6 Tips to Precision Cutting Perfection

Want some powerful cutting inspo? Check out @CiprianVaidaHair on Instagram. This is a page chock full of phenomenal cuts and silhouettes and totally worth the visit.

The hairdresser behind these looks is Ciprian Vaida, based at his Salon Portre, in Brasov, Romania. Styling hair since age 16, Vaida opened his first salon at age 20 after attending a precision cutting course at Sassoon in London. For the past 10 years he has kept up on his training, taking advanced courses at HOB, Toni&Guy, Mazella & Palmer, Zgat and Allilon. “Over the years my salon grew into something beautiful,” Vaida says. “The funny thing is that I was known for my skills in color and updo’s, but my real passion was always to cut hair. For the last five years I have focused on improving my cutting skills.”

Vaida splits his time between his salon where he sees clients and a small education center where he trains students. When asked if he has won any awards, Vaida says, “I had some awards but nothing really big. I think that the real competition is within myself and I strive to do every cut better than the last one.”

Here Vaida shares his top six tips for creating clean lines and sharp edges:

1. Get the shape as clean as possible from the very beginning. A clean cut will always be achieved when you work on a clean sectioning pattern.
2. When refining the outline avoid using your clipper too much. By doing that the hairline will not flow naturally. I always try to get it as clean as possible using my point cutting technique.
3. The most important thing is understanding that suitability is key! Not every type of hair can be turned into something really strong and sharp. Be sure that the client has enough hair, and it’s not super curly.
4. If you want to create a really strong outline on a bob shape, avoid layering and thinning anything beneath the occipital bone. Also check the hair density around the ears. You need to be sure that the client has the right amount of hair so that the outline will be consistent from the back to the front.
5. In order to create a really sharp and straight outline you need to check your shape properly. The best way to do that is to find your target-eye. It’s actually pretty simple - you can google it ! Afterwards just find a straight surface in your salon and always compare your outline to it. If you got it right it should be parallel. If it it’s curved or diagonal , simply use your comb . Cut of everything that doesn’t match.
6. Last but not least, something I often saw during my classes is that most of my students focus more on their cutting than on blow drying. It’s essential when refining the outline that the roots are flattened in their natural fall. Also, you need to straighten it so you can see any imperfection.