Recently, American Salon got the chance to meet up with Paul Wilson, creative director for American Crew, to talk men’s grooming. During a Facebook Live (watch here), Wilson demonstrated The Long American, one of American Crew’s foundational haircuts, and a beard grooming session.
To achieve the look, Wilson applied American Crew Light Hold Texture Lotion to keep the hair in place and Beard Serum to prep and soften the beard, and created the cut in five simple steps:
- Create a horseshoe parting
- Resolve the bottom half of the head
- Transition
- Cut the top
- Detail the finish
First, Wilson created a standard horseshoe parting and trimmed hair on the righthand side, moving around the head with the Standard Feather Razor. An overdirected transition created a natural look. He achieved an extra-clean cut by working with the razor parallel to the hair.
Using a razor-over-comb technique allows a finished perimeter and a clean, yet unrefined, taper. Next, Wilson created an isolated point of transition and overdirected the hair to take out the heaviness of the lower crown and connect the interior and exterior.
Up top, Wilson added soft layers by peeling, holding his finger against the feather razor (guarded) and pulling the hair against it. After the shape was formed, he created purposeful texture with a simple slide cut. Although it’s simple, he was very attentive to the direction, angle and tension on the hair. “Have as much intention and purpose with your secondary shape as you would with your primary shape,” he told us.
He finished the hair by adding Fiber Cream and providing a directed blow-dry to wrap around the client’s head.
For the beard, Wilson used American Crew x Wahl Clipper with the #1 blade to carve the silhouette freehand. Working from underneath provides distinction and contour between the neck and beard. He styled the look using it Beard Serum and cleaned up the neck with the feathered razor.
American Crew Academy Workshop helps with everything related to men’s hair. The goal is to teach stylists everything they need to know about men’s hair, from talking to men to cutting, styling and building a business. Find out more at http://mmg.americancrew.com/auth/login and watch our Facebook Live with Paul here.