Point Cut Hair
If you want to texturize your hair and remove some bulk from the ends, point cutting is the technique you need. This technique cuts the hair with a vertical, rather than horizontal, motion. By doing this, you add a layered look to the hair, without removing as much bulk as other traditional cutting styles.
Contents
Steps
Doing a Point Cut on Short and Medium Lengths
- Wet the hair and comb out any tangles. For the best results, wash and rinse the hair before you begin to cut it. While the hair is still wet, comb through it to release tangles and remove loose hair.
- The point cut can be performed with dry hair, but wet hair stands up better and is easier to cut.
- Comb thin, two inch (5 cm) long sections of hair into your fingers. Hold the scissors in your dominant hand and the styling comb in your non-dominant hand. Comb the hair upward away from the head. When there are about two inches (5 cm) of hair in the comb, pinch the hair between your forefinger and middle finger.
- Start at the crown of the head, then work around the head in a circle.
- If you hold a section of hair that is longer than two inches (5 cm) in your fingers, it will begin to flop over and you can’t point cut it effectively. If there is less than that much, you won’t be creating the desired texture.
- Angle the scissors straight down. For a traditional cut, you’d hold the scissors parallel to your fingers. For a point cut, angle the scissors downward, perpendicular to your fingers. For the basic point cut, the scissors should be pointing straight down toward your fingers.
- The idea behind the point cut is to create texture and remove bulk, rather than removing length. This is why the scissors are held straight up and down.
- Cut chunks from the hair you’re holding. Cut less than 1 inch (2.5 cm) deep into the hair you’re holding. Move the scissors sideways one scissors-width (about ⅛ in or .3 cm) and cut again. Repeat this process as you move down the line of the hair. The final result will create a look of peaks and valleys in the hair.
- For the standard point cut, don’t cut more than an inch (2.5 cm) of hair in this way or the hair will begin to look too jagged.
- Cut the hair in a circular path around the head. As mentioned above, start cutting at the crown of the head. Continue cutting on top of the head staying on half of the head and working toward the front. Then work from the front of the head back toward the crown where you started.
Varying the Technique for Longer Lengths
- Hold the scissors at a lower angle. Create a deeper texture in the hair by lowering the handle end of the scissors. The farther you lower the scissors from their vertical position, the more hair you’ll cut. Do not not lower the scissors past a 45 degree angle, or you are not really performing a point cut anymore.
- Holding the scissors at 45 degrees will give you a choppy, layered look.
- Cut the hair deeper than one inch (2.5 cm). Point cutting should usually not take off more than 1 inch (2.5 cm) of hair. However, if you want to create an exaggerated effect, cut deeper into the hair when you have it pinched between your fingers. Cut between one and two inches (2.5 cm to 5 cm), but don’t cut more than two inches with this technique.
- Always make sure the person whose hair you are cutting is aware that you are going to be taking off more hair.
- Cut the lowest layer of layered hair. With the hair hanging straight down, gather a two inch section between and below your fingers. Rather than sticking up, as in the technique for short hair, the hair hangs toward the floor. Point the scissors upward toward the hair and perform the point cut as before.
- Cutting the lowest layer of hair in this way keeps the bottom layer from looking like a straight line.
Tips
- Use scissors that are made for cutting hair. Don’t use kitchen or craft scissors.
- This technique requires a lot of practice to result in the right look. Be wary of attempting it on a person if you have never done it before.
