How to Comb and Cut Hair in Blender

This guide provides a straightforward walkthrough on using Particle Edit Mode in Blender to style, comb, and trim hair. You will learn how to access the grooming workspace, master the Comb and Cut brushes, adjust brush parameters, and apply best practices to achieve natural-looking hair and fur for your 3D models.

1. Setting Up the Hair Particle System

Before entering Particle Edit Mode, ensure your mesh has an active hair particle system:

  1. Select your object in Object Mode.
  2. Navigate to the Particle Properties tab in the Properties panel.
  3. Click the + button to add a new particle system and set the type to Hair.
  4. Adjust the Emission settings:
    • Number: Set the total count of guide hairs (typically between 100 to 1,000 for easier grooming; children particles will add density later).
    • Hair Length: Set the initial baseline length of the strands.
    • Segments: Increase segments (5–10) if you plan on creating complex, wavy, or curly styles to provide enough resolution for bending.

2. Entering Particle Edit Mode

Once the base hair system is configured:

  1. Select your object in the 3D Viewport.
  2. Open the Mode dropdown in the top-left corner of the 3D Viewport (where it says Object Mode).
  3. Select Particle Edit.
  4. The hair strands will now display control points (keys) connected by guide lines.

3. Combing Hair

The Comb tool allows you to direct and style hair strands along the surface of your mesh.

  1. Select the Comb tool from the toolbar on the left (shortcut: Shift + Spacebar then 1 or select the brush icon).
  2. Adjust brush settings in the top header or the Sidebar (N panel):
    • Radius (F): Determines the size of the area of effect.
    • Strength (Shift + F): Controls how aggressively the strands follow the brush stroke.
  3. Left-click and drag across the hair strands to bend and orient them.
  4. Enable Deflect Emitter: In the Tool settings under Options, enable Deflect Emitter and set an offset distance. This prevents hair strands from clipping through the mesh surface while you comb.

4. Cutting Hair

The Cut tool shortens hair strands by trimming the segments that fall within the brush radius.

  1. Select the Cut tool from the toolbar on the left.
  2. Adjust the brush Radius to control the precision of the cut.
  3. Click and drag the brush across the ends of the hair strands you want to shorten.
  4. The strands will immediately snap to the point where the brush intersects them.

Tip: If you cut too much, you cannot simply comb it back. Use the Length brush set to "Grow" mode to extend hair strands back out.

5. Essential Grooming Tools and Shortcuts

To refine your hair groom, utilize these supplementary brushes and selection modes:

  • Smooth Brush: Relaxes and straightens harsh bends in hair strands for a softer flow.
  • Add Brush: Adds new hair guide strands to specific regions of the mesh.
  • Length Brush: Interactively extends (Grow) or shrinks (Shrink) individual hair strands.
  • Puff Brush: Rotates strands outward from the base to add volume and lift hair off the surface.
  • Weight Brush: Adjusts vertex weight influence for dynamics and physics.

Selection Modes

At the top of the 3D Viewport, switch between selection types:

  • Path: Selects entire hair strands.
  • Point: Selects individual control points (keys) along a strand.
  • Tip: Selects only the outermost tips of strands for broad styling.

6. Previewing and Finalizing the Groom

While grooming in Particle Edit Mode, you are only manipulating guide hairs. To see the final result:

  1. Open the Particle Properties tab.
  2. Under the Children section, switch from None to Interpolated or Simple to generate dense hair around your guides.
  3. In the Particle Edit options (top-right of viewport), enable Children to view the interpolated hairs in real-time as you comb and cut.
  4. Switch back to Object Mode or Rendered View to see the final textured and shaded groom.