LOCKDOWN has been tough on the nation's hairdos and celeb hairdresser Lee Stafford has taken matters into his own hands.
He gave his kids a quarantine hair refresh and even taught his wife, Jess, to cut his locks. Here's how you can recreate his looks…
Lee – Short back and sides
STEP ONE: Separate the top half of your hair from the bottom. If long enough, clip in place.
STEP TWO: Choose your guard size on the clippers and always begin at the bottom of your hairline. Sitting straight, run the clippers vertically up in a straight line instead of following the natural head shape. Repeat on sides until the entire section is shaved. Be patient.
STEP THREE: Now move on to the top section. Clip the fringe out of the way by combing a triangle section.
STEP FOUR: Take the rest of the hair and decide how much you want to cut off by roughing up the top section and seeing how much it overhangs.
STEP FIVE: Run the comb upwards and trim the ends in a straight line, snipping upwards. Once trimmed, run the comb upwards and cut into the hair vertically to create texture.
Styling tip: The top section is to be styled with wax, so nobody should notice if it is perfectly trimmed or not.
Sugar-May, 3 – Kids’ blunt fringe
STEP ONE: Find the point where the front hairline grows back the furthest and create a triangle section from there for the fringe. The rest of the hair should be in a centre parting.
STEP TWO: Spritz the fringe so it’s wet and stand directly in front of the head.
Comb the hair with your fingers, taking as much hair as you can comfortably hold, and rest your fingers on the forehead or nose, depending on how short you want to go.
STEP THREE: Cut a straight horizontal line and move across, holding some of the hair that you have just cut in your fingers as a guide.
STEP FOUR: Dry hair and press your hand down on the forehead. By doing this, you’re able to see the line you just created. Take extra care and gently snip upwards for texture.
Angel, 6 – Short kids’ do
STEP ONE: Similar to the man’s cut, separate the hair into top and bottom sections. The hairline of this section should be a semi-circle reaching to the crown, called a horseshoe section.
STEP TWO: On the bottom half, run the clippers on the side and back in straight vertical lines.
STEP THREE: With the top section, shape into a mohawk and decide how short you want to snip.
STEP FOUR: Separate into small sections, running through your fingers and cutting at a downward angle, vertically, to create texture.
STEP FIVE: Once it is all cut, tidy around the bottom hairline and ears if necessary. Voila! Style and go.
Elvis, 5 -Long layers and fringe
STEP ONE: Use the end of a comb to create a middle parting to the nape of the neck. If there is a fringe, separate it off.
STEP TWO: Create sections either side of the parting at the front and back of the ears, clipping in place. The scalp should resemble a hot cross bun.
STEP THREE: Begin with the front two sections. Take a horizontal layer of hair either side of the parting and pull hair up to the ceiling. This will look like a mohawk. Vertically snip before dropping back down.
STEP FOUR: Now focusing on one side, take a horizontal layer of hair underneath the layer you just cut. Pull both to the ceiling and cut to the same length. When your hair falls, it will create a long layer.
STEP FIVE: Do the same to the other front side, using the section from the mohawk cut as a guide. That way all hair will be the same length. The same process applies to the two sections at the back.
STEP SIX: For the fringe, comb fringe upwards and forwards – a 45-degree angle away from the hairline – and cut slowly, snipping vertically in a straight line. Use a piece of cut hair in your fingertips as a guide as you go. Only snip a little at a time.
Jess used the same technique on Elvis’ long hair but we didn’t cut a fringe on her.
Tips for afro locks
CELEBRITY hairdresser Lorraine Dublin, whose clients include Serena Williams, Vick Hope and Sarah-Jane Crawford, says: “I recommend getting hair cut or trimmed in the salon by a qualified professional.
“But it goes without saying that the pandemic has made a lot of us have to do things ourselves, at home.
“So if you desperately need a trim, then here goes.”
Wash your hair with a good moisturising shampoo and conditioner first. Try Dizziak Hydration Wash, £20, and Dizziak Deep Conditioner, £22, both cultbeauty.co.uk.
After rinsing out the conditioner, towel-dry your hair lightly (make sure you blot rather than rub) and add your regular moisturiser to your slightly damp hair.
Next, separate your hair into eight to ten sections and braid into single plaits, then leave the hair to dry naturally.
Once dry, use sharp scissors to trim approximately one inch off the ends of the plaits, taking off the straggly bits.
This won’t necessarily give you an even finish but it will get rid of any damaged ends and tide you over until you can visit the salon again.
One last thing – don’t put too much moisturiser on the ends before trimming because you want to see if it’s naturally dry or damaged, and you don’t want to trim off healthy hair.
Lee's verdict
WHILE I’m usually expected to do the family haircuts, it was nice to let Jess take control – and she was a great trainee.
The most important thing is to remain calm and collected, which she did. I was impressed with Sugar’s fringe, it looked really cute. While some of the cuts could have done with a polish, they all looked fresh and clean.
The kids found it fun. They enjoyed letting their mum do it and weren’t scared at all, even five-year-old Elvis, who had her first ever haircut – long layers like her mum’s.
If you can do hair trims for kids all under the age of six, then you are practically qualified. Looks like I’ll be getting Jess to come and work the salon floor next.
Jess' verdict
WHEN Lee said I was cutting the kids’ hair, I didn’t know if I wanted a coffee or a brandy.
I also thought, “Have we got enough chocolate in . . . ?!”
Angel tends to hide behind his hair so it was the perfect chance for me to cut it short as Lee always insists on keeping it long.
Elvis was a dream as always. She loves having her hair and make-up done, while our youngest girl, Sugar-May, got a crazy fringe to match her personality.
I promised them all toys from Amazon to keep them still – I’ve got a big order on the way now. I loved cutting Lee’s hair.
I told him he’s a better actor than me and I’m a better hairdresser than him – we should switch jobs.
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