Log in
PolskiEnglish
Join
Join
Buzz Cut with Hair Tattoo
Artur Głażewski1h 56minshort

Buzz Cut with Hair Tattoo

A men's haircutting course in which Artur Głażewski creates a buzz cut finished with a hair tattoo design, commenting on every decision as he goes: a base with a 13 mm guard on a closed blade and length choices matched to head shape and face shape, the line-up as a clear boundary of the form, building segments with intention from one-and-a-half millimeters upward and transitions between open and closed blade, symmetry drawn from reference points on the face, corrections with the clippers held vertically and folded flat to the scalp, cutting with scissor tips along the hair's direction at thin spots, and finally the design cut dry and sharpened with a pencil.

Result and process

  • Buzz Cut with Hair Tattoo - photo 1
  • Buzz Cut with Hair Tattoo - photo 2
  • Buzz Cut with Hair Tattoo - photo 3
  • Buzz Cut with Hair Tattoo - photo 4
  • Buzz Cut with Hair Tattoo - photo 5
  • Buzz Cut with Hair Tattoo - photo 6

About the course

Buzz Cut with Hair Tattoo is nearly two hours of cutting in which Artur Głażewski explains out loud why he makes every move. He starts with a base using a #13 guard on a closed blade and immediately explains when to go shorter: a smaller guard for an oval or elongated head, a larger one for a square or round face, to elongate it.

The backbone of the course is segments. He builds them with intention, starting from one-and-a-half millimeters and working upward, and shows how to calculate the transitions between guards instead of guessing. He keeps coming back to one rule: you remove the line below and never cut into the segment above. When a dip is left behind, he holds the clippers vertically and cuts it out point by point, and for gaps in the growth pattern he cuts in with the scissor tips along the hair's direction, never across it.

He draws symmetry from reference points on the face - the eyebrows, the brow arch, and the corner of the eye - instead of eyeballing it. At the end, he cuts the hair tattoo design dry, without wetting the hair or using talc, working with part of the blade, and sharpens it with a pencil.

In this course you'll see

  • Choosing the base guard for head shape and facial proportions
  • The line-up as a clear boundary - without it, a buzz cut stops being a buzz cut
  • The difference between a buzz cut and a flat top - what the square shape and vertical sides actually do
  • Building segments from one-and-a-half millimeters and calculating transitions between guards
  • Graduation from open to closed blade at every height
  • How hair density and color affect the width of the first segments
  • Removing the line without cutting into the segment above
  • Holding the clippers vertically for dips, and flat to the scalp for collecting more hair
  • Symmetry drawn from the eyebrows, brow arch, and corner of the eye
  • Cutting in with the scissor tips along the hair's direction for thin spots and gaps
  • The hair tattoo design cut dry and sharpened with a pencil

What you will learn

  1. 01How to choose the base guard for head shape and facial proportions, instead of always grabbing the same one.
  2. 02Why the line-up determines whether a haircut reads as a buzz cut.
  3. 03How to build segments with intention starting from one-and-a-half millimeters, and calculate transitions between guards.
  4. 04How to remove a line without cutting into the segment above.
  5. 05How hair density and color change the width of the first two segments.
  6. 06When to hold the clippers vertically, and when to fold them flat to the scalp.
  7. 07How to draw symmetry from the eyebrows, brow arch, and corner of the eye.
  8. 08How to cut in with the scissor tips along the hair's direction without creating a gap.
  9. 09How to cut and sharpen a hair tattoo design dry, without wetting the hair or using talc.

What's inside

Full access with the course
  1. Buzz Cut with Hair Tattoo - The base guard depends on head shape0:29

    01The base guard depends on head shape

    If someone has a head that's too oval, too elongated, more rectangular, then I'd use a smaller guard.

  2. Buzz Cut with Hair Tattoo - The guard follows the shape of the head1:11

    02The guard follows the shape of the head

    We need to remember to guide the clippers so that the guard follows the shape of the head.

  3. Buzz Cut with Hair Tattoo - Mental weight line5:05

    03Mental weight line

    We cut down to our mental weight line - we have to picture the weight line.

  4. Buzz Cut with Hair Tattoo - Without a line-up, a buzz cut loses its character8:17

    04Without a line-up, a buzz cut loses its character

    In my opinion, a buzz cut without a nice line-up, without a clean hairline, without a defined line-up on the temples, loses its character.

  5. Buzz Cut with Hair Tattoo - Stabilizing your hand at the hairline9:10

    05Stabilizing your hand at the hairline

    If it's hard for me to cut the line freehand this way, I rest one of my fingers against the forehead or nose, to get some stability and steady the clippers.

  6. Buzz Cut with Hair Tattoo - When it's no longer a buzz cut but a flat top16:18

    06When it's no longer a buzz cut but a flat top

    That would be a flat top, for example - the sides are cut vertically.

  7. Buzz Cut with Hair Tattoo - Zero line shape for head proportions20:17

    07Zero line shape for head proportions

    If someone has an elongated head, longer than it is wide, I'd suggest a rectangular-shaped zero line to visually widen the back of the head.

  8. Buzz Cut with Hair Tattoo - Hair density and color change the segments32:03

    08Hair density and color change the segments

    If the hair is dense and dark, then the first two segments - the one-and-a-half millimeter segment and the three-millimeter segment - will definitely be a bit wider.

  9. Buzz Cut with Hair Tattoo - You remove the line below, not above46:40

    09You remove the line below, not above

    At this point I focus on removing that line below, not above.

  10. Buzz Cut with Hair Tattoo - The math of guards and blade54:48

    10The math of guards and blade

    Yes, because a 1.5 mm guard combined with the open blade gives us 3 mm, and 3 mm on a closed blade would be 3 and 3.

  11. Buzz Cut with Hair Tattoo - Cutting out a dip with the clippers held vertically57:10

    11Cutting out a dip with the clippers held vertically

    If I see a dip, I hold the clippers vertically and cut out that dip point by point.

  12. Buzz Cut with Hair Tattoo - Scissors along the hair, never across it1:28:50

    12Scissors along the hair, never across it

    We cut in with the scissor tips along the hair, not across it, because that way we might cut a gap.

FAQ

Who is this course for?
For barbers who do buzz cuts and want to stop guessing the transitions between guards. The second part, focused on designs, will help anyone who wants to get started with hair tattoos.
What guard for the base?
Artur Głażewski uses the #13 guard on a closed blade and considers it optimal for a buzz cut. For an oval or elongated head, he goes shorter; for a square or round face, he stays longer to elongate it.
What tools do I need?
Clippers with 1.5, 3, 4.5, 6, 10, and 13 mm guards and adjustable blade, a trimmer, scissors, a razor, and a pencil to sharpen the design.
How does a buzz cut differ from a flat top?
A flat top has a square form with sides cut vertically - a wall. A buzz cut follows the shape of the head and has clearly defined line-ups.
Why is there a visible line left over?
Usually because there's a dip underneath it, or the hair is denser in that spot. Artur Głażewski then goes back to a shorter guard and graduates from open to closed blade, instead of pressing harder.
How do you nail the symmetry?
Not by eye - from reference points on the face: the eyebrows, the brow arch, the corner of the eye. These points are fixed, and he keeps returning to them on both sides.
Is the design cut wet?
No. Artur Głażewski refines the designs dry, without wetting the hair or using talc, because it's easier to see this way, and he works with part of the blade rather than applying the whole thing.
How long does it take behind the chair?
The recording runs almost two hours because the educator comments on every move. The haircut itself, without the design, is shorter.

Details

Duration
1h 56min
Season
Season 3
Hair length
short

Educator

More courses
Artur Głażewski

Artur Głażewski

Educator · 1 course

Artur Głażewski, known in the industry as Barberzyńca, has been cutting hair since the age of fourteen. He started out learning technique from videos, watching American barbers for hours a day, then trained across Europe, including under Nikolaj Generalov. He runs the Barberzyńca salon in Olsztyn and founded the Institute of Modern Barbering. He was part of the FIAM national hairdressing team, judged Barber Fest in Kraków, and sits on the BCU ZDZ Council. His competitive strength is hair tattoo: he holds Polish champion titles in this category, first-place wins in the Old-School and Razor Fade competitions in Rome, and the international hair tattoo competition in Albania, plus Combo Skinfade awards in Katowice. He runs the Fade Logic course on layering techniques, BarBeard on beard layering and geometry, and the from-scratch course From Zero to Barber. His approach is built on combining technique, geometry, observation, and practice.

Ready for the next level

Unlock full access to the Connected Hair course library.

Join the Academy