Cutting your own hair

[girasol]

I've been cutting my own hair since 199something - at first I couldn't really afford hairdressers and then I just got used to doing it myself. Just trim the ends really these days, back in the day I also kept a fringe. Because my hair was wavy & thick it never needed to be perfect and it looked ok. I mostly wear my hair in a bun these days though - I think I could do with seeing a hair stylist to get some sort of middle aged haircut - I just never seem to work up the courage to do it.

Oh, I forgot my phase of shaving off half of the back of my head because I had too much hair! This isn't an issue anymore.

I was tempted to try the unicorn method but it would look shite with my hair I think... What Is a Unicorn Cut? How to Do the Unicorn Haircut Method

 

[Orang Utan]

I just shave it all off every few months. Don’t have the skills to do any more than that. I can’t even keep a beard trim

 

[Saunders]

I do actually do that

It gives some layering by default, put your scrunchie at the very middle of the top of your head - pineapple head style, and just lop the end off. I do it with wet hair so its straight

I used to do something similar but twisting it tightly before cutting it; my hair is fine and dead straight so that seemed to work quite well for layers.
I was just thinking about this the other day after I had foils and a cut, which I immediately clipped up when I left my hairdresser.

 

[scifisam]

I do own proper hairdressing scissors which I recommend investing in.

They do make a big difference.

I've tried out a couple of hairdressers over the last few years, and have had my hair cut professionally three times in the last fifteen years, the last time being two years ago (which was fucking awful). I just kinda occasionally feel like I should get it done "properly" and am kinda glad that the last visit shook me out of that. (He shaved my fucking hairline! I have a neat hairline to begin with and he shaved in a bald spot!)

The others were OK, but pretty much pointless apart from the blow-dry, cost a fortune and took a bizarre amount of time because they make you sit and wait for so long at every step.

I cut it myself the rest of the time, with layers and a shaved undercut, taking maybe ten minutes for the cut, and I get a lot of compliments about my hair. Not everyone has it as easy, but I think it's worth at least being comfortable with doing a quick trim - saves so much money and time.

 

[MickiQ]

This is largely a purely academic debate as far as I am concerned.

 

[petee]

During lockdown, I invested in some thinning scissors. They were so addictive.

I am quite seriously looking into getting a pair of those. I've even found the barber supply shop in the neighborhood.

 

[Wolveryeti]

I cut my own (long guard on top, grade 0 on the sides and back, cutting through the centre of the crown so a "widehawk" I suppose) and my tip for the back of your head is to use a phone instead of a second mirror, using a mirror app that lets you "unflip" the image. It makes the movements feel much more intuitive. There's a convenient alignment of a hook on the bathroom door that lets me hang my phone case on it but you might have to rig something up.

I often find a few stray long hairs in the days following which I tidy up with some scissors.

Thanks - why do you need to unflip the image out of interest? Isnt it enough to have the phone camera in selfie mode?

 

[Crispy]

Thanks - why do you need to unflip the image out of interest? Isnt it enough to have the phone camera in selfie mode?

I can't explain it, but the mirror of a mirror feels "correct" when one of them is the reverse of how a mirror usually behaves. It feels more like I'm shaving someone else's head, rather than having to second guess which way the mirror-mirror image will go when I move my hand

 

[equationgirl]

I have cut mine for a number of years but could do with better layering. I'm going to give your method a whirl. Thanks!

izz have given your method a go this afternoon. I took about two inches off when it was in a ponytail, but when it was down it was still longer than I was looking for so I took another inch or so off.

I'll see what it looks like as it dries, my hair has been falling out a lot again recently due to extreme stress so I'm long overdue a shorter cut.

 

[kittyP]

ice-is-forming
Brad Mondo ftw


Lots of other self cut videos but this seems to suit your layering wishes

You have to film yourself doing the cut and send it to him so he can do a "reaction video" looking horrified

 

[equationgirl]

izz thanks so much for sharing your method, it's made a huge difference to my hair, which is now sitting much better and just overall feels much better

 

[Tanya1982]

I did during lockdown. I have very thick hair and I’m reasonably high maintenance. Due to the dark (and a devastating proportion of grey) roots coming through I was wearing a headscarf a lot of the time, then I noticed that there was actually a matted bit at the back. Couldn’t get a brush or a tangle tease through it for love nor money. I was left with no choice but to cut it out, and it was pretty substantial - then I thought ‘might as well keep going’. I went from having shoulder length hair to a short messy hack. I did it blind, no mirror because I didn’t want to upset myself - just by feel, standing in the bath. It looked terrible but felt wonderful.

As the year wore on, I’d thin and trim it with increasing skill, so by the time I went back to a salon for a proper cut and colour I wasn’t utterly ashamed. It’s still short. I don’t think it’ll ever have it long again. But I don’t have the skill to cut and colour and blow dry my own hair in the way I like it done.

 

[RubyToogood]

After last night's traumatic dream I had a go at the ponytail method. As I was cautious and didn't take much off it looked rather stepped (because then it only really cuts the top layers) so I tried the double ponytail method where you do one for the front half and one for the back, which looks a bit more blended. I chopped into the ends a bit too so they weren't blunt. It looks ok dry, we'll see after the next wash. Certainly feels better.

I figured as it's stupidly long because I haven't cut it in so long I didn't have much to lose, and the slight curl covers a multitude of sins. I really cannot face coughing up £60+++ for a cut I won't like in an environment that makes me deeply uncomfortable.

The other thing I've done in the past is hold the side pieces and run a razor down them from about halfway down to layer/soften them a bit. These days I routinely cut my own fringe. That's relatively easy because you can see it.

Fringes: the important point to remember is that they aren't a rectangular strip across your forehead, they're a semi-circular or wedge shape radiating from a central point on your scalp (look it up). If you've already had one cut in, separate that piece out and clip the rest back. Then wet it and use a fine comb and your fingers to pull it down evenly while you trim. Mine's a short fringe and I tend to hold it plastered flat to my forehead while cutting, but if it's longer you need to hold it sandwiched between two fingers.

 

[furluxor]

I used to cut my own hair (and had friends have a go too) with variable results. My standard cut is a shag so it's not so difficult to do myself, just need to make sure I do lots of thinning out at various lengths. However, it looks good for a few cuts (since I'm building on the hairdresser's solid base) and then gets bad. Last time was extra rough and I will be looking at it for the next 7 years or so as it's my passport picture.

For the last few years I've been seeing a hairdresser who does an excellent job so I just trim my fringe myself. I do it by holding a small amount of hair taut and cutting into it at an angle, then repeating. My hairdresser reckons it's a decent effort.