Thin Mid Length Wavy Hair

Thinning scissors — Photo: ESB Professional/Shutterstock

Q: There are a number of questions on how to thin hair on your site. Do the same guidelines apply for mid length (between chin and shoulder length) wavy hair? Work around approx. 1/3 to 1/2 down the length. Also is there a preference if the hair is wet or dry?

A: When thinning the hair, the basic guidelines apply to any length of hair. The key is to make certain that you don't make your thinning cuts too close to the scalp. Doing so will result in the hair standing up and sticking out in many cases. The positioning for the cut(s) is at 1/3 to 1/2 of the length of the hair.

As to the specific area where you want to place your thinning cuts, you should target the area where there is bulk you wish to remove. If the hair is bulky at the ends, then your thinning cuts should be just above the bulky area, or in the center of that area. Be sure to perform one cut at a time to prevent removing too much hair from a given area.

Just as when you are cutting the hair to create a style, you generally want the hair to be at least damp when thinning the hair. This isn't a requirement and there are some cases when it would be advantageous for the hair to be dry when thinning, but having the hair damp prevents the cut segments of hair from scattering all over the place.

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See also:

How to thin hair out

How to use thinning scissors

What's a good number of teeth in one sided thinning shears?

Is it safe to cut the hair when it is dry?