SHAPES101

0*naturalfall
Thehairiscutatnaturalfallorzerodegreesagainstthebodyorinthe
combtocreateablunt,classic,andstraightlook.Themostcommonof
thesecutsarealongonelengthcutandaclassicbob.

45*graduation
Thehairiscombedat45degreesandcuttobuildgraduationortocreatea
stackedlook.Themostcommonofthesecutsarethegraduatedbobora
moptop.

90*layering
Thehairiscombedstraightupfromtheheadandcuttocreatelayering.
Therearemanyvariationsof90degreecutsincludingoverdirecting,
inverting,anddisconnecting.

Scissorovercomb
Useyourscissorstocutthehairwhilethecombsubstitutesasyourguard.
Alwaysliftthehairagainstthegrowthandkeepyourthumbmovingthe
bladeslikeamachinetoensurenoscissormarksareleftinthehair.
Alwaysblendfromtheperimeterandgraduallygetlongertothetop.Use
thedensityofthehairtoseethescalpanddifferentanglesofviewas
referencestobalanceamongstthehaircut.Redflags:carefultonotround
withtheheadwithyourscissorovercombing.

DRYINGTERMINOLOGY

RotationDrying:Usingthepalmofthehandandrotatingitonthescalp
andwiththeheatofthedryer,creatingvolume.

VentDrying:Usingtheventbrushtocreatedirectionandrootlift.
StretchDrying:Dryingthehairwiththefingersbyliftingtherootareato
getafreefeelingthroughtheends.

PowerDrying:Usingthedryerathighspeedandheattocreateseparation
throughouttheends.

TwistDrying:Twistingthehairintosectionsanddryingtocreateachunky,
separatedeffect.

FlatDrying:Usingapaddlebrushwithnorootlift.

DiffuseDrying:Usingadiffuserattachmenttoencouragecurland
separation.

ScrunchDrying:Collectinghairintothepalmofthehand,usingtheheat
ofthedryertosetacurlytextureintothehair.

ALTERNATIVESECTIONING,CUTTINGAND
TEXTURIZINGTECHNIQUES

HorseshoeSection:Fromrecessiontorecessionincorporatingthecrown.

HaloSection:Circularsectionaroundthecrown.

CCurvature:Designingtheperimeterline,framingthefaceintheshapeof
acurve.

BlockGraduation:Hairiselevatedhorizontally(neverhigherthanthe
curvatureofthehead)andcuttocreateaninversionvertically.

DoubleBaseline:Workinganextrabaselineoverashorterlength.

Disconnection:Wheretwodifferentlengthsarecutintothehair
(unblended).

Undercut:Belownaturalcurvaturetakenshorterthanthetoparea.

Overcut:Abovenaturalcurvaturetakenshorterthanthebottomarea.

SlideCutting:Usingscissorslikearazortoconnectshortertolonger
lengths.

PointCutting:Usingthepointsofthescissorsenteringintothehair:
1.atanangletocreateatexturedeffect.Thismethodcanbeusedto
removebothlengthandweight.
2.Straightdowntocreateaseamlesseffect.Thismethodcanbeusedto
removeweightonly.

DeepPointCutting:Pointingintothemidshaftofhairratherthanthe
endstofurtherreleaseweight

ALTERNATIVESECTIONING,CUTTINGANDTEXTURIZING
TECHNIQUES

Seamless:Topointcutinsuchawaycreatingseamlesseffect(hidden
layers)in/onalayeredshape.Exaggeratedformofpointcutting.

Slicing:Usingthescissorsinanopen"V"likeactiontoslicethroughthe
shaftofthehairwhichcreatedbothtextureandmovementbyeliminating
weightand/orlength.Alwayscutsfromshorttolong.

BrickCutting:Workingshorterpiecesofhairintoexistingshapebycutting
inabrickworkfashion.Idealforcurlytextures.

SurfaceCutting:Thisdetailingtechniqueworksonthesurfaceofthehair
inafreehandmanner.Likeslicing,itremovesweightand/orlengthto
createatexturedsurface.

Channeling:Anaggressiveformofsurfacecutting.

Edging:Usingonescissorbladelikearazortocreatetexturedends.

BackCutting:Usingscissorstocutdownagainsttheshaftofthehairasin
backcombing.

TwistCutting:Twistingsectionofhairpriortobackcutting.

PerimeterShaping:Couldinvolveallformsofpersonalizingordetailing
focusingsolelyontheperimeteri.e.pointcuttingintotheends.

Personalizing/Detailing:Caninvolveseveraldifferenttypesofalternative
cuttingtechniques.Usedasthefinalstepinthehaircuttogetanindividual
orpersonalizedfinish.

TERMINOLOGY
LINES/SECTIONS

Vertical:perpendiculartothehorizon
Horizontal:paralleltothehorizon
Parallel:twolinesrunninginthesamedirection(usuallyreferstotheangle
ofyoursectioninrelationtoyourperimetershape)
DiagonalForward:shorterlengthinback,workingtolongerinfront
DiagonalBack:shorterlengthinfront,workingtolongerinback
Radial:dividingsectionrunningaroundthecurveofthehead(from
recessiontorecessionorfromeartoear,dividingthefrontandsidesfrom
back)

TYPESOFDISTRIBUTION

Overdirected:anythingotherthannaturalfallorperpendicular
OverdirectedForward:towardtheface
OverdirectedBack:awayfromtheface
Perpendicular:"T"tothepartonanygivenline/section
Naturalfall:hairiscombedtogravity
Elevation:45degreesor90degreesfromthehead

TERMINOLOGY
BASICCUTTINGTERMINOLOGY

NaturalInversion:workingacentralguideoflayeringthroughthecenterof
theheadandoverdirectingremainingsectionstothispoint

OneLengthCutting:cuttingallofthehairtothesamelevelwithzero
elevation

Graduation:asloworimmediatebuildupofweight(slowbuildup,classic
graduationimmediatebuildup,graduatedbob)

Baseline:thelowestpointandfoundationtothehaircut

Perimeter:followsthenaturalhairlinearoundthecurveofthehead
determinesoutsideshapeofhaircut

Interior:anythingwithintheperimeterlineorbaseline

RecessionArea:theareainthefronthairlinethatgrowsbackthefarthest

Distribution:theangleinwhichthehairiscombedordirectedfromthe
scalponanygivenline/section

ProfileLine:verticalsectionrunningfromforeheadtonapethatcreates
theprofileguideforthecut

Layering:theremovalofweight

Filtering:dilutingweightontheperimeteredgeviaelevation

TERMINOLOGYANDCUTTINGSYSTEM

InordertohaveacompleteunderstandingofNextLevelStylist's
terminologyandhowitappliestoourcuttingtechniques,weneedto
analyzeourapproachtocuttingandbreakitdowninto4points:
Lines/Sections,Distribution,Elevation,andCut.

1.LINES/SECTIONS
Thefirststeptoallhaircuts(oncetheconsultationandshampooserviceis
complete)istosectionthehairreadyforcutting.Theangleofthesection
willbedeterminedbythedesiredendresult.NextLevelStylist's
terminologyincorporates5sectioningtechniques:

1.Vertical
2.Horizontal
3.Radial
4.DiagonalForward
5.DiagonalBack

2.DISTRIBUTION
Aftersectioningthehairreadyforcutting,thenextstepistodeterminehow
thehairisbeingcombedinrelationtothesection.Thisisreferredtoas
"distribution."Thereare3typesofdistribution:
1.Overdirected(forwardandback)
2.Naturalfall
3.Perpendicular

3.ELEVATION
Eventhoughelevationisadistributiveterm,whenbreakingdownthe
cuttingprocess,NextLevelStylistisolateselevationintoitsowncategory.
Therearethreevariablesinthisarea:
1.0degreesonelength
2.45degreesgraduation
3.90degreeslayering

4.CUT
Thelaststepinthecuttingsystemistodescribehowthehairisbeingcut.
Thisbreaksdowninto2variables:

1.Howthehairisbeingcutinrelationtotheshapeofthe
Section(i.e."ClassicBob:Line/sectiondiagonalforward.Cut
Paralleltopart.)

2.Textureofthelinebeingcut.Whetheritisblunt,pointcut,
Razored,oranyotherofthecuttingtechniqueslistedonthe
Terminologysheet.

www.NextLevelStylist.comContinued