Short Haircut

I love to cut short hair.
I have cut a lot of short hair.
I have even earned 3 Guinness World hair cutting records for my hair cutting.

It is all about the haircut. If your haircut is right your look is right, your life is right, and the whole world is right.

If your haircut is right it is easy to handle and easy to style.

I have made it my business, my career and my life to get the haircut right for my clients. I have spent over 20 years as an instructor of advanced continuing education for haircutters to help them get the haircut right for their clients, too.

Enjoy this web page on haircuts.

Follow my blog on haircutting.

Your best hair days are aHEAD of you.

Are you getting the right haircut? With the right tool? To create the right texture, look and finish? How do you know? I have cut a lot of short hair. Not all hair is to be cut the same way. Have a look at these different haircutting approaches. Let me help you have your best short hair days.

What it is: The Sassoon precision hair cutting revolution of the 1970's is largely responsible for creating the salon industry as we know it today. The creation of intricate shapes and the soft fluidity of blown dry hair remains a key element of hair fashion and style, the world over. Hair is shampooed and towel dried. Hair is rewetted during cutting to maintain a consistent moisture level throughout the haircut.

Who it is for: This is today's standard service of the professional beauty industry. It is best suited to short to mid length shapes on super straight to slightly wavy textures.

Specialized tools: The scissors of choice are short precision haircutting tools no more than 5 ½" in length. Hair cutting combs with narrow teeth provide precision distribution of hair and control of tension vital for creating complicated shapes.

Ivan's unique approach: Japanese made, high precision steel, offset handle, removable blade scissors are my tool of choice. I use a special blade imported just for me to provide superior control. The blades of my scissors are never re-sharpened. I throw them away and use new blades instead. It is more costly to do it this way, but I get amazing results.

What it is: The late 1990's and early 2000's saw the emergence of dry cutting as a way to create styles that have a natural look and feel. By cutting in a state "as to be worn" the look and feel is amazing and the movement is loose and free. The process involves shampooing, drying and straightening the hair before the cut.

Who it is for: If you have thick and heavy, straight hair you will love the release of weight that comes from a soft and moveable dry cut. Straighter hair textures or alternate textures desired to be worn straight benefit from the dry cutting experience.

Specialized tools: Dry cutting scissors come in two primary types. Super sharp, slightly longer scissors, 6" or more, allow for sliding and deep point cutting to create movement and textured interiors. Perimeters (outlines) are cut with special one-side-serrated scissors that grab and hold the hair to prevent shifting. The tools are designed to provide a level of control that traditional hair cutting scissors cannot achieve. Wide toothed combs impart minimal tension to the hair enhancing natural movement and hair distribution

Ivan's Unique approach: I have extensively studied the work and techniques of the three great masters of dry hair cutting of the 1990's and 2000's. My dry haircutting focus is on short shapes, from the ear to above the shoulder, where dry cutting's benefits can be most appreciated. I use two pair of custom made, 2 piece scissors.

What it is: The traditional barber shop hair cut. Performed on dry hair. Lightly misted with water for control during cutting.

Who it is for: Men and boys in search of classic looks with contemporary style.

Specialized tools: Classic barber tools are the only real way to go here. Electric clippers and trimmers and long bladed scissors and blending shears are the tools of barbering.

Ivan's unique approach: I have a cosmetology license and a barber license. This unique, combined educational background allows me to draw form the best of classic barbering, combined with the latest in contemporary cosmetology. The art and science of hair cutting is melded to create unique, classic but contemporary men's hair cutting looks. An Andis Master clipper and T-Outliner trimmer are my tools of choice for unparalleled barbering excellence. The 44/20 blending scissors is another legendary tool I choose to employ for creating finished looks that look great from day one until the return visit to the shop.

What it is: Clipper cutting was popularized in the salon industry in the 1980's when clipper cutting first made the jump from barber shops to hair salons. Clipper cutting allows for short styles and blended transitions like no other cutting choice.

Who it is for: Short styles, strong geometric shapes, blended asymmetric cuts. Clipper cutting is ideal for clients with straight to very curly, thick, heavy hair.

Specialized tools: The latest in high performance, whisper quiet, pivot motor clippers. State of the art tools feature certified zirconium oxide ceramic cutter blades.

Ivan's unique approach: In my role as director of education and training for the Andis Company, the number one clipper manufacturer on the planet, I am the foremost authority on clipper cutting. Having achieved three Guinness World haircutting records I can create hair miracles with a clipper. I use the Andis SpeedMaster II Clipper, widely regarded as one of the finest electric hair cutting tool in the world.

What it is: Razor cutting is one of the oldest forms of hair cutting in the salon industry. Razor cutting fell out of fashion in the 1970's as precision hair cutting driven by the Sassoon revolution took over salons. The NEW razor cutting took hold in the 1990's as new tools and amazing textures began to dominate the style scene.

Who it is for: Amazing piecey, moveable textured shapes and finished styles. Shattered perimeters, massive texture, big volume and aggressive movement are all hallmarks of great razor cutting. Razor cutting is ideal on all hair types except the very finest, hair types that need the bulk that razor cutting tends ti remove.

Specialized tools: The Feather Razor, from Japan, introduced in the early 1990's is the tool of choice for today's razor cutting professional.

Ivan's unique approach: I have taught razor cutting for the Feather Razor Company for many years. I have served as a consultant and new product development tester for Feather razor. I use a one-of-a-kind custom feather razor for dynamic results.

What it is: In order to make the most of curly hair it is to be treated differently from other textures. Curls are individually cut to build an overall perimeter shape maximizing the natural wave and curl. Interiors carry either weight or volume created by construction. The strength and unique form of the curl is left intact.

Who it is for: Curly Girls (and guys) who love their curly hair. They are frustrated with having it cut and treated like straight hair. Clients who are prepared to let their natural texture take over will be delighted with this unique cutting style.

Specialized tools: Short cutting scissors are preferred as curls are individually snipped to precise lengths. Hair is cut dry so as to really see what is happening to the hair. Fingers are used instead of a comb so as to allow curls to behave naturally.

Ivan's unique approach: Once again I have chosen to use a scissors that has been custom built to my exacting specifications. I have designed a special, one side serrated, short scissor. A pair of these unique tools are joined together to create a four blade special snipping scissor. The effect if far different from what can be achieved with traditional hair scissors alone.