Numbers are as important to barbers as they are to accountants. Why, you ask? Simply because the clipper number they use can affect how they cut and style your hair, which in turn affects the rest of the appointment. They need to make sure that you are satisfied with the clipper number of your choice during the consultation so that they can spend the rest of the appointment giving you the perfect haircut.

By settling on the desired clipper number, they'll be able to ensure you end up with your desired haircut instead of giving you something longer and avoiding using the remainder of the appointment to shorten it (essentially giving you another haircut, which is basically another appointment). It also helps to avoid having a haircut that's way too short than what you pictured. And I'm sure you would like your favorite stylist to cut your hair the way you envisioned it the first time.

That's where we come in.

Although we at Eddie's Edition (as well as many other professionals) will not ask you what clipper number you'd like to have your sides cut at, we thought it would be best to educate you just in case you would like to have an alternative way of letting your barber know what kind of haircut you want if no picture is available to show. Not only will this give your barber an idea of what kind of hairstyle you want (especially if you don't have any pictures and/or this is your first time at that salon), but it also shows your barber that you've done some research and she/he might appreciate that you don't want to waste each other's valuable time.

So as you are getting used to your favorite barbers and hair salons opening back up, you're probably starting to get back to your clean cut and managed hair. And even though, as I mentioned earlier, you can always show us the hairstyle you want us to copy via pictures, you can also provide us with the clipper number range of your choice.

Why a number, you ask again? What do numbers and barbers have to do with each other? Like I mentioned before, your barber uses the clipper numbers to determine what style you want on the sides (which will affect how the style on top will look) and cater the hairstyle and the rest of the appointment to fit your image.

Therefore, when your barber is referring to numbers, the stylist is referring to the clipper guard. Ranging from 0 to 8, where 0 is the shortest setting (without the clipper guard) and 8 is the longest setting, the stylist is then able to determine what length to cut the sides of your hair and from that length, determine how best to cut the rest of your hair to your desired haircut and to best suit your features. And in order to make the haircut seamless, the barber usually starts with a base number and works through the numbers as they go up the sides. However, if you provide only one number, we recommend starting with the lowest number you'd like for the side bottoms and then have the barber work their way up the numbers for a seamless style.

Once both parties have agreed on the clipper number range during the consultation, the stylist can continue onto the actual cutting and styling portion of the appointment.

And don't worry, because barbers deal with clipper numbers all day every day, they will know how it will turn out and how it will affect your hairstyle and the rest of your features whether you choose a one or an eight on the sides. So just in case you're not entirely sure of your decision, the barber can go over how it will look during the consultation and you can decide if you would like to continue with that clipper number or go with something else.

Now, this isn't an article telling you that you have to learn about the different hairstyles created by the different clipper numbers. Again, this article is more like a guide to educate and help you determine what kind of styles each of the different clipper numbers will create and look like so that the next time you go in for your haircut appointment, you'll be able to get an idea of what you can go for (especially if you're trying out a new hairstyle or you're going to a new barber). We just want you to stay as informed as possible so that you feel prepared if, like I mentioned before, you don't have a picture as reference or they ever ask you what number you would like your sides cut at.

So as reference points, here are some examples below so you can really tell the difference in the range of clipper numbers and how each range can affect your hairstyle.

No.0 (Without clipper guard) ~ No.2

No.1 ~ No.3

No.3 ~ No.5

No.5 ~ No.8 or scissor cut



Written by Eddie's Edition