How to Shave Someone's Head

Q: My boyfriend has long hair, which I’m beginning to dislike. We already had many discussions about it. He hates going to the hairdressers and getting a normal haircut is out of the question.

Now he agrees to shave his head to stubble length (not bald), but only if I do it for him. What tools and products do I need to buy to shave his head? How frequently will he need maintenance shaves?

A: You will need baby powder, a comb or brush, a towel, hair cutting scissors and clippers. The frequency of maintenance shaves will depend on how fast the hair grows and on the hair type.

Have him sit down without his shirt, take a container of baby powder and shake it so the powder falls on his neck and shoulders. The baby powder avoids the hair to stick to his body. Very short hair, such as when you shave it, can be seriously uncomfortable when it gets into your clothes or pokes into your skin after a haircut. Also, his hair must be dry. The clippers pull at wet hair, and the wet hair tends to slide on the teeth of the clippers, which results in an uneven and uncomfortable cut.

After you’ve powdered him, take a towel and wrap it around his neck and shoulders, while securing the towel at the front with a big hairclip. Use sharp scissors to cut off most of the length of his hair. If you plunge the clippers into long hair, it will pull at the hair and scalp of your boyfriend. It’s always easier to work with short hair when shaving with clippers, and you can actually see what you’re doing.

Fasten his hair into a ponytail, literally just hold the length of the hair in your one hand, gently pull it downwards and cut it off at the length that you want it. You can donate the hair to a charity that makes wigs for people who have lost their hair. “Locks of love”, is one of the leading charities in this field. You can visit their website, or you can ask around at your local salon. Salons often collect the longer pieces of hair and couriers it to a charity that can use it.

When you’ve cut off the length, take the clippers and start at the back of your boyfriend’s head. You can use the No 1 size comb (which is the smallest) or you can shave his head without a comb attached to the clippers. I suggest using the No 1 comb first, as you might hurt him with the bare metal teeth of the clippers directly against his scalp if you’re unexperienced with clippers.

Flip the switch of the clippers, and gently start shaving in his neck area. Men tend to have stray hair growing in their neck area, so you can start by shaving these off first. This will also give you a feel for the clippers, and you’re less likely to hurt him as there’s little hair.

Then progress to the nape area. Shape in an upward direction; meaning shave a strip from the nape to the occipital bone, then remove the clippers from the hair, and start at the bottom again. Do this all around his head. When you’re done with this, his back and sides should be very short, while the hair on top of his hair is still long. In the top area, you start shaving from the forehead and shave backwards to the occipital bone area. Remove the clippers and then shave the next strip from forehead to occipital bone. Do this until all the hair is short.

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See also: How to shave your head