You mentioned that a woman cuts your hair. Is she a barber or a stylist/cosmotologist? Barbers tend to do a lot more buzzcuts and are thus often more skilled (and also good at making recommendations) in cutting these styles.
I was exactly in your situation 15 years ago. I'd usually get a 3 on the sides (with tapered back) and scissors on top (parted on the side and probably 1.5 - 2 inches in average length). I was curious to try a buzzcut, but also very nervous about making a big change.
What I did to "ease into" my first buzzcut was wait till I started a vacation, then asked for my usual 3 on the sides but for a number 8 on top. An 8 guide is the longest you can usually find - it's about 2.5 times the length of a #3 and leaves the hair exactly an inch long. At that length, I found that I could still comb it to the side but it had a much more clean cut appearance and could also be spiked up with minimal product. It was noticably shorter but not shockingly short.
I remember being very nervous waiting for my turn and then waiting some more while the barber clipped the sides and back to their usual length before turning to the top. He then reconfirmed that I wanted an 8 on top (I guess it was obvious that he'd be taking a lot more off the top than off the sides). It was a bit of a shock to then hear the buzz of the clippers and feel their vibration coming from the top of my head rather than the sides, followed by the sight of sizable clumps of hair tumbling all around me and piling up on the cape above my (wobbly) knees. But when the barber showed me the final product (after spiking up what was left of my hair), I knew I was hooked.
Since then I've always asked for some variation of a buzzcut every time I've gone to the barber. Over the years, I've experimented with different combinations of buzzed lengths on the top and sides (including variations in lengths within the sides or top like having the sides faded down to the skin or other short length along the edges, or leaving slightly more length in front than at the crown). For example, just today, I got a short flattop going from an inch in front to a 1/8" landing strip near the crown, with a medium fade on the sides blending from foil-shaved skin about half an inch above the ears up to a no. 1 length higher up.
The reason I mention all this is that I found that once I'd gotten that first buzzcut, it was a lot less intimidating to experiment some more. Since the guides are in increments of one-eighth inch (equal to about a week's growth), I could very gradually move from the 8 to a 7 to a 6 and so forth. I also discovered that switching between buzzcut styles (like going from an all-one-length-on-top brushcut to a crewcut where the hair is longer in front and shorter at the crown, or going from the crewcut to a flattop) tended to not be a particularly drastic change because both styles were comparably short.
If you want to be even more incremental than I was, you can also ask for an 8 on the crown for your first buzz with slightly more length left in front (which will likely then be cut with scissors). It's a common, conservative hairstyle that here in the US would be called an Ivy League or a Princeton.
Good luck!
Hi All
Not sure if this is the right forum to ask but seems to be the only one I can find regarding male hair.
Have been looking for a change of hair cut for a while now and not sure what to do for. Currently always have a 3 on the back n sides and scissor on top.
Have always thought about the all over buzz look but never thought it would suit or could pull it off. The lady who does my hair I have known for many years and seem to find it hard to ask her if the buzz look would suit me as she has always known me to have the same haircut..
I'm based in London (UK) and happy for any advice..
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