Scissors are a good method for shortening a beard, but require a skilled hand for finer details, such as thinning or shaping. Make sure the scissors are rust-free and without major imperfections or notches in the blades that may tug on or pull your hair. Don't use kitchen scissors or garden shears. These can be too big and clumsy to maneuver. You don't want to cut yourself. This will prevent you from cutting the hair too short. Try to imitate the way a barber gathers hair in a comb, then lightly clips it. Comb from your ear to your jaw, exposing a tiny amount of hair. Trim any hair which is on the outside of the comb's teeth. Use caution when performing this step. Begin by trimming very short lengths of hair - you can easily decide to trim more, but it is impossible to correct the mistake if you accidentally trim too much. Continue cutting the beard evenly until you've reached the desired length. Comb the beard again to ensure you've got an even trim of the hair. Comb the hair straight down. In a straight line, trim any hair that falls below the line of your lip. Using extra care, use the scissors to trim the hair as close as possible on your neck. If possible, use an electric trimmer for this step. If you're intimidated, you can simply lather and shave your neck with a safety razor to remove all the hair. This can be much easier than making the finishing touches with scissors.

Summary: Select a pair of sharp, clean scissors, preferably barber's shears. Use a comb as a guide. Repeat this process on the other side of your face. Trim your mustache and chin. Finish with a clean edge.

Fingerprint powder is a very fine powder that is either white or black. White powder is used to dust prints on dark surfaces, and dark powder is used if the print is left on light colored surfaces. Officials use either talcum-based powders for white, or graphite-based powders for black. They also sometimes use special fluorescent powders that glow under black light, if the prints may be especially hard to dust for or are on multi-colored or multi-textured surfaces. At home, you can use either baby powder, corn starch, or cocoa powder. You'll want to find a brush with very fine, very soft bristles. A makeup brush or a very small paintbrush will work well. Just be sure that the bristles are soft and not stiff from rinsed in water and reused. You can use scotch tape or any other clear tape like packaging tape. Just don't use duct tape or another colored tape. The tape is for picking up the print after it has been powdered. If you are going to use white powder, get black construction paper so the print contrasts with the paper and is easy to see when you put it down. If you're using a dark powder (cocoa powder or black fingerprint powder), then plain white paper is fine. If you have microscope slides, these are perfect to use for putting a fingerprint on. If not, any smooth table, chair, appliance, wall, floor, doorknob, or faucet will do.

Summary: Find some fine powder. Get a small brush. Find some clear tape. Gather some paper. Use a smooth, flat surface.

Bernie Sanders, Fran Drescher, and Jerry Seinfeld have all made this accent pretty recognizable, even if it is considered a bit over the top for every day speech. But if you're on stage, on screen, or just hamming it up, focus on breathing through your nose. Huge "Yuuuuge." Speaking like a New Yorker is less about what you say, and more about how you say it. New Yorkers are known for being direct, opinionated and confident. They are also known for talking a lot, and talking loudly. Speak quickly and succinctly. Use loud, expressive tones when speaking. Really draw out those vowels for emphasis. Throw an extra "r" at the end of words that end in vowels, like "that's a good idear." The best way to practice is the word Long Island itself, pronounced by residents as "Lawn-Guyland") Really take your time with the vowels, stretching them out for a nice long time. The "g" at the end of "-ing" isn't pronounced either. So "going" is pronounced "goin'" and "here" sounds like "hea". The following expressions aren't really used so much anymore, but they're still stereotypes. They will instantly place your listener into the NYC mindset, even if that mindset is about 15 years old by now. Typical expressions Noo Yawkez use include "Get outta hea", "Fawget aboutit" & "Ahrite ahready" Say "hey", instead of "hi" or "hello" and say it quickly. Make the classic "you guys" into the NYC plural "yous guys." It is often a deep sounding voice, and words are spoken kind of in a relaxed way. Since New York was at one point very Italian, Staten Island and Brooklyn in particular (Staten Island is still 44% Italian, the highest percentage of any county in the country), people of Italian descent that live in the areas tend to have a little bit of Italian accent mixed in. So if you've ever heard, have or done an Italian accent, it may be a little bit easier to do a NY accent. Think of Sylvester Stallone. Now think of Danny DeVito. Both have similar accents, but also plenty of uniqueness. Your own accent can be similarly unique, as long as you follow the basic rules above. Check out this list of free files containing examples of different NYC accents to help practice.
Summary: Speak nasally, with your throat feeling almost constricted, to really take your accent over the top. Pick up the "attitude" in your speech rhythms. Mash your words together and spread your vowels out for the Long Island classic accent. Use some local, if cliched, colloquialisms. Listen to native New Yorkers, online or in person, to get the subtle range of different accents.