That moment I nicked a kid's ear and had to completely change how I do kids cuts

I've been cutting hair for about 8 years now, mostly at a shop in Denver. Kids cuts I always thought were easy, just go fast and keep them distracted. But last Saturday this little boy maybe 5 years old jerked his head right as I was going around his ear. Drew blood. Not a lot but enough that he started crying and his mom looked like she wanted to kill me. I felt terrible. So I sat down that night and watched like 4 different barbers on YouTube break down their kid cut methods. This one guy from Chicago said he always uses a guard two sizes up for around the ears and just does a light taper with clippers over comb instead of getting close with the foil shaver. Tried it on 3 kids this week and no issues. Plus they don't squirm as much because the clippers aren't touching their skin directly. Has anyone else changed up their whole approach after one bad moment?

3 comments

3 Comments

charles_mitchell1mo ago

The real trick is talking to the parent first to learn the kid's triggers, like @the_ruby said about keeping clippers off skin.

the_ruby1mo ago

Keep the clippers off their skin near the ears, that's the trick. I learned it the hard way too after a kid flinched and got a little nick, now I just use a longer guard and blend it in with shears.

jakejones1mo ago

Nah man, I gotta disagree here. Scissors around a kid's ears are way riskier than clippers with a guard. A long guard on clippers barely touches their skin, but shears can slip or the kid can jerk and you're cutting into an ear lobe instead of a nick. I've done both ways and clippers with a 1 or 2 guard near the ears is way safer for me. The trick is keeping the blade flat and not digging in, not switching to shears.