Buzz Cut Guard Numbers — What Each One Looks Like
What each clipper guard number looks like in millimetres and in photographs, which suits which head shape, and why the neckline is worth paying for.
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Guard numbers, in millimetres and in photos
A clipper guard number is a length in eighths of an inch: a #1 leaves 3 mm, a #2 leaves 6 mm, a #3 leaves 10 mm, a #4 leaves 13 mm. Every guard step is 3 mm, which is a difference you can see from across a room; every half-step is 1.5 mm, which you cannot.
| Guard | Length | What it actually looks like |
|---|---|---|
| Foil shaver / razor | 0 mm | Bare skin. Not a buzz cut — a shave. |
| Bare blade, no guard | ~1 mm | Scalp visible through it. Reads as shaved from a few feet away. |
| #0.5 | 1.5 mm | A shadow. Your hair colour reads as a tint on the scalp rather than as hair. |
| #1 | 3 mm | The classic short buzz. Scalp shows on light hair, not on dark. Stubble to the touch. |
| #1.5 | 4.5 mm | Between the two most-requested lengths. Worth knowing about if #1 is too short and #2 too soft. |
| #2 | 6 mm | The most-requested buzz. Covers the scalp on most hair types, still reads unmistakably short, lies flat. |
| #3 | 10 mm | Hair has a direction now. You can see a hairline and a crown whorl. Soft to the touch. |
| #4 | 13 mm | A short haircut rather than a buzz. It will grow into a shape rather than just getting longer. |
| #6 | 19 mm | Usually the top length on a buzz-with-a-fade, with shorter sides beneath it. |
Two caveats worth knowing before you ask for a number:
- Guard lengths vary by up to about half a millimetre between manufacturers. The figures above are the standard Wahl and Andis attachment sizes, which is what a barber will assume you mean.
- An adjustable-lever clipper cuts shorter with the lever closed than open, roughly 1 mm against 2.4 mm on the same blade with no guard at all. "Zero" on one clipper is not "zero" on another.
If you have never had one: go one guard longer than you think. You can take 3 mm off in thirty seconds. You cannot put it back for six weeks.
One length, or a buzz with a fade
"All over with a two" means one length everywhere, including the neckline and around the ears — a flat, uniform, deliberate look. A buzz with a fade means a longer guard on top graded down into shorter sides, for example a #3 on top running down through #2 and #1 to a #0.5 at the bottom.
They cost the same here and take about the same time. The second is what most people actually want when they say "buzz cut": it keeps the shape of the head, it does not read as institutional, and it grows out into something rather than into nothing.
Say which one you mean, because the two words sound identical in a busy shop:
"Buzz cut, one length, number two all over, and taper the neckline." "Buzz cut with a fade — number three on top, blend down to a one at the bottom."
Induction cut and crew cut
- An induction cut is a bare blade — no guard, roughly 1 mm — over the whole head with no gradient and no shaping at all. It is named for military intake and it looks it. It is the shortest cut that is still a haircut rather than a shave.
- A crew cut is not a buzz cut. The top is graduated — longest at the front, shortest at the crown, usually #4 to #6 — over faded sides, so it has a shape and can be pushed forward. If you want short hair that still has a front, ask for a crew cut, not a buzz.
Who a buzz suits
A buzz cut removes every bit of framing from your face, so the face and the shape of your skull carry it alone. It suits a strong, even head shape and a defined jaw, and it is genuinely good for thick hair that has started thinning at the crown — a #1 or #2 removes the contrast that makes thinning obvious.
Who it does not suit — honestly:
- A scarred, dented or lumpy skull. Nothing hides it, and most people discover bumps they did not know they had. If you are not sure, go to a #3 first and look.
- Pale scalps in summer. A #1 offers essentially no sun protection and the crown burns in under half an hour in June. A burnt scalp under a buzz peels visibly for a fortnight.
- Very fine blonde or grey hair at #0.5–#1. It reads as bald from three metres, which may or may not be the effect you wanted.
- Anyone who might change their mind quickly. A buzz takes six to ten weeks to grow back into a normal short haircut, and about half of that time it is in an awkward stage.
Why get it cut rather than do it at home
The two things you cannot do to your own head are the neckline and around the ears — and those are exactly the two things that make a home buzz identifiable from behind. The clippers are the easy part; the perimeter is the haircut.
Three specific differences:
- The nape. A home buzz leaves a straight-across edge at the bottom of the neck, cut with the clipper held flat. It grows into a visible block within two weeks. A barber tapers the nape, so the hair gets shorter as it drops and grows out invisibly.
- Around the ears. Doing your own ears means working blind with the clipper at the wrong angle. A barber turns the blade and cuts around the ear channel, and clears the hair that grows on the ear itself, which you cannot see.
- The corners. Your hairline has corners at the temples, and they are not symmetrical. A barber squares or rounds them to match each other and to match your face.
That is the whole difference, and it is why a buzz cut at $30 looks like a haircut and a buzz in the bathroom looks like a buzz.
How often
A #1 or #2 holds for 2 to 3 weeks; a #3 or #4 holds for 3 to 4. The neckline goes first in both cases, usually around day 12, and it is the part other people see.
A shape up haircut at $15 re-cuts the neckline, the ears and the temple corners without touching the length, and gets another fortnight out of the same buzz.
Price and who cuts it
A buzz cut is a men's haircut at $30, one length or faded — the price is the same either way.
Buzz Cuts we have cut
Every photograph here is a cut from our chairs. A style is missing only because we have not photographed it yet.
Visit us in Franklin Square
Franklin Square, NY 11010
(516) 328-0724
- Monday – Saturday
- 9:00 AM – 7:00 PM
- Sunday
- 10:00 AM – 3:00 PM
Walk-ins are welcome during all opening hours, and appointments can be made by phone.
