How-To: Refresh A Grown-Out Layered Cut

How To Use A Previous Haircut To Refresh Your Clients’ Layers

At a loss of where to start a haircut when grown-out layers are limiting your perimeter options? Don’t worry, when clients pour in for their seasonal refresh cuts, you’ll know what to do from reading below.

Here’s what you’ll learn:

• How to connect a new(er) cut fringe to existing or grown-out layers
• How to identify how much length should be taken off in relation to previous layers’ starting point
• Where to determine a new guide without compromising length
• How to blend and refresh layers using a previously cut foundation 
• How to cut soft layers to avoid the obvious grow-out phase

#1. Foundational Elements: Body Positioning, Tools & Direction

Don’t jump into a haircut blind—even if it’s your own previous work, things change! Olivia Garden Educator Ambrosia Carey (@ambrosiacarey) says the goal of her client is to, “Bring the curtain fringe into her new length while using the old layering as a baseline for a heavy face-frame.”

Ambrosia uses a French haircutting technique to get her client from overgrown to soft and structured. Here’s her top tips:

• A short(er) shear is primarily used throughout Europe, so Ambrosia is grabbing the Olivia Garden Silk Cut Pros 6.5″ with the CarbonLite Comb because its length will allow for her to grab longer, bigger sections for the soft, French-inspired effect.
• “Have your client start standing,” she says. “I want the outline of the cut to be as close to my client’s body as possible. Draping long hair over the back of a hair will create elevation no matter what.”
• Pre-section the face frame in front of the ear. Starting at the old layer, flip the shears upside down to cut with the innermost seam of the blade instead of the tip for a soft line.

Browse Olivia Garden’s extensive list of shear, comb and brush collections to mix and match for your preferences!

#2. Soft Lines Are Made From The Inside Seam of The Shear

“Cutting with the tip of the shear will create the most bluntness,” Ambrosia says. “Using the inner seam of the shear is going to create the soft effect—almost like a razor cut.”

To create soft layers, remember these tips:

• Never close your shear all the way. Ambrosia demos above that gliding the shear along the face-frame is your ticket to building a soft but sculpted haircut. 

• Avoid ever cutting with the tip of the scissor, “Your shears’ blades should never fully touch,” she says.
• Allow the hair to direct you into it’s natural fall. “Rotate your elbow up the ceiling and drop your shoulder down to have the shear point at the floor,” she explains. 
• Don’t make this slide cutting mistake: “Make sure you are never dragging the blade down your client’s hair,” she explains. “You need to be sure you are softly opening and closing the shear all the way down the hair as you’re gliding down.” 

#3. Warning: Length Must Be Cut For A Seamless Layered Refresh

If your client is not looking to remove any length, your approach will need to pivot from a layering refresh to a new haircut overall. 

In order to refresh a layered look, you will need to eliminate the length at the ends that have grown past your previously longest layer. Meaning, the length your longest layer has grown to now becomes your perimeter length. For most clients, this will mean one to three inches of regrowth needs to be cut to keep the balance and symmetry throughout the shape of the layered look.

Ready for more cutting tips for the most popular client requests? Check out the full tutorial by clicking here!