Undershave and Undercut Haircuts
A: The undershave haircut is where the hair on the sides and back of the head at the nape (usually) is shaved to the scalp, while the hair on top and in the crown area is left and/or styled in a traditional manner.
The style has been popular with the Goth, Cyber-goth and Punk subcultures and can be worn by both boys and girls. There are endless variation possibilities in and undershave haircut, but it qualifies as an undershave if at least some part of the head is shaved and subsequently covered over by the remaining hair.
The most common undercut style is the bowl cut with the undercutting extending one-to-two inches up under the bowls' line. Those persons who favor this style claim its main appeal is the fact that the style is durable. The head can be shaken and whipped around and the style falls back into place with relative ease.
Undershaving and undercutting are also useful as techniques in dealing with some difficulties in other hairstyles. A particular example is in men who have long hair and find that the hair of the nape of the neck pushes their hair outward in back, preventing it from laying flat to the neck. By undercutting or undershaving, the outer layer of hair is able to hang freely, giving a smoother look to the style.
Women have use for undercutting and undershaving as well, particularly with shorter hairstyles such as the bob, when the cut line falls at the base of the nape. When this happens, some women find that the hair tends to flip outward due to the crowding caused by the neck hair at the nape. By clippering this hair short (undercutting) or simply shaving the area (undershaving), the bob style can be easily styled to turn under for a tidy and chic look.
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See also:
How do you undercut medium length hair so it curls under?
How can I define the double cut and is it different than the undercut?
Inverse layering techniques
Clipper cutting techniques