How to know "your number" for a machine haircut in a foreign country?

4/11/2019 6:20:35 AM

What I usually do is use pictures instead. The next time you get a good haircut, ask a friend to take a few pictures of your head or take some selfies. Then every time you go to a barber shop in any country show them these pictures and they will know what to do. A lot more reliable than trying to guess the local number system 🙂

4/10/2019 10:38:58 PM

This is a very old question but the truth is there is no real answer

All counties have different systems, having said that all (usually) follow a simple rule – which do they use day to day? imperial or metric? If its metric its 3mm per grade and 1/8 if imperial. This is the only answer to this kind of travel problem without listing every single country

Overall the best way of dealing with with this problem is to show them a photo

If you like this please also like @machlas answer as its absolutely correct (as far as it can be) but offers no solution to the problem – so while it doesn’t answer the question you should take a photo if you are unsure and think you will stay long enough to need a haircut

1/26/2017 4:31:42 PM

In the US we use the 8th inch system:

1 = 1/8 inch
2 = 2/8 inch
3 = 3/8 inch
4 = 4/8 inch
5 = 5/8 inch
6 = 6/8 inch
7 = 7/8 inch
8 = 1 inch

However, I live in Rome, Italy and when I go to a barber sometimes they use this system and sometimes they use another system, which may just be millimeters. I had a really bad surprise this way last time I went and lost all of my hair. In both the US and Rome most barbers I have seen use Wahl brand clippers.

3/28/2013 7:31:38 PM

In Spanish Wikipedia, Hair clipper article has an explanation about that. I’m Spanish and I have always seen this system:

(roughly translated)

Each number means 3 mm or 1/8 inches (= 3,175 mm).

Number 1: 3 mm – 1/8".
Number 2: 6 mm – 2/8" (1/4").
Number 3: 9 mm – 3/8".
Number 4: 12 mm – 4/8" (1/2").
Number 5: 15 mm – 5/8".
Number 6: 18 mm – 6/8" (3/4").
Number 7: 21 mm – 7/8".

Now I’m living in Italy and I bought here an electric clipper (Philips) that uses this same system.

If you went to Morocco and they used this system and nº2 is equivalent to a UK&US 5, it’s pretty probable that you measure it in millimeters (maybe you already know it, anyway it is only my guess), but I have no idea what German number (12) can mean.

Maybe people from these countries can tell us how many millimeters it is "a number".

EDIT:
Unfortunately I can’t speak German but I have googled for understanding UK & US notation and I have found this web. It seems to be American and, although it depends of the clipper brand, as an example this is the representation:

Blade – Length:
00000 – 1/125"
0000 – 1/100"
000 – 1/50"
0A – 3/64"
1 – 3/32"
1A – 1/8"
1.5 – 5/32"
2 – 1/4"
3.5 – 3/8"
3.75 – 1/2"

So my supposition above was wrong.

This other page, maybe American too, or perhaps international, shows a system like the Spanish one.

Credit:stackoverflow.com‘

About me

Hello,My name is Aparna Patel,I’m a Travel Blogger and Photographer who travel the world full-time with my hubby.I like to share my travel experience.

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