Tapering neck hair so it fits the head is one of the more challenging parts of a haircut. Here’s a few good ways to get it done as fast as possible:
Short blocked: Use a #2, 31/2, or 3 3/4 blade to clip up the bottom neck hair at least an inch and a half, followed by a shorter cutting blade over the comb to taper the upper hair. Use a 0000 blade or Finisher Clipper to put a line at the bottom–round off the corners a little, where the bottom meets the side of the neck
Longer (more full) blocked neck: Cut the bottom few inches of neck hair using the over-the-comb, stepping-out method. The bottom-most hair could be as short as a half-inch, to as long as an inch–from there it would taper to an inch-and-a-half to a couple of inches of length going up the back 2 to 3 inches higher. Finish with the 0000 as above.
The tapered neck: This approach requires more skill than a blocked cutting, but not much more time to do it, if any. This method leaves the neck hair in good shape for a longer time than the blocked approach. Here is a common way of doing it that works well: Use a 1 1/2 blade to taper up the bottom neck hair one to two inches (with a taper-out movement at the end of the path). Switch to an OA or 000 blade to taper higher up–run the clipper over a Wahl comb using the stepping-out method. Now use a Wahl or Andis in the open (#1blade) position to taper up the bottom half inch or so, followed by the same clipper in a 000 position to clean up any left-over “fuzzies” below the heavy growth of neck hair. If there’s any leftover unevenness, use a barber comb and the clipper in the 000 position for some over-the-comb smoothing-off.
To make your tapered cutting easier, I recommend cutting the top and upper sides and back with scissor and comb before tapering around the lower areas. Scissor cutting is best done with the hair wet. When the scissor work is done, the hair may have “air-dried”, but if it’s still wet, dry it with a dryer. Clipper work is always best done with the hair dry.
TAKE THE HIGH GROUND
The moral high ground is built on compassion.
Message on a bumper sticker