How to Cut Your Own Hair
Cutting your own hair will save you lots of money and time spent in the barber’s chair or salon. Why pay an exorbitant rate for a haircut (not to mention the tip for the stylist or barber) when you could learn to cut your own hair at home in your own time?
Some Helpful Hints for Cutting Your Own Hair
One word of caution — keep it simple, stupid. If you know that you aren’t a professional, don’t go for a super-layered cut or a cut with a lot of jagged angles or hip lines.
The scissors you use to cut your hair are very important. Ideally, you will pick up a pair of hair cutting shears at a beauty supply store or big box retail store before you attempt this haircut. If you can’t afford or find a nice pair of hair shears, you need to find the sharpest pair you can to avoid simply ripping the hair out of your head. But if you’re planning to cut your own hair on a regular basis, you really should buy a high quality pair of scissors, and probably a set of clippers designed for use on human hair.
You know how the salon is always getting your hair wet before they cut it? It turns out that wet hair is much easier to manage than dry hair. If you start out with freshly cleaned and tangle free hair you’ll have a much easier go under your own scissors. Keep your hair wet throughout the process by arming yourself with a spray bottle of water. This way, you can get your hair damp again if it dries out during your haircut.
How to Cut Your Own Hair
If you’re nervous about cutting your own hair, you should start the process with a professional cut and then “maintain” this cut by giving yourself trim cuts. If you trim the same amount of hair from all of the parts of your head once a month you won’t have to return to the salon until you want to change your hairstyle. Professional hair stylists know that people’s hair grows unevenly — one side’s hair is often much longer than the other side. If you are worried about having uneven hair, you should probably visit the stylist every now and then to make the hairstyle even.
Once you’re done with your first home haircut, check that the haircut feels even underneath your fingers. Do this by holding clumps of your hair from opposite sides of your head and pull them towards your face to ensure that the sides of your hair are even.
Choosing a Hairstyle and Getting the Right Cut
One basic truth — simple hairstyles are best for at-home hair cuts. If you’re not an experienced stylist, you don’t want to go over the top. The easiest haircut? Cutting the hair to a single standard length all over the head. Once you’ve picked a length you need to get a ruler and your scissors. Remember to always deal with a small chunk of your hair at a time. Start by combing your hair straight out from your scalp and holding a small part of it between your index and middle fingers. Using the ruler, measure your hair to the length you want and go for it — snip off the hair that goes past the length you decided on. Now simply repeat this process until you have cut all of your hair to the right length.
The good news is that this simple method works great for men and women alike, and for people with long or short hair.
Another Simplified Haircut
Looking for an easy and attractive haircut? Instead of getting a ruler involved, you can wet your hair and comb all of it forward. Pick up sections of your hair and run it through your fingers, cutting all the hair into one simple line all the way across. Remember that the smaller the section of hair that you cut, the better. Once you’re finished, stand upright, part your hair in the middle, and comb it straight down. You can check for runaway long pieces by twisting your hair a little between your fingers and looking for chunks that stick out.
This may be a basic haircut, but if you really need a trim and can’t afford the barbershop, you may have to employ it.
Special Hair Types Require Special Haircutting Techniques
If you have curly hair, you’ll find it difficult to give yourself a haircut. Holding curly hair in your fingers can be very intimidating for a first time hair cutter. The way around a curly head? Simply make your hair a bit longer than your “desired” cut length, because curly hair tends to “spring up” as it gets dry, making the hair cut a ton shorter than it would be if the hair were straight. Other types of hair may require different haircutting techniques.
Another hair type that gives people trouble — thick and coarse hair. The way to beat a thick head of hair is to trim very small sections of hair, even smaller than you would use normally. The problem with cutting thick hair is that cutting too much hair at once will make the hair “bend” between the blades of the scissors, changing the length. If you want an even haircut for super thick hair, you’ll have to take extra time to cut it.
Cutting Your Own Bangs
Cutting bangs makes people nervous — if you’re going to trim your bangs, you should start with your hair parted all the way down the center. Pick up an even amount of hair from either side of the part in your hair and comb it forward to your forehead. Using your index and middle finger, smooth out this hair between your index and middle fingers and make small even cuts across.
Once you’ve cut your own hair a few times, you should be more comfortable with cutting your own hair and you have the experience to try out more complex hairstyles. There are plenty of books and other material available online or in bookstores or supply shops that offer you guided step-by-step instructions.
Cutting your own hair could save you hundreds of dollars a year in upkeep costs, but there’s nothing worse than a bad at-home haircut. Use the tips above to create an attractive hairstyle for free.