GROOMING 101: SCISSORING (drawings! and more drawings!)

[EDDEL]

                                        


Last year I stumbled onto this forum for professional groomers and saw some really great illustrations (on how to scissor a Bichon's head) by a very talented groomer. 

(Prior to this, I've had the fortune of learning how to scissor Bianca from 2 great books but because its contents, illustrations included, are copyrighted, I will never take the liberty of scanning/copying-and-pasting them on a public domain.)

Now thanks to a communiqué by Danielle on my behalf to this very talented groomer, I have her permission to post her drawings here!!  (Illustrations, are oh-so-important in making clear or removing obscurity from a word's/phrase's meaning.)  As the saying goes, a picture says a thousand words.


First up, an introduction ..... Lindsey Berry is an award-winning groomer from Florida .  She's "owned" by 2 Bichons herself..... here is a picture of her.



Next, her drawings on how to achieve the Bichon round-head doo.  Her illustrations and accompanying explication (in her own words) will be appreciated by our growing number of home-groomers here I know .

(N.B. These drawings are by Lindsey Berry ©.  Respect the author's talent/creativity and at the very least acknowledge its origin if you should feel the need to copy/paste and share her drawings with someone/somewhere else.)

First, clean out hair in front of eye corners with either clippers or your thinning shears.  DONT shave down the nose.  Next, comb all the hair forward, and trim a rounded visor shape, beginning and ending about ½" from the outside eye corners.  You want to make sure you trim the corners tight, and nip off the eyelashes, but be careful! (diagram 1). PS: Previously, we had a discussion about "visor"/ledge and 'inverted triangle' (as termed by Barbara Stubbs, the doyenne of the Bichon Frise fancy).  Click here to jump to said thread.

Next, with the dog facing you, comb all hair from chin down, and using curved shears trim hair into a rounded line, leaving hair no longer than 2" (rule of thumb... the longer the dog's nose, the shorter hair should be under chin.) (diagram 2)

Now, comb all hair on the head straight back towards the neck, and trim into the circle shape.  Look from the side, and trim off hair so it blends into the neck. (diagram 3)

Next, facing the dog again, comb all the hair towards one side of the head, and again trim off the hair that doesn't fit into your circle.  Fluff the ears up and trim those into the head.  The idea with the ears is to make them as much a part of the head as possible, they should blend right in.  Comb all the hair to the other side and do the same thing. (diagram 4)

Comb all the hair forward one more time, and neaten up anything that doesnt blend in.  Also, comb the hair forward from the front of the muzzle and round off the corners. (diagram 5)

Last, pull the ears forward towards the nose and trim off any chunks that pop out from behind them. (diagram 6)

So, now you should have a pretty nice, round bichon head.  You might need to fluff the head up and neaten up any last stragglies that you missed.  Check the head from several angles to make sure it is rounded.

HAPPY SCISSORING everyone!! More drawings to follow another time .....

PS: Feel free to share/post your scissoring experience and photos here on our GROOMING & CARE board or the PHOTO GALLERY


                                        

[EDDEL]

                                        

More drawings as promised ....


This drawing shows where the coat 'is'/'ends' in relation to your Bichon's body.


(if you're not keeping your fluff in a show cut, or even a modified show-clip, then this "coat outline" may not be for you .) 


How your flufferbutt looks finally (outline-wise) also depends on his/her body shape to begin with .  So, it helps if you know the breed standard.... because grooming/scissoring to a certain extent is about accentuating your fluff's strengths and/or 'hiding' his/her faults .  Often times, it is the attention to detail (eg: proper angulations, coat length etc) that makes a winning cut.... the difference between NICE and



more drawings from Lindsey.... with her self-explanatory notes inscribed inside .










Again, HAPPY SCISSORING everyone!!

I just know these drawings of Lindsey will be so helpful for our home-groomers!


                                        

[SuperMax (Susan)]

I've seen these drawings before and actually printed them out! 

  Thanks for "putting them together" for us Del! 

[Bluebell]

Lindsey is the best and her drawings and explanantions are always so clear and easy to follow. Del, I have the body diagrams as well if you need them.

[ehyde]

Del these diagrams are great.  The only thing I didn't understand was trimming the eyelashes.  Are you suppose to trim eyelashes?  Trevor has really long ones but I was afraid if I cut them, when they grew back they might grow towards his eyes instead of upwards.
                                                                                      Eileen
       

[EDDEL]

Susan, Danielle, Eileen, I think these drawings are GREAT too.  Which is why I'm so excited our members here get to be beneficiaries of Lindsey's talent!!

Eileen, I know a few of us here do trim our fluffers' eyelashes.  Personally , I've never had a problem with Bianca's eyelashes growing inwards (instead of upwards) after trimming. Then again, her lashes are soft, not at all hard/wiry (which might cause irritation if it's in contact with the eye(s) ) . 

[Terri]

Great drawings!
Thanks for getting permission and posting them Del. (You always play by the rules!)
I think I'll never have a need for them, I'm too freaked out to try this myself.
I spazzed out when a pro gave her a poodle cut, who would I blame when I made her look like a crestie. (which I would)

[dessyrell]

          THANK YOU, DEL! i will print these out and try to use them on Murphy, of course ! his head is getting too big  , so i will have to do something, i was kind of scared to touch it, but i will now ...maybe you can post the body diagrams bluebell is talking about !

thanks again...i think it's time for a bath and a trim! god help me! 

[Donnalee]

I have a very stupid question on this.  Do you trim while the hair is wet, or dry?

[Tom_B]

Just extraordinary ... especially for early students like me ... terrific job making this info avilable!  I sure hope we will also see the body diagrams ( sorry, if they are here and I missed them ).

Best regards,   
Tom B

[Bluebell]

I have a very stupid question on this.  Do you trim while the hair is wet, or dry?

Dry, preferably fluff dried (if you towel/air dry you won't get the same results).

[SuperMax (Susan)]

I have a very stupid question on this.  Do you trim while the hair is wet, or dry?

Dry, preferably fluff dried (if you towel/air dry you won't get the same results).

...  I've tried to cut him air dried/not combed out and you definately get a choppy look when you finally DO comb him out!   

[Terri]

Well Susan, Whatever method you use is obviously the right way, because Max is perfect.
(Do I sound like a broken record?)
I'm wondering if Rae does Riley dry.
I mean anyone with eyes can see those two furboys are splendid looking.
After all... Belle & Bianca them, along with everyone else.
We know they are never wrong... right?

[EDDEL]

maybe you can post the body diagrams bluebell is talking about !

...I sure hope we will also see the body diagrams ( sorry, if they are here and I missed them ).

Lucia and Tom, the "how to trim body" drawings are up now!

....because Max is perfect. (Do I sound like a broken record?)

Ya sound like me actually!!   I think Max is PERFECT!!
(and of course Belle's man is fro-licious too! )

[dessyrell]

alright, Del...can't wait to see them. oh, i scrolled down...there they are! 

i did trim murphy's "head" yesterday and it turned out good ! really! i think combing to hair to the side and trim what didn't fit it in did the trick! his head is still big compared to the rest of the body but i evened his coat out a little bit more and we are getting THERE! just a few more weeks ...i am ashamed to say i didn't have time to give him a bath yesterday but i will this weekend ...

thanks again ...really, don't know what i would have done without you (as in this community and its members)...well, maybe i do know...would have had a shaved rat-looking dog that nobody would have known what it was...    

[Raewync (Rae)]

Well Susan, Whatever method you use is obviously the right way, because Max is perfect.
(Do I sound like a broken record?)
I'm wondering if Rae does Riley dry.
I mean anyone with eyes can see those two furboys are splendid looking.
After all... Belle & Bianca them, along with everyone else.
We know they are never wrong... right?

    I smelt a compliment  , it lead me to this thread. 

Del this is great  , what was really great for me  , was I already do a lot of those techniques and I didn't even know I was meant to ...I have just started giving Riley more of a ledge too, nothing major but it helps his head look more rounded and clears his eyes more.    I was amazed to see I was grooming his chest closer just like it shows too  , And I have never trimmed his legs thin always leave them thick and fluffy    I think for me it has always been about following his body shape, and keeping fluff on the bits that make him look  well like a bichon    and lucky for me he seems pretty easy to do that for. 

I have to say though  (now I will be the broken record)  I have never heat dried Riley  , he has hated the hair dryer from day one, although his breeder obviously did fluff dry him, she is a groomer so probably has a nice quiet dryer. 

 I against all recommendations, rules and regulations  , comb Riley out fully, (dry and dirty)  then cut, then bath, then comb as he drys and trim any missed bits for a few hours/days  afterwards till I am happy.  ..usually last a couple of weeks and I am trimming him again.    His coat is so springy and curly he never seems to look choppy to me    , to me he looks just how I want him to look .  I always like to try and improve and try new things each trim though.    He still has baby fluff on his fro, but where I have trimmed around his eyes and ledge, he has lovely new adult wavy fluff, so it will be interesting to see how he goes once all that baby fro is gone. Either way for me it is all part of being owned by him  , it gives me a lot of satisfaction to groom him  , well cutting anyway, the combing is a battle  , I don't have any clothes for him    so the nearest thing to dress up is hair cutting for me.  

[marion]

Thanks for the clear drawings, they are the best help for me so far.  Would you please suggest what scissors to get to do this great undertaking and what length.  Thank you so much.   Marion & Mardi.

[Rawfed (Ella)]

Wow these drawings are fantastic! Don't know why I hadn't seen them before. ?  Thanks!!