How to cut a High and TightThere’s been an increased interest in the military inspired haircuts for men that have been around for generations. Specifically, we’re going to discuss the cut referred to as “high and tight”.
The “high and tight” style is a standard military look, generally seen in the Marine Corps. However, there are variations of the look that have only subtle differences in all of the more-intensive branches of the service. But looking at this military style, it can be useful and interesting to see where the parameters come from. This and other military hairstyles are governed by the military in its directives regarding “Uniform and Insignia”.
Clearly, the military severely limits the way in which men in service can wear their hair, and frankly, there’s a lot of logic to many of the reasons for the restrictions. But for our purposes, it explains why so many of the “military haircuts” look so similar. It also gives us a major insight to the evolution of the “high and tight”.
High and Tight
I talked with friends who were previously in the service (Marines) and asked them about the “high and tight” cut and its origins. They all basically admitted that they had no “concrete” citation on the subject, but they felt that tradition was a large part of the style’s popularity. This was believed to be true because after the initial “induction cut” and upon completing Basic Training, the restrictions on the look of the hair were diminished, but depending upon the group you served with, peer pressure was just as strong a motivator.
The general consensus was that following the guidelines of the regulations, having the hair follow a “tapered appearance” where the “outline of the soldier’s hair conforms to the shape of the head” seems to require a very short cut. Furthermore, the variation of textures and wave patterns in the hair would also require some individuals to have their hair shorter than others in order to maintain a similarly “neat” appearance. This led some soldiers to have to have more severe cuts, which resulted in others imitating these severe cuts in order not “compete” with them.
Of course, this is all conjecture, but it does seem logical in its own way.
The High and Tight is, obviously, a clipper cut. It’s similar in many ways to the “high top fade” and “buzz cut” styles. The key zone to consider is the parietal ridge. This is the point at which the greatest change in length occurs. Below this, the hair is cut to the shortest possible length. In some cases, a trimmer or edger may be employed in place of standard clippers in order to reduce the length in the areas below the parietal ridge to lengths of less than 1/16th inch. In some cases, the hair is actually shaved (at least partially) in the lower areas.