Cross-Check a Haircut

Barber holding comb and scissors — Photo: 4 PM Production/Shutterstock

Q: Could you please tell me how the barber comb is held in cross checking a clipper cut? Can you hold the comb diagonally or from nape to crown or from ear to ear? Thank you for your help.

A: When cross-checking any haircut, the trick is to perform the check by looking at slices that run perpendicular to the direction of the cut.

Therefore, if you cut the hair by using the clippers to make passes vertically up the nape of the neck to the crown, then you would cross-check by holding your barber comb horizontally and moving it up the neck to make sure all the ends are even.

Of course, if the hair is meant to be uniform in length all over the head, you can cross-check using any number of angles. However, if – as in most cases – different sections of the head are cut to differing lengths, you must pay attention to the angles of the cut so as to avoid making a mess of the cut while cross-checking.

Furthermore, when cross-checking the hair, if you need to cut more, the aim is to remove ONLY the hairs that stick out from the others. If you do otherwise, you'll end up playing "catch up" and make the hair MUCH shorter than you intend, if you don't ruin the hairstyle you're going for altogether.

©Hairfinder.com

See also:

How to use clippers for men's haircuts

The length of the guards on clippers

How to cut hair with clippers

Are there any certain clippers, guards, or scissors to use when tapering a man's hair on the side?