Deva Cut Methodology - Question

Korkscrew · 01-26-2013, 01:31 AM

For those of you who've had Deva cuts, which way does your stylist do it? Does s/he just start snipping your dry hair right after you get into the chair, or does s/he first "untwist" and/or rake through your curls?

Was watching a Lorraine Massey vid where she's dry cutting a client's curly hair. Her client just sits in the chair w/her previously dry, styled hair and Massey starts lifting each curl and cutting it.

But that's not what the Deva-trained stylists I've been to do. They examine my pre-styled curls (in their dry state), and then they rake through it w/their fingers, separating all the curls until the hair is amorphous and fluffed out. It's only then that they start cutting the hair. ... Just wondering what your experience has been! Thanks.

tricello · 01-26-2013, 06:34 AM

I've had one devacut and she seemed to do a hybrid of the techniques you mention. She cut some curls right away, and then she got to a point where she did the raking thing and finished the cut that way. I am about 15 weeks past that cut and the shape is holding up really well. I just did that bang trim to boing up the forehead curls, but other than that, it's working well.

rbb · 01-26-2013, 06:43 AM

my stylist cuts each curl, however, there are some very large clump/curls that he must separate before he can cut -- he refers to them as my "snarlsages." on its own, my hair would probably have like 4 clump/curls for the entire head!! LOL
he does not rake his fingers randomly through my hair, but does run his fingers just here and there gently where he needs to separate some curls that have clumped into one. and i would not refer to it as raking as it is more separating.
i would think a random rake would ruin the curl pattern??

Jas76 · 01-26-2013, 07:37 AM

Hybrid. She looked it over, and may have clipped a couple, but then sort of fluffed/loosened the clumps (no real raking that I recall), and did an all-over dry cut.

Then she washed and styled, then went back and did curl by curl shaping.

CurlyCutie1394 · 01-26-2013, 07:53 AM

Mine was curl by curl by curl but my hair has a tendency to "make love" to itself so it has to be separated first

kibs · 01-26-2013, 08:01 AM

Mine cut the length I wanted off dry, then washed and styled me, THEN cut each curl.

I'll give my devacut 4 stars, only because however SHE Styled it isn't the way its getting styled at home (somehow she got way more volume out of it than I can, and imo she overplayed with my hair and i mostly had giant waves when we were done) and now i'm constantly finding clumps with just one extra long hair sticking out the end of them, so i've been having to snip those off when I find them.

Jas76 · 01-26-2013, 09:18 AM

That was my one complaint, too. I felt my hair wasn't styled the way I did it, so she wasn't getting an accurate view of my curls for the curl by curl portion. I was also a bit OC'd and needed protein, so my curls were weaker than normal, which I think had an effect of my results.

kibs · 01-26-2013, 09:45 AM

Yup I agree. I got mine maybe 2 weeks after going CG so i'm still in the process of figuring out my curls (and they're figuring themselves out) I loved my stylist and I love my cut overall, but I think she was more used to playing with hair that has more hold of the curl than mine does. I had a lot of texture and volume, but mostly broken apart waves when I left. I dont really want to break my clumps apart, I want to let them do their thing (granted I didnt even KNOW thats what I wanted when I went in). So as my clumpy curls are starting to get happier and form better, its becoming different than how it was that day I got it cut, and therefore the end lengths of my clumps are funky. Not OVERLY funky, I mean I still love my haircut. Just have to snipe those extra pieces when I see em lol.

jipszee · 01-26-2013, 10:08 AM

my stylist looked at my hair dry. then wash, cond and gelled. Then mainly dried under the hood. then finished drying it with a diffuser with head flipped over. Then cut it dry curl by curl. She got so much curl out of my hair, and it's been almost 4 months and it's help up amazingly. My only complaint, and I've mentioned it on here before it that when she cut it the ends looked great, but when I washed & styled at home, the curls clumped differently, so some of the curls had these real thin tapers at the end, that I didn't like, so I just snipped them off, as I came across them. And honestly if that is the only complaint after years of searching for some to not only cut my hair right, but also not straighten it, I'll take it. I'm definitely going back and having it done again. Maybe there is a fix for the tapering, IDK, we'll see when I go back.

curlyj88 · 01-26-2013, 10:21 AM

I've been to the same DevaCurl stylist the past 3 cuts (I go every 8-10 weeks) and as soon as I sit down she starts picking up curls and trimming the ends off. She says it's done that way so the hair is cut in its natural curl pattern. By the end my hair is a tiny bit poofy from her picking up each of the curls but It's not terrible. I also only got the 3 step Deva wash and dry done the first time. I don't see the point in paying the extra money for her to style it when I do it my own way at home. I didn't even like it the first time she did it, I went home and washed it out right away because I wanted to play with it on my own! haha.

crazywaves · 01-26-2013, 12:48 PM

Seems like each stylist has a bit different method to cutting. For me it seemed like she cut the style and them went back and did curl by curl

I went from all one length to an inverted bob. We will see how she does it when I go back in april. Her going through it to check out the curl pattern caused it to look more like naked hair. I cant believe how much more curl I have with my Deva cut. I actually have the problem with using any stylers with hold as it causes to much shrinkage. I thought I was a wavy but I am clearly a curly since my cut.

elizard · 01-26-2013, 12:55 PM

My salon's website says that they integrate Deva techniques when appropriate. Thus, I was not mad when I got my dry cut, and she did not snip curl by curl. Curl by curl is what I had understood a Deva cut to be. She runs her fingers through and fluffs its out and cuts by the entire shape, not the curl. I've had nothing but good cuts, so I'm not complaining.

Jas76 · 01-26-2013, 01:16 PM

I believe Devachan has updated their technique to include the "fluffed out all over cut" followed by curl by curl shaping. Mine did curl by curl before and after the all-over dry cut, but mainly after.

I heard somewhere that this was the case (updated technique).

dusalocks · 01-26-2013, 02:01 PM

Thanks for starting the thread, Korkscrew! And thanks to everyone who responded from personal experience. This is so interesting.

Korkscrew · 01-27-2013, 01:28 AM

Thanks to ALL of you for educating me about your Deva cut experiences

... I didn't realize there was so much flexibility in these stylists' approach. Jas, I appreciate your mention of the "fluff out" technique likely being the updated approach ... cause truthfully, I was wondering if that step could be skipped entirely. But CurlyCutie, what you said makes a lot of sense as an explanation for why the "fluff out" works for those of us w/clumpy curls. See, my hair, like yours, kind of "makes love to itself" also lol. It is always forming clumps on its own, broad and narrow corkscrews w/waves in between. It really does make sense to pull those clumps apart before snipping. Now I see that!

But I can relate to the thing about uneven hairs here and there after the cut. Ditto on some straggly ends. I find myself "cleaning up" behind even the most skilled Deva stylists. And yeah, I agree that it's still really worth it. Can also relate to what you said, Jipszee: how the cut encourages oodles of curls. My curls are FAR tighter w/the Deva cut (cause of the shorter layers). I like that look

crazywaves · 01-27-2013, 04:05 AM

I dont do the cleaning up of the straggly curls. I am now a month out from my cut and I am not seeing them anymore. I think some times I may not get my product quite right so a few curls may not define like the rest of them.

I will admit it was tempting to trim them. I like to know I got a true Deva cut even tho it was a bit different than what I thought it was gonna be. I guess each stylist puts their own personal twist in the cut. Mine did tell me there is creativity mixed in there as well. My stylist is certainly worth the hour drive to see her.

rbb · 01-27-2013, 06:38 AM

see, i love those random 'uneven' curls/ends that pop up. to me, it adds a whole other dimension, really says curly, not a precision cut for straight hair. so, it's not a stylist being remiss, it's part of a deva cut.

Korkscrew · 01-28-2013, 01:05 AM

Those stragglies are impossible to avoid, at least w/my hair, with curls that clump and wind around each other quite a bit. Layered curls of a certain length inveritably blend with nearby strands that are either shorter or longer. That's what causes that look for me.