5 shears.
• Start at the cheek bone and slide cut a C shape from short to long.
• Don’t forget to use apex of shears.
• Stand in front.

Note: Section 4 is cut opposite the way section 3 was cut.

• Reverse and cut back to front.
• Start at the middle of the ear with a small piece from the back, and slide cut a C shape from short to long, continue to use the apex of shears.
• Stand in back of the head.

• Switch shears to larger 5.0 size.
• While standing at position marked by x, hold the section out.
• See where you want the section to sit on the head.
• This will direct the cutting elevation.
• For this cut, I want the shortest section to fall over the crown of the head.

• Once you’ve found the spot where you want the shorter section to lay, elevate the hair at 45° and slide cut out from short to long.
• Comb hair down. Don’t worry about the extra length just yet. We’ll address it soon.

• This is very similar to cutting section 5.
• Stand at x and hold the section out.
• Look for the shorter section to lay on the head at the crown.
• Elevate the hair at 45° and slide cut out from short to long using the 5.0 shears.
• Comb hair down.

Tip: The heaver the weight the higher your elevation. You'll note the elevation in the picture is low because the hair density on the Erica is fine.

• Elevate the hair at 45° and over direct to the right corner or just behind the ear.
• Slide cut from short to long.
• This adds more density to our side section.

Tip: Is the hair still damp? Wet it down to maintain control when slide cutting!

• When finished with the section, comb down to see what it looks like.
• It should be a lot longer than the underneath section.
• Don’t worry, we’ll address this soon.

• Section 8 is large, so we’re going to split this up into diagonal subsections, as noted in the diagram.
• We’ll do each subsection at a time moving from the right side of the head to the left side.
• We’ll be cutting from front to back, which is from short to long.

• Partition each new subsection with your comb.
• Slide cut from short to long (back to front).
• Do as many sections as needed based on your control and comfort level is. Remember, the more sections you take, the more control you have.

• Stand at the front and hold the last section straight out from the hear and cut from short to long.
• This last section includes the fringe, so you can cut this shorter by holding your elevation higher.

Tip: When cutting the fringe section, think minimally. You can always cut more, but there reverse is NOT true.

• It’s time to blow out cut. Start by distributing styling gel through the damp hair. I used Redken’s Blown Away.
• Blow dry into shape, using a blow dryer with a nozzle. My blow dryer is a Velecta Paramount TGR 4000i (the one I evaluated on this site last year.)
• Start with the underneath and work to the top.
• Use Denman brush at the roots and shorter areas. Make sure shorter areas are nice and flat to the head. I used Kris Sorbie’s mini Denman.
• Then work up the head with your Denman at the roots.
• Use the boars hair round brush at the mid shaft and ends, think about putting a set in and build your shape. I used Sam Villa’s All Boars Hair 40010 Medium Round Brush.

• Start at the center back and move towards the back of the right ear, point cutting the bob shape into the hair.
• Repeat for left side.
• Work your side sections to balance the back.

• Cut directly into the grain of hair to get a nice soft edge.
• Use 4.5, 5.0, 5.5 or 6.0 shears to point cut with the grain of the hair.
• The length of your shears will determine how deep you go into the grain.
• The deeper you cut, the softer the texture because the hair will collapse softly on the surface.
• In this cut, I used both 5.5 and 6.0 shears.