This Is Exactly How I Cut My Boyfriend’s Hair At Home During Lockdown

I was forced into cutting his hair. I want to make that clear. Most men seem to have a very short fuse when it comes to their hair length. Ollie is lucky, he's got a full head of thick hair that barber aficionado and manager of Ruffians'Shoreditch location, Tommy Cunliffe regularly kept in impeccable shape pre-lockdown. It's longer and wavy on top, shorter round the sides - there's most likely a very technical piece of barbering vernacular intended to describe this particular look, but (and no surprises here guys) I'm not a hairdressing pro.

Four weeks into lockdown and Ollie was prepping himself for some drastic action. The tendrils up top were dropping into his eyes, and the once perfectly manicured area around his neck and ears was growing wild. He wouldn't stand for it. With the prospect of weeks more ahead of us confined to our homes, and me unwilling to trim his barnet, he began contemplating a buzz cut. 'When else in my life can I do this?' he cried, 'It's my last chance!'. Lockdown cabin fever gone mad. He issued me with an ultimatum. Try or trim, or he razors it all of.

That, ladies and gentlemen, is my disclaimer. As any pro out there will tell you, mastering haircutting takes years upon years. It's a professional arena for a reason. I would never have willingly taken my kitchen scissors to Ollie's hair, had the alternative option been watching it all fall to the floor in one fell swoop of a pair of clippers. If you're not forced into it, don't do it! And if you are forced into it, ensure they know that if it turns out badly, that's on them, not you. Got that? Here's how I did it...

How The Haircut Happened

1. Location, Location, Location - I set up shop on a non-carpeted floor. Hair gets everywhere, and it's much easier to hoover up from a smooth surface. I ensured there was a huge mirror right in front of us and that Ollie had a hand-held one with him too. I needed him to see every step of the process so that he could step in at any point and back out, if I'm honest.

2. Tool Tips - I only had my sharpest, smallest pair of kitchen scissors to hand so they had to do (don't do the same). I would advise ordering a pair of professional haircutting scissors instead, you want precision cutting, nothing that will give you a blunt finish. Reach for a comb, not a brush. It helps you tackle specific sections of hair more presicely.

3. Opt For Dry - I was trimming Ollie's hair, NOT revamping it. I wanted to keep the same cut that Tommy had so expertly provided him with a month or so back. Hair changes a lot in length, texture etc, from when it's wet to when it's dry and I knew that I could quite easily cut a section that seemed the right length when it was wet, only to see it curl up into half the length when it dried.

4. Follow The Original Cut - I could see the shapes that Tommy had sculpted into Ollie's hair, from the graduation down towards his temples, to the shorter sections lower down. I followed the cut as best as I could.

5. Little By Little - Only take the tiniest amount off at a time. There were numerous occasions that Ollie asked for a certain amount off, and I went with half the amount he requested. Each time he admitted that was the right decision. The slower you go, and the less hair you tackle at a time, the less visible any mistakes you make will be.

6. Don't Cut Across - Don't cut flat across sections of hair. The hair will end up looking like you've chipped away at it with a Stanley knife. Instead hold the section of hair between your two fingers at the length your want to cut, and cut into it, not across it. The effect is a lot more subtle and you end up taking less hair off, whilst still taking the weight they want out of their do. (Again, disclaimer, this is a not a pro's piece of advice, this is a girl-who's-cut-her-boyfriend's-hair-twice-and-he's-not-hated-it piece of advice).

7. Clippers - I'm very cautious with clippers. Fortunately Ollie only needs to use them around his hairline at the nape of his neck and that I can do. He knew how to use them better than me, so start by getting them to show you how they work, and how to use them. There's a specific lilt in movement that works a dream. Again, be cautious. You can really balls things up if you get this part wrong. Tackle tidying the nape area of the neck up as you would plucking your eyebrows. Only target the strays.

8. Try To Talk Them Out Of It - If there's any way you can convince them that longer hair might work for a while, do. You're never going to be able to do it like a pro, you may well end up making mistakes, and their barber will be tasked with rectifying what you've done in the long run, even if the results are passable.

Note - Ollie was happy with the haircut because it was shorter, but you could barely tell I'd cut it. That said, the next time Ollie's beloved Barber Tommy takes a look, he'll know a non-pro's been at it. Fingers crossed it's easier to deal with than a growing-out buzz cut.

Shop: At-Home Hair Cut Kit

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