Meghan Markle’s London-based hairstylist has shared a how-to video on how to achieve a men’s haircut for those who are in need of a trim while in quarantine.
George Northwood, 41, who has worked with the Duchess of Sussex, 38, for the past two years and created her stylish wedding reception ‘messy bun’ in May 2018, took to his YouTube account to demonstrate how anyone can give themselves a short back and sides.
Alongside the video, which he shared with his impressive 2.29k subscribers, the barber penned: ‘Finally, I am delighted to launch my channel with a short men’s haircut series, not what I had planned for the launch, but hopefully of use in making your hair easier to manage during the lockdown.’
He begins by explaining that he is going to show a ‘simple’ and ‘easy’ way of achieving a short back and sides which is suitable for everyone from kids and adults to men and women.
George Northwood, 41, from London, took to his YouTube account to show how you can achieve a short, back and sides while in lockdown. Pictured, starting with grade 4 clippers
The barber, who has worked with the Duchess of Sussex, 38, for the past two years, advised taking a photo of the back of your hair to help see
George was responsible for creating Meghan Markle’s chic wedding reception ‘messy bun’ in May 2018. Pictured, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex on their wedding day
George, who also helped to create some of Meghan’s hairstyles throughout her and Harry’s Australasia tour, says all you need is a pair of clippers with some grades attached, a comb and a sharp pair of scissors.
Sharing the classic, basic hairdressing technique, he explains: ‘First thing you need is the clippers. Most clippers come with grades 1-4. I’m going to start with the grade 4. I like my hair quite short.’
Starting on his sideburns, he advises that it may be easier to concentrate if you look away, as everything is back to front in the mirror, making it that little bit more confusing.
‘What I’m going to do is work up the hair shaft and as I go up, I’m going to slowly pull it away from the head,’ he explains. ‘As long as towards the top I come away from the head, it’s going to be fine. ‘
After using the grade 4 clippers, George goes down a grade to 3, and does exactly the same thing again – but doesn’t go up as high (pictured)
The professional finishes off by getting the scissors and explains: ‘I’m going to pull it up and work back through the hair and just take off the ends a little bit’ (pictured)
He goes on to say that the hard part is tackling the back, and so he advises it is best to ‘feel your way around.’
‘We know what we need to do, move the clippers up and pull away,’ he continues. ‘You can’t really go that wrong with this guys, so don’t be afraid.‘
George – whose clients also include Gwyneth Paltrow, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley and Alexa Chung – can be seen using his laptop as a mirror and phone to help check the back of his head.
The hairdresser continues: ‘Next thing we do is go down a grade, to grade 3. I’m going to do the same thing again, but I’m not going to go as high as I did before. As 4 is longer, and as it goes down, we want it to get shorter.
‘A short back and sides is when it starts really short and gets gradually longer towards the top. Not much will come off, but this is the blending.’
George (pictured) warns that grade 2 does get quite short, so to only do the little bit at the bottom
George then moves onto grade 2 solely to do the little bit at the bottom, and warns that it does get quite short, so to be sure not to go up very high with the clippers.
He also goes on to highlight the importance of going in with the clipper at different angles because everyone’s hair grows in different directions.
As he moves on to trim the top, the barber explains: ‘With the scissors, I’m going to pull it up and work back through the hair and just take off the ends a little bit.
‘When you do the first section you pull it up and cut it to the length you want. You then push it back to the next section, and you follow the guidelines from the first. You work back in the head.’