Bobby’s hair was too thick to hand strip for him to not to get fed up . I used a Mars coat king on his head , and all over when he was a fluffy puppy. No groomers near me do handstripping because it takes hours. I had to give in to clipping, again having disasters till I found a lovely girl who could do as I wanted and make him look normal. I was happy with the clipped head, because a black dog absolutely gleams with it . Is your handstripping an ongoing exercise or just every couple of months?