DIY Tutorial: Cutting Kids Hair with Clippers at Home

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Inside: Looking to save some cash and give your boy an awesome haircut at home? Cutting kids hair with clippers at home isn’t as hard as you’d think! With a few good tools and some simple techniques, you’ll be able to knock out a handsome haircut for your son in no time. Read on for my essential steps and tips!

I still remember the first time I cut my son’s hair. That first toddler haircut was incredible. It was amazing to watch him turn from a baby to a “big boy” with just a few buzzes of the clippers.

Guess, what? We are still cutting my son’s hair at home. I literally couldn’t even count the money we’ve saved over the years. Learning to DIY this simple haircut for boys has saved us a ton of cash.

But that’s not what I love about cutting my son’s hair at home.

I love seeing him grow with each haircut. His chin grows a little more square. His shoulders a little more broad. And his ears stick out a little less!

Growing up happens so fast, and yet so very, very slowly.

I hope this DIY tutorial helps you as you learn how easy cutting kids hair with clippers can be! Enjoy each haircut as a tiny landmark of his childhood. Your boy is growing up, one trim at a time!

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DIY Tutorial: Cutting Kids Hair with Clippers at Home

Ready to get your boy’s mane in shape? Let’s get started on this simple haircut for boys.

Supplies:

• Clippers: We use these Wahl T-Pro clippers plus an extra long #10 guard for the top.
• Cape: Make your own from a pillowcase, or grab one of these haircutting capes.

Step 1: Fade Up the Sides

The first step is to decide how long you want the sides to be. For our son, we usually start on guard #1. If you want a longer, more traditional look, start on a longer guard. For a tight fade, choose #0 guard to fade in the bottom at the nape of the neck.

Here’s the shaggy-headed before! This kid is in need of a nice tight fade, for sure!

Starting at the nape of the neck, buzz around the head in even layers. Make a backwards “C” shape as you trim with the clippers. This helps each layer fade into the next and avoids any harsh lines. Our clippers have an extension options. So once we clip with #1 guard, we’ll extend that guard and blend up into the next layer. Then we’ll move on to #2 guard.

Keep switching to longer guards as you move up the sides of the head. Imagine a baseball cap on your boy’s head, and stay away from the area that would be covered by the cap. You’ll want to stop once you get to the crown of the head. Don’t buzz up too high on the head, or this modern faded haircut quickly turns into a military cut!

On this haircut, we used guards #1, #2, and #3 on the sides. As you can see, this tip makes for a super smooth fade!

For a nice profile, use a shorter guard toward the temples. Feather your clippers back away from the face to blend it in with the rest of your graduated layers.

Step 2: Trim and Blend the Top

Next, tackle the crown of the head. If we need to take off a lot of hair, we will use a longer guard on the clippers to take down the length. Run the clippers from front to back, against the direction of the hair. Be sure to use sharp clippers or else it could pull the hair!

Get the overall length on top uniform first. Since our clipper set only included guards up to #8, we purchased a separate #10 guard on Amazon that cuts to 1.25″. If you want to keep the top even longer, I’ve seen universal guards up to #16 that should fit on your clippers.

Once this is done, go back to a shorter guard to blend in the sides of the head with the crown. For this haircut, we used guards #4 and #5 to blend in the sides.

Step 3: Clean up the Edges

Finally, clean up the edges to create nice, crisp lines! You can use the clippers with no guard to achieve this, or if you have beard trimmers on hand, those will work wonderfully.

Start in the middle of the nape of the neck and make a horizontal line across. Once the neck is squared off, continue up the sides from neck to ears, making sure to hold the ears back so they don’t get nipped.

Trim the sideburns, and tidy up the temples if needed.

Now give your son a good brush off, and you’re all done!

Here’s our guy’s after photo. Looking sharp!

Your Turn

What’s your motivation for cutting your son’s hair at home? Do you have a favorite simple haircut for boys?

Share your stories and tips with us in the comments below!

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