3 Things to Know About Corrective Curly Cuts for Natural Hair

As licensed stylists and tight curl educators, we know that cutting can be a very touchy subject when it comes to black women and our hair. We have a multitude of horror stories as it relates to sitting in a stylist’s chair and not getting what we want. Many of us have had the experience of going in for just a slight “trim” and leaving feeling like the stylist scalped us.

Behind the chair, it’s not unusual for us to see folks who have gone three to five years without a haircut. This results in reduced length retention, breakage, split ends, which can lead to the need for a drastic big chop. This blog post will explain 3 things to know about corrective cuts.

What Is a Corrective Cut?

It’s a common belief amongst naturals that you must cut all your hair off in order to get to your desired goal, but as licensed stylists, we recognize that is something that naturals may not be comfortable doing right away, and that is okay. This is where corrective cuts come in.

A corrective cut is a series of cuts done in order to get to your desired hair goal. The specific details of a corrective cut will vary from person to person, depending on the condition of your hair. The time it takes to correct a cut depends on what you allow your stylist to cut, the rate at which your hair grows and you being timely with your cut maintenance.

#1: It’s Important to Get Regular Maintenance Cuts

Now why as naturals do we still need regular haircuts when we’re not doing a ton of manipulation or heat styling the hair? The reason why is because hair is a fabric. Your hair may be more like wool or may be more like silk but it’s all fabric.

Think about rolling the end of a piece of thread in between your finger. What does it do? It will roll around for a while but eventually the thread gets tangled, knotted, and even will begin to fray. The thickness and surface texture of the thread determines how long it takes for the damage to occur, but ultimately all fabrics will be damaged if the manipulation continues.

The ends are the oldest part of the hair, so it is imperative that we are doing maintenance cuts to thwart any frayed ends from spreading up the hair strand.

P.S. - The frequency of maintenance cuts will vary from person to person, depending on your desired aesthetic and Essential Elements. Someone with a taper could require maintenance cuts every 8 to 10 weeks, whereas someone with bob length hair may be able to go up to 16 weeks until their next cut.

#2: It’s Important to Exercise Grace & Patience

Remember, a licensed stylist can only cut what you allow them to. Depending on your hair care practices prior to starting your natural hair journey, your hair could have a baby crown, mullet or holes.

Baby Crown

A “baby crown” is referred to as an area in the middle of your head that is often short due to getting your hair trimmed/cut straight or experiencing breakage.

Mullet

A “mullet” is a long area at the nape of the neck that was left there for a straight cut or in an attempt to retain length.

Holes

“Holes” are areas of the hair that aren’t long enough to connect to the hair above or below.

It’s important to set realistic expectations with a corrective cut and understand that it will take time (could be a few months or years) to get to your desired hair goal. Patience is truly a virtue, coupled with a ton of grace for both yourself and your hair stylist.

#3: It’s Important to Partner with a Licensed Stylist

Pretty much any stylist can cut hair straight, although some are better than others due to training and experience. Blown out cuts take a little adjusting but most stylists that cut can successfully execute these as well.

When it comes to curly cutting, especially on tight coils, curls, and waves (yes very, very, tight hair can be wavy), advanced education and practical experience is required to understand 3-D hair architecture, shape proportions, and finished styling.

In case you didn’t know, we created a free online stylist directory comprised of 200+ independent stylists across the U.S. (even a few abroad) who have taken varying levels of education with our education company for professionals, Cut It Kinky.

Still having trouble finding a licensed professional in your area? Check out this blog post for helpful tips.



Want more tips and guidance for hair cutting? We cover all the natural hair fundamentals and more in our digital consumer education platform, The SeeSomeCurls Visual Library.

Our 1.2K+ course community of tight curl + naturals are shaving more than 50% of time off their wash day, being showered left and right with hair compliments, and are receiving direct support of a very encouraging community of tight curlies + naturals who have been exactly where you are.