Shoutout to the barber who finally showed me how to fix a stubborn cowlick

I had this regular client with a really tough cowlick right at his crown, and for almost a year, I just could not get it to lay right after a cut. I tried everything, different products, cutting it wet, cutting it dry, you name it. I must have spent 30 minutes on just that spot every single time he came in. Then at a barber meet-up in Charlotte, this older guy saw me struggling and showed me his trick of cutting into the growth pattern with thinning shears at a specific angle. It took me three more tries on my own clients to really get it down, but now it adds maybe two minutes to my cut. Has anyone else had a simple trick completely change how you handle a specific hair type?

3 comments

3 Comments

jordanhill18d ago

Yeah, the part about a simple trick changing everything is so real. My buddy had this client with super coarse, wiry hair that just would not blend. He was about to tell the guy he couldn't do fades for him anymore. Then another barber watched him for a minute and told him to try using his clippers completely dry, no guard, just the corner of the blade to chip into the weight line. It was a total game changer. Went from a fight to smooth in one pass. Sometimes you just need to see it done one time.

nancy47518d ago

Actually, you want the hair a little damp for that technique, not bone dry. Dry coarse hair can just snap off and look choppy. A quick mist lets the blade catch and slice through better. It's a tiny detail but it makes a huge difference in the finish.

thomas.parker11d ago

Ever try using a tiny bit of pre-shave oil on the clipper blade? It was the only thing that got through my brother's hair without yanking.