Cutting your own hair

[Lubricious Integument]

Does anyone do this? I usually keep my hair trimmed short, but I haven't had a haircut in a year and I'm starting to look like a mad scientist. My wife refuses to try, and I'm too cheap to go to the $10 barber. We have scissors and clippers in the house. Please encourage me to cut it myself!

[Ibanez]

I used to cut my own hair with clippers and an extra mirror. But the pros can do a better job with different size clips, so I cough up the 20$ and pay them to do it. Do you have a pay pal account shaggy ? I'll send ya 10$ for a haircut.

[MetroGnome]

When I first decided to go for the bald* look, I figured,"no way am I going to pay someone $10+ to do something that takes no skill!" Afterwards, when I looked at all the hair everywhere in my bathroom, I thought,"man, I would pay someone $10 to clean up all this hair!" I later figured out doing it naked in the tub made cleanup a breeze.

*not totally bald. I did try shaving my head for about a week but hated it. The perfect smoothness lasts only half a day before everything started to catch on my head (taking off and putting on a t-shirt was an ordeal). I ended up just using the closest setting on the clippers. Now, my head, facial, and pubic hairs are always at the same length :D.

[Lacunae Matata]

I cut my own hair, but that may not work for everyone. The reason it works for me? My hair is very curly and very very thick. Those two attributes hide any number of mistakes, like gaps or uneven-ness*. If my hair were thinner or straighter, I'd hit the salon. But I started cutting it myself after I spent much time and money trying to find someone who could cut it right. I finally figured I could screw it up for free, versus paying good money getting yet another crappy cut.

*Even my mother-in-law, a retired hairstylist, can't see my mistakes. She also says that I have the thickest hair she's ever seen.

[Namkcalb]

Don't go to a barber's once a month, go once every three months and trim the hairs at the back of your neck yourself every month.

You can afford $40 a year right?

[Trinopus]

. . . trim the hairs at the back of your neck yourself every month. . . .

Oops... Okay, that detail escaped me. It isn't something that stands out in the mirror...

(I'm reminded of Linus, in "Peanuts," polishing only the front part of his shoes. He cares what people think when he comes in to the room, not what they think when he leaves!)

[NorthernBiker]

I cut my hair all the time. Does your set of clippers have different length guides(1/2, 1/4, 3/4 inch etc)? This allows you to have an even trim. You kit should have flairing guides for the sides if your so inclined. Just go for it, hard to screw up. Once you get the feel for it, you can try to taper the back. This takes some practice seeing as you're using a mirror.

Helpful hints
Use two mirrors. This allows you to see the back of your head.
Make sure to oil the blades, they can get hot and start to pull the hair instead of cut nicely.
What I do to clean up is, before cutting my hair I lay a trash bag on the bathroom counter and sink. I then proceed to cut the hair. It mostly falls into the trash bag which can be bundled into ball and thrown out. The only other hair is on the floor which is a quick sweep.

[treber001]

Yep I used to do it but just a trim; I can’t do a “hair cut” on my own (that pretty hard). Well actually there’s a superstitious belief about that, according to them when you cut your own hair, essentially you are dwindling the span of your life. So has anybody heard about that gibberish belief?

[Al Bundy]

Both of my brothers always cut their hair until they died.
Decades ago I was getting fed up with the waiting, cheap Ranger Rick magazines and the money. The hair stylist mentioned that the owner preferred to hire people who had little experience so he could show them how to cut hair his way. His way involved no special equipment other than the electric clippers and a hand as the guide. I decided I could do the same and purchased my own clippers. I have never paid since. And every haircut is exactly as I want it. I could cut my hair in a dark room with no mirror. I will say this requires some coordination between the hand and clipper. If you are unable to touch the clipper to your hand without looking, that could be a problem. And my eldest brother had his daughter cut his hair presumably for that reason. I think I can do this forever. And I have a normal haircut too, not a buzz cut or anything close.

[Renee]

I've heard good things about the flowbee. (http://www.amazon.com/FLOWBEE-Flowbee-Haircutting-System/dp/B00020F9TK)It won't save you money intially, but after a year or so it should pay for itself, plus you don't have to ever go to the barber again. I've been cutting my own hair for years, but I'm a girl with long hair, so it's a different beast.

[Anaamika]

I cut my own bangs and only go to the hairdresser a couple times a year...but I have thin, curly hair, which like said above, is very forgiving to mistakes.

[TokyoBayer]

I've been cutting my own hair for about a year now. I use scissors. Since it's naturally wavy, then it's not bad. Here's a photo (http://www.flickr.com/photos/79272193@N07/7096121041/in/photostream).

I also cut my kids' hair as well as trim my wife's bangs. I'm just starting to experiment with feathering her hair. I'm doing only very small amounts so that I don't make big mistakes.

[Snickers]

Every time I've tried to cut my own hair, it's ended in tears and disaster. So I say you should totally go for it. And post pictures when you're done!

[sandra_nz]

This thread has inspired me to have a go at cutting my own fringe - I'm such a procrastinator that I've had to wear my fringe clipped up for the past few weeks rather than get myself organised and go to the hairdressers!

[kayaker]

For decades I avoided the barber by wearing a pony tail and occasionally cutting off six inches. Then when that got tiring, I started shaving bald.

[Tim R. Mortiss]

I cut my own hair. I have pretty thick hair, which I keep about an inch long. Number 4 clipper guide, back and forth, and I'm done. I do it naked in front of a full length mirror, standing on a wooden floor. Easy cleanup with a broom.

[sandra_nz]

Yay, I am now the proud owner of a decent fringe! I followed the instructions here:
http://www.retrochick.co.uk/2009/08/18/step-by-step-how-to-cut-your-own-fringe/

[bup]

I cut my own hair. I do the top with scissors (using my fingers as a guide - I hold my hair through my fingers like a stylist does, but making it the shortest possible), and the back with a #5, and the sides with a #3. My wife was doing the neckline. I think I'll do my own next time.

Just throw down an old shower curtain and put the chair on top, and cleaning up is simple.

I'm in the photo gallery - pic is about 5 years old, but haircut's the same.

[GaryM]

I cut my own with a set f Wahl clippers. 3/8" on the top and 1/4" on the sides and back. Wife evens off the back at the neckline. Do it about every 12 days or so.

[MaltLiquor]

I shave my head about once a month or so. I would never try if I wanted to do a cut but just shaving it, yes just do it. The worst case scenario is you cut it super short like me. I never went back after doing it...the savings on shampoo is worth it!

[ZenBeam]

I'll second getting the Flowbee. I used to cut my own hair in college, using a pair of hair scissors. For a while after I began working, I went to various inexpensive haircut places, but could never find one that was reliable. We got a flowbee probably twelve years ago now. I use it, and my wife uses it on our kids.

In addition to saving money Vs. having someone cut your hair, the time savings is substantial. I can cut my hair in 15 minutes, start to finish. The vacuum sucks up the hair, so there isn't hair all over at the end.

[TokyoBayer]

Yay, I am now the proud owner of a decent fringe! I followed the instructions here:
http://www.retrochick.co.uk/2009/08/18/step-by-step-how-to-cut-your-own-fringe/A couple of notes on this. If you cut your hair with it hanging straight down, the cut will be a fairly sharp line (http://salon.yahoo.co.jp/column/hair/ce0003/7/). If you look at this style (http://salon.yahoo.co.jp/column/hair/bn0003/5/), you can see she has more jagged edges.

You can buy the scissors (http://venusworldwideonline.com/images/hair-cutting-scissors-2.jpg) which only cut part of the hair. Use the straight scissors to make the bottom cut and then the jagged ones to feather.

Another point is to comb the hair down to where you want it, hold it lightly between your fingers and bring you hand up to where the hair is perpendicular to the face, eg., straight out toward you and then cut a straight in. When the hair comes down the cut will naturally have rounding because the top hair doesn't come all the way down.

You can also pinch some hair in between your thumb and index finger, and the slide the hair so that they don't all of the same length. This also contributes to a softer edge.

[Taomist]

I cut my own bangs and only go to the hairdresser a couple times a year...but I have thin, curly hair, which like said above, is very forgiving to mistakes.

This, except by the time I get grumpy enough to trim my bangs, patience has gone out the window and it usually looks like crap. :p

[Arabella Flynn]

I used to cut my own hair. It was easy, largely because my hair was long -- I knew I needed a trim when the ends started getting ratty from me sitting on them all the time. I combed it straight while it was still fairly wet, gathered it tightly together near the end, and pulled it forward under my arm so I could hack at the end with a pair of sharp scissors. It curled enough at the end that as long as I got it all to the same length, plus or minus about half an inch, it looked like I'd cut it straight across. Can't do that anymore; it's much wavier now that I live in a damp place, and I had a hairdresser layer the ends not too long ago. I find your $10 haircuts hilarious, because my very simple request cost me $50, plus tip, and not at a particularly fancy place.

My father once discovered he could give himself a buzzcut with a set of regulation dog clippers. I think my mother let him get away with it for a month or two before she put her foot down and sent him back to Supercuts.

Only cut your own hair if you have a good enough sense of humor -- and own enough hats -- to think it's funny when you fail. Otherwise, cough up the dough for someone else to do it.

[Eyebrows 0f Doom]

I've been cutting my hair myself for a couple of years now. I use a pair of thinning shears so that the edges are soft instead of blunt. It's easy cause I keep my hair in a short fauxhawk like style. Current pic (http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e98/CapeTwirlOfDoom/hairphoto.jpg) taken just now.

[Uzi]

Philips Hair Clipper (http://www.usa.philips.com/c/Hair-clippers/with-contour-following-comb-qc5340_40/prd/en/)

Setting number one around the ears and to taper the back, number 2 for everywhere else. Remove the comb and use it to trim the stray hairs. Takes less than 10 minutes and none of the fiddly bits that end up getting lost that the other clippers come with.
I don't even use a mirror anymore.

[River Hippie]

I cut it myself in the bathroom, using clippers and a hand mirror. Super short buzz cut, I buzz the sides and back to skin level, leave about 1/4" on top and blend the transition line a little.
I have a tile floor in the bathroom, clean up with a broom and shop vac.

[ZenBeam]

Super short buzz cut, I buzz the sides and back to skin level, leave about 1/4" on top and blend the transition line a little.:dubious: Maybe you need a new user name then...

:p

[River Hippie]

:dubious: Maybe you need a new user name then...

:p

That's what happens when you devote about .01 of a second to choosing a username.

:D

[ExcitedIdiot]

I cut my own hair, but it took a few bad haircuts before I got it down. You could shave it all off, and just beg your wife to do the neckline(the hardest part, imo).

I do it because I have hated literally every person who has cut my hair professionally. If they would just shut up, they'd get a good tip and a return customer. Also, I'm cheap.

[Chimera]

I did it for many years through darkness and poverty. Kept it extremely short. Now that I'm making decent money again, I've been letting it grow out and getting normal haircuts. Kinda odd getting used to needing a comb again.

[Tim R. Mortiss]

I'd like to point out that, while I do cut my own hair, and I AM a cheap bastard, I don't primarily do it to save money. I do it to save time. The time wasted going to the Supercuts, waiting your turn, getting the cut, and getting back home, is FAR more of a waste than the twelve bucks plus fifty cent tip that it costs me monetarily.....

[Quartz]

Does anyone do this? I usually keep my hair trimmed short, but I haven't had a haircut in a year and I'm starting to look like a mad scientist. My wife refuses to try, and I'm too cheap to go to the $10 barber. We have scissors and clippers in the house. Please encourage me to cut it myself!

But the mad scientist look is cool! Just look at Professor Poliakoff (http://www.periodicvideos.com)!

[Mann Slaughter]

Yes I cut my own hair, and have been for 30 years.
The last time someone else cut my hair I was in high school, and I let a cousin cut it for me. That debacle let to me having to go BALD until it grew back, which for an 18 y.o. in 1981 was unheard of! After it grew back I borrowed a set of electric clippers and tried cutting it myself, standing in the bathroom with my back to the medicine cabinet mirror, while holding a hand mirror in my left hand, and the clippers in my right. It took a bit of practice to get the hand movements right to be able to see and cut all around my head, but with the 1" attachment over the blades I wasn't worried about messing it up. I bought my first clippers a couple of years later after joining the Army, and have been cutting it on average about every two weeks. I've since added several other "guards" (as we call the attachments) to my typical haircut using 3/8" on the top, the really low "Blending" guard on the back & sides, and the "Left/Right Taper" guards to fade them together.

You can see my results here: Slaughter (http://www.flickr.com/photos/9517377@N04/2336563644/in/set-72157600623038794/)

Over the years though I've learned 2 very important lessons:
1) Never cut your hair if you've been drinking! (Kinda self-explanatory)
2) Make sure your equipment is in good condition! (I once had a cracked guard fall off the clippers resulting in a shaved path on the top my head. That was the second time I had to unwillingly go bald!)

[Panzram]

I spent most of my life going to old fashioned barbers and paying the $5-$8 for them to (mostly) screw it up every month, month in and month out, without fail. No matter what, or who I went to, I would do the same routine:

1) Show up in tiny barbershop without enough chairs, listening for forty-five minutes while the barber wines and dines some boring old geezer with three surviving hairs on his head. Both the barber and the geezer would go on about politics or current events, or local sports, or something else that I simply could not tolerate. I'd try to be charming and smile or occasionally throw in something agreeable as the conversation endured, but I am just not a small talk kind of person. The mandatory barbershop stack of National Geographic magazines and the daily newspaper were all that kept me alive during this wait.

2) Finally, as my turn came around, I would sit in the barber's chair and receive my cut. There'd be conversation, though not all of them went as badly as I described in Step 1. Either way, I would receive my cut and it would look just fine in the mirror, and the barber would throw on a little cologne or some spray-on crap, and I'd mosey on, feeling and smelling like a million bucks. One shower later, and the hair was unmanageable for the hairstyle that I was trying to maintain. I always get the same simple box style haircut, and comb my hair the exact same way. Still, nobody could get it right, so I just got fed up with the odd angles the barbers would come up with as they would trim my hair. It just never looked right.

So after getting tired of forking over $8 a month and enduring a wait in the barbershop chairs longer than I liked, I bought myself a $15 pair of clippers at Dollar General and have been cutting my own hair for the past 7 or 8 months. I haven't had one bad haircut yet, because I know exactly what I'm going for, and how to accomplish that look. Plus if I finish up and find out later that I missed something, or even left one of those odd angles myself, or didn't cut enough here or there . . . I can fix it in no time. No more grinning and bearing it. It doesn't take very long to do it either. I am kinda obsessive-compulsive, so I probably linger and re-cut more than I need to, but I still tend to get my hair the way I want it in about twenty minutes. Never have to leave the house, don't have to pay anybody. I sweep up, dust myself off, and go back to my business.

It helps to have a hand mirror so you can cut the back more easily, but I personally just use the bathroom mirror and use my hand to judge. Your intuition is pretty good at telling you when you are screwing everything up, and a good sense of touch is more than enough to tell if the hair is short enough or uneven in different places. Once you get the hang of it, it's really easy. I use a razorblade to even out the back of my neck, but then I like things perfect. I am always complimented on how well I cut my hair when people find out that I do it myself. They always say that it looks like I took it to the barber (I suppose given my experience with barbers, I could take that as an insult, but I don't lol) and that it's really even. I'm always asked to trim children's hair and stuff like that.

My opinion is that you should totally go get your clippers, your comb and your scissors and take care of business. If you make any mistakes, big deal, just go with a Marine cut until the hair grows back. You learn by doing, and as long as you are careful, you shouldn't make any really embarrassing mistakes. It's so easy! Just take your time and get comfortable doing it. Make sure you have mineral oil or some similar oil for your blades so that your clippers will cut properly, and oil the blades frequently. I usually oil them every time I cut my hair, since it doesn't require a lot of oil and the typical bottle of mineral oil is pretty much a lifetime supply.

Anyway, I wish you luck with your do-it-yourself cut. Let us know if you succeed!

Panzram

[DKW]

I've been doing it for years now. Not much to say about it, so I'll just run through the major points:

- It helps a lot that I've never needed a particular style. Just keep it short and even. It started dawning on me that the Chinatown stylist wasn't worth it when 90% of the job was running essentially an electric shaver over my head. Got a hair trimmer from Sears and never looked back.

- The important things are to take my time and be thorough. Pulling a trimmer through a thick head of hair too fast hurts a lot, and it's very easy to miss certain spots (around the ears is particularly troublesome).

- Sight and touch are both very important for judging how far I have to go. I've never been any good with multiple mirrors, so being able to feel out a half inch or a quarter inch is a required skill.

- For cleanup, the simpler, the better. I do it in the bathroom, so I can just let the hair fall on the floor and then sweep it up. I'd never do it in the shower; serious risk of clogging, especially with the kind of hair I have.

Hey, never having to fight traffic to Chinatown again, never having to find parking in Chinatown, not having to pay $12 plus tip every time, not having to pay about twice that much from a corporate outlet, being able to do it any time I want...I'd say it's worth it.

[Valgard]

Been cutting my own hair for years. It's been thinning since my 20s so at some point I just decided to embrace it and buzz it short. Started at 1/2" and now I use a 1/16" guide. I go over it each weekend to keep it neat, takes a few minutes. I just lean my head over the bathroom sink. Brush most of the hair out into the garbage can, rinse the strays down the drain and take a quick shower - I can actually shampoo my head in the sink with a little soap and water, dry it with a towel and be done. Handy at work sometimes!

Feels good, looks neat, extremely low maintenance. I'm not bald, I'm aerodynamic :D

As far as keeping the back neat, it's surprisingly easy to do with my razor when I shave my face, I can keep the neckline even by feel and it only takes a minute to do in the shower.

[elbows]

It would be helpful to know how many self hair cutters here are men vs women. Men's hair doesn't seem as hard to do, or as critically observed to me, though I admit I could be off base.

[Cat Whisperer]

I just gave myself an all over trim; I was blessed* with wavy hair that hides any weirdness that might happen when I'm cutting it myself. The funny thing about the haircuts I give myself is that they are *exactly* the way I want it - I don't know why I can't get a decent layered cut from a hair stylist (although it's probably because I go to cheap places).

*For some values of blessed. Remember when it was in style to have the ends of your hair flipping up? Mine has done that all my life. :)

[perfectparanoia]

About every three years or so, I go from a short haircut that requires regular trips to the hairdresser to growing my hair long.

The very reason is that I can not find a hairdresser who will actually do what I tell them. I have wavy hair and it will not obey so you need to cut it a certain way or I look like a doofus.

Anyway, once it is grown out (we are at the inbetween stage now), I just cut it myself. It has a mind of it's own anyway so I just cut it the way I think it should look and I cut it when it is dry (so all those waves are there.

Still, I know there will be yet another hot day in summer when I decide to just cut it all off again <sigh>

[Autolycus]

Of course the people who post in this thread are going to be the enthusiastic ones who are awesome and cut their own hair, because nobody wants to be the Debby Downer who says it's too difficult and time-consuming. With that said, there has been lot of good advice posted, so try some of it and see what sticks (and what falls off :D)

[Uzi]

I wouldn't do it if it wasn't just a buzz cut. I can't draw a semblance of a straight line without a ruler.
But on the bright side, one of the benefits of losing hair is that I don't feel the need to screw around with it anymore. Just cut it off with the goal of it being even on both sides. Even if they created the pill to grow it back, I'd still cut it short as I'm now indifferent to wind, rain, and current fashion. It's positively liberating!

[elbows]

Quick, but apt story;

I have a friend, female, busy school teacher, jaw length professional hair cut, nice cut, naturally wavy hair. Bit of tree hugger type, no product or irons, dyes or perms. Her sister a tad upscale, always perfectly, professionally styled hair, expensive cuts, high end products, etc.

So the school teacher takes to trimming, then cutting, her own hair to maintain the cut, without really telling anyone. The sister begins to badger her sister into seeing her high end stylist. She's a wonder, she's so good, she'll know just how to style your hair etc. My friend eventually caves and waits weeks to see the much sought stylist. She goes to the appointment prepared to be severely chastised for the self styling and prepared to come out looking a new woman. Her sister is beside herself with anticipation of the new and much more flattering professional do.

When school marm gets into the chair, the stylist does what all stylist do, running her hands through the hair and asking her what she wants. My friend says something that will flatter my face and accommodate the natural curls/waves.

Then the stylist starts in. First she says she cannot stop handling my friend's hair because it is so very rare that sees hair that's never been permed or colored or isn't regularly curled, straightened or treated with product in some way. Especially for a woman nearing 40yrs. Then she continues, the style you have is actually quite flattering for your face, the right length (she thinks her nose is too pointy!), and nicely accommodates the wave/curls. Huh! Who'd have thought?

Next comes the big question, have you been cutting it yourself? Sheepishly she admits, indeed she has. To which the expensive stylist says, "Well, you're doing a pretty good job. Let me give you some pointers!", and proceeds to show her a couple of better techniques on which way to pull it out and what angle to take etc. She ended up with a $70 trim!

Her sister was crushed to see no big change in style, since she paid the $70!:D

[monstro]

elbows, that's a funny story. I'm embarrassed about going to a stylish for that exact reason.

I've been cutting my hair for the last 12 years or so. Like anything, you get better with time. Yeah, occasionally I'll make an oopsie, but my oopsies are better than someone else's. Mine don't make me angry or cost money.

I have short hair, though. Which means I trim very frequently. It's also multitextured and hard to predict. I'll wake up one morning with cowlicks that didn't exist the day before. I've learned to distinguish those that can be combed down or pushed behind an ear, and those that must be surgically removed.

[Cat Whisperer]

Yeah, I've got cowlicks to go with my wavy hair, too. For some reason my hair stylists don't seem to want to work with them - they either ignore them or think they can beat them into submission. I just work with them and everything comes out fine.

[Hbns]

Heck no. Like many in this thread I was tired of wasting time waiting around at the cheapo hair place, getting a stylist that was green and didn't listen to a thing I said, and walking out hating the way my haircut looked. So I tried cutting my own on several disastrous occasions that ultimately ended in buzz cuts.

Then I took a page out of the better half's playbook. I started going to a proper salon. I tried a few different professional stylists until I found one that both cut my hair in a manner I was happy with, and was someone I could have a conversation with. Sure I pay 2x what the cheapo walk up place charges, but I don't mind. I have a standing appointment every 5 weeks with the same stylist who knows how I like it cut. I walk in, wait less than 5 minutes, get a wash and a haircut and am out the door feeling good about the way my hair looks in no time.
Well worth the cost at twice the price.

[Yorikke]

I shave it bald every couple of months. Takes five minutes.

[jali]

Before I loc'd my hair I wore a variety of styles and one was a "boy cut".

I needed to go to the barbershop at least twice per week to keep it sharp and I LOVE the barbershop. Most of the barbers and patrons would probably succeed at stand up comedy; they had the freshest video games to play while you wait; they usually had a game (b-ball or football) on the big screen and I always had a good time.

I took my sons weekly when they were old enough for cuts and we had a good time. (The "line" has to be sharp).

I think that this photo (http://www.brandnewz.com/?p=8730)has the right vibe.

I remember paying about $10 twice per week for my hair and about 7 or 8 bucks for my boys. The boys loved to pay and loved to tip.

I hope that remark above about a $.50 tip on a $12.00 tab is a joke. If not, then we have the reason that your haircut sucked.