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Who Cuts Their Own Hair Around Here?

azstonie

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I had a haircut on Monday. It is not what I asked for and it is not an appropriate cut for my type of hair. I don't like the way my hair looks, I figure it'll be btw 2 and 3 years to fully grow out the awful layering that was done.

I was at FedEx on Tuesday (sadly not jewelry related) and THE HAIR UNICORN passed right in front of my very eyes! She had the haircut I used to have and cannot for the life of me seem to get here!!!!!

I went out to the parking lot and talked to her. SHE CUTS HER OWN HAIR! No stylist to refer me to. She was so kind, she let me take a pic of her hair (I can't post here because I can't get permission to do so). But I have it as the LIVING EXAMPLE of the haircut I used to have/still want if I can ever bring myself to walk into a salon again.

Her hair is long and has a deep U-shape that is very pretty, a gradient if that makes any sense. Almost a V-point but a little rounded, so that is why I said it is U-shaped. Np damn layers, just the gradient effect.

Anyway, she showed me what she does to cut it. She combs or brushes her hair very thoroughly. She splits her hair into 2 big pieces, as if you would to do a braid or a ponytail on each side of your head---parts it down the back of the head and brings each side together over her shoulders. She then brings that half of her hair forward and cuts the bottom as much as she feels it needs to be trimmed. She then does the other side, same way. She checks them both that they are equal in length. If they aren't, she fixes it. If they are, DONE!

Does anyone here do this or something similar?

My question was do you cut wet hair or dry hair? My hair is thick with wave and some curly spots. My other question is shears---I read that Sally's has an excellent pair of $20 shears (you don't want the razor shears, those will ruin most hair and definitely my hair).

I went on YouTube, quite a few videos on cutting your own hair. Some are like this woman's method, some use the same basic method but before stopping take the shears and using the very tips, cut INTO the hair vertically; this apparently softens a blunt edge (I like the blunt edge).

Love to hear from anyone who cuts their own hair OR who wears the cut I described (how'd you get your stylist to do it?).

Thank you for reading. Writing this kept me away from my bathroom mirror and cursing. :lol:
 

sonnyjane

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Yup. I have long, wavy hair and cut it exactly the same way your unicorn does lol. I haven't had a professional haircut in 16 years. I've even done bangs and short chops (taking more than a foot of length off) several times. Just start slow. The most important tip is what you saw on the video - trim VERTICALLY! If you cut straight across it doesn't look natural. And to answer your question, I always cut dry and try to do it over a trash can because you WILL get hair all over the place, even when you're careful. I use regular ole scissors but obviously ones specifically for hair would be good.
 

jordyonbass

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I used to do my own - but then again, a #1 buzzcut for a guy isn't too hard :roll:

I'd think trimming of my gandalf beard would be kinda awkward if someone else did it :lol:
 

azstonie

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sonnyjane|1439523810|3914359 said:
Yup. I have long, wavy hair and cut it exactly the same way your unicorn does lol. I haven't had a professional haircut in 16 years. I've even done bangs and short chops (taking more than a foot of length off) several times. Just start slow. The most important tip is what you saw on the video - trim VERTICALLY! If you cut straight across it doesn't look natural. And to answer your question, I always cut dry and try to do it over a trash can because you WILL get hair all over the place, even when you're careful. I use regular ole scissors but obviously ones specifically for hair would be good.

Sonnyjane, please expand regarding the vertical trimming with the scissors tips. I can't figure out how it works. Thank you. How far in do you stick the scissor tips? Don't they just kinda slip in between the strands of hair?????
 

sonnyjane

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azstonie|1439527795|3914371 said:
sonnyjane|1439523810|3914359 said:
Yup. I have long, wavy hair and cut it exactly the same way your unicorn does lol. I haven't had a professional haircut in 16 years. I've even done bangs and short chops (taking more than a foot of length off) several times. Just start slow. The most important tip is what you saw on the video - trim VERTICALLY! If you cut straight across it doesn't look natural. And to answer your question, I always cut dry and try to do it over a trash can because you WILL get hair all over the place, even when you're careful. I use regular ole scissors but obviously ones specifically for hair would be good.

Sonnyjane, please expand regarding the vertical trimming with the scissors tips. I can't figure out how it works. Thank you. How far in do you stick the scissor tips? Don't they just kinda slip in between the strands of hair?????

I go up into it about an inch or two. Once you start doing it you'll see how it does actually take length off. This isn't a picture of me, but it's a picture showing what it looks like when I make the snip. If I'm cutting off a lot (as in other than just ends) then I just chop it off straight across in the two side ponytails your "unicorn" mentioned about two inches longer than what I actually want, then I go back and do the vertical cuts to even it out.
foa1a6yhfpthacq.jpg
 

missy

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sonnyjane

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The fact that my hair is long and wavy means it's quite forgiving. I don't think I'd be able to pull off a short, angular cut by myself.
 

House Cat

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:appl: :appl: :appl: @ hair unicorn!!

Best phrase ever!

I only cut my bangs. I mess them up half the time and the other half of the time they are gorgeous!
 

Lady_Disdain

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I do. Salons are incredibly uncomfortable for me - too noisy and crowded - so I avoid going as much as possible. With long, wavy hair, it is pretty easy to do it myself.

I used to have a pixie cut, which was really cute. But monthly salon visits were a must so I eventually grew it out.
 

jazzoboe

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Timely topic! I was just noticing yesterday that my ends were looking really sad, but I didn't want to go pay $40+ for a trim, while also risking the stylist taking off more length than I want, since I'm growing my hair long. It's about halfway down my back now so I can pull the ends around to see what I'm doing pretty easily, and I already have a pair of inexpensive hair cutting scissors from sally's that I use for snipping split ends occasionally.

So after seeing this thread this morning I decided to go for it. I just finished trimming about a half inch off. My method and style is a lot like the first link in the previous post-just a very subtle U shape, except I did the vertical cutting to avoid really blunt ends. I think that makes it more forgiving. I also have a bit more shaping up toward my face because I always have more damage there.

My hair is pretty darn straight, so thankfully it's not too tricky. Honestly I really can't tell if it's perfect but it looks good enough for me, so as long as I keep it long I'll probably keep trimming myself. If I decide to cut it shorter or get layers I'll fork over the cash for professional help.
 

azstonie

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sonnyjane|1439529522|3914377 said:
azstonie|1439527795|3914371 said:
sonnyjane|1439523810|3914359 said:
Yup. I have long, wavy hair and cut it exactly the same way your unicorn does lol. I haven't had a professional haircut in 16 years. I've even done bangs and short chops (taking more than a foot of length off) several times. Just start slow. The most important tip is what you saw on the video - trim VERTICALLY! If you cut straight across it doesn't look natural. And to answer your question, I always cut dry and try to do it over a trash can because you WILL get hair all over the place, even when you're careful. I use regular ole scissors but obviously ones specifically for hair would be good.

Sonnyjane, please expand regarding the vertical trimming with the scissors tips. I can't figure out how it works. Thank you. How far in do you stick the scissor tips? Don't they just kinda slip in between the strands of hair?????

I go up into it about an inch or two. Once you start doing it you'll see how it does actually take length off. This isn't a picture of me, but it's a picture showing what it looks like when I make the snip. If I'm cutting off a lot (as in other than just ends) then I just chop it off straight across in the two side ponytails your "unicorn" mentioned about two inches longer than what I actually want, then I go back and do the vertical cuts to even it out.
foa1a6yhfpthacq.jpg

Oooh, thank you for the pic and specifics. That is exactly what the YouTube hair chicks did and I was shocked at how good it looked/finished product. The hair for the no-vertical-cutting-prior-to stopping looked a lot different than the vertical-cuts-prior-to-stopping hair.

Also, the YouTube hair chicks, some did the one-half of hair on each side cut and the others did a little different: They took the hair from just about ear length and above and gathered it all into a ponytail (LOL, a unicorn horn if you will) and brought the ponytail to the midpoint of the forehead/hairline, they used an elastic to gather/hold it, then they cut the end of it as we discussed above. Then they do the bottom hair same way we discussed above. Maybe that is for super thick hair OR if you want layers at two levels on the gradient.
 

telephone89

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Doing the top pony gives you layers. The further forward the pony (ie forehead vs top of head) the more drastic the layers.
 

azstonie

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azstonie

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House Cat|1439568595|3914508 said:
:appl: :appl: :appl: @ hair unicorn!!

Best phrase ever!

I only cut my bangs. I mess them up half the time and the other half of the time they are gorgeous!

LOL, thanks Housie, I also used to have THE MAN UNICORN (aka "Manicorn") but when I married the DH I abandoned that quest as no longer necessary, although I do still appreciate a nice looking, well dressed/well groomed guy :lol:
 

azstonie

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Lady_Disdain|1439569156|3914509 said:
I do. Salons are incredibly uncomfortable for me - too noisy and crowded - so I avoid going as much as possible. With long, wavy hair, it is pretty easy to do it myself.

I used to have a pixie cut, which was really cute. But monthly salon visits were a must so I eventually grew it out.

Same here and they are also HAZARDOUS with the chemicals being mixed and comingled and good God that Brazilian treatment, talk about melt your lungs, hello COPD. I have yet to see the hair salon that looks very clean, frankly.
 

azstonie

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telephone89|1439578886|3914598 said:
Doing the top pony gives you layers. The further forward the pony (ie forehead vs top of head) the more drastic the layers.

Okay, now I know to skip the forehead pony :appl: thank you!
 

azstonie

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jazzoboe|1439569174|3914510 said:
Timely topic! I was just noticing yesterday that my ends were looking really sad, but I didn't want to go pay $40+ for a trim, while also risking the stylist taking off more length than I want, since I'm growing my hair long. It's about halfway down my back now so I can pull the ends around to see what I'm doing pretty easily, and I already have a pair of inexpensive hair cutting scissors from sally's that I use for snipping split ends occasionally.

So after seeing this thread this morning I decided to go for it. I just finished trimming about a half inch off. My method and style is a lot like the first link in the previous post-just a very subtle U shape, except I did the vertical cutting to avoid really blunt ends. I think that makes it more forgiving. I also have a bit more shaping up toward my face because I always have more damage there.

My hair is pretty darn straight, so thankfully it's not too tricky. Honestly I really can't tell if it's perfect but it looks good enough for me, so as long as I keep it long I'll probably keep trimming myself. If I decide to cut it shorter or get layers I'll fork over the cash for professional help.

Thank you for adding your experience and success here, good to know re wanting a subtle U-shape and shaping up toward the face due to damage. I'm going to have damage there too thanks to the ridiculous layers I now have there. How will you handle that shaping by the face?
 

azstonie

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Okay, I felt confident after reading what you guys do and thank you for clearing up questions and giving pics and step-by-steps too.

I grabbed my Tweezerman shears, went into the bathroom and sectioned off the worst portion of the haircut/layers which frames my face on one side. I CUT IT AND IT CAME OUT AWESOME! You wouldn't even know I took off any length, it just looks cleaned up and undamaged and unlayered, its just cut on the gradient and now at least my FACE area looks decent.

(OMG the back, I need some more length back there to really feel like I have enough to work with for the first time.)

Now I can sleep well tonight because even though I'm not happy with my hair, at least my FACE looks better and I know that with time I'm going to have great hair again.

I'm going to print this thread when it goes quiet and put it in my hair binder :appl: :clap:

My heartfelt thanks to all of you who took the time to respond, encourage and teach me how to do this. I will post pics in a year of the cut and the finished product. :read: ;-)
 

azstonie

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missy|1439548937|3914408 said:
Kristie, FWIW since you hair is a little bit wavy/curly cutting it dry is best IMO. Here are 2 links fyi.

http://www.byrdie.com/dry-hair-cutting/slide3

http://www.naturallycurly.com/curlreading/curl-salons/wet-vs-dry-cutting-is-one-damaging/

Sonnyjane, it's amazing you can cut your own hair so well! Thanks for sharing how you do it.

Whoa, Missy, these links are amazing. No wonder my hair hasn't looked good since I got to Arizona (My hairdresser in Anchorage cut it dry!). I printed those off, those are terrific links.

When are you going to cut your own locks, MIssy???? Am I your canary in the hair mines??????
 

azstonie

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Missy, I have always meant to ask you, have you not tried the Devachan salon in your neck of the woods? Its the gold standard for curly/wavy hair like yours/ours...

(Devachan=Lorraine Massey, "The Curly Girl Handbook")
 

telephone89

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That's awesome! I think for basic trims/cuts, you don't really need a professional. I mean, if you want something drastically different or unique then it might be good to goto a salon, but to pay $40+ for a trim when you can easily do at home, psh no way. Glad it came out nicely!
 

iLander

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I have given up on fancy salons :rolleyes: and just go to Great Clips now. I used to pay $200 for a cut now I pay $15 (and tip heavily, since I'm saving so much).

I started doing it because I was waiting outside a grocery store one day, and all these people kept walking by with great hair! Kids, women, men. I followed the crowd and found this Great Clips where all those ladies cut hair all day long. No egos, just lost of experience! I pointed at the oldest stylist there and it worked! It's an extra 4 bucks to get your hair washed so I spring for that, too. :)

If you bring a picture to a Great Clips, they can do it for you. Those ladies are crazy good and you just walk in.

I'm too frightened to cut my own hair. I can barely dye my own hair, I'm pretty sure it's all grey in the back somewhere. :bigsmile:
 

momhappy

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azstonie|1439580124|3914610 said:
Okay, I felt confident after reading what you guys do and thank you for clearing up questions and giving pics and step-by-steps too.

I grabbed my Tweezerman shears, went into the bathroom and sectioned off the worst portion of the haircut/layers which frames my face on one side. I CUT IT AND IT CAME OUT AWESOME! You wouldn't even know I took off any length, it just looks cleaned up and undamaged and unlayered, its just cut on the gradient and now at least my FACE area looks decent.

(OMG the back, I need some more length back there to really feel like I have enough to work with for the first time.)

Now I can sleep well tonight because even though I'm not happy with my hair, at least my FACE looks better and I know that with time I'm going to have great hair again.

I'm going to print this thread when it goes quiet and put it in my hair binder :appl: :clap:

My heartfelt thanks to all of you who took the time to respond, encourage and teach me how to do this. I will post pics in a year of the cut and the finished product. :read: ;-)

That's awesome - glad to hear you seem to be moving in the right direction =)
I have only ever cut my bangs (when I used to have them), but I cut my daughter's hair and I sometimes "shag up" my son's bangs by cutting them vertically. My only piece of advice is to buy some decent beauty shears - a good pair of super-sharp scissors can make all the difference. I purchased a pair at target, so they are not super-high-end, but I only use them on hair and they are plenty sharp.
 

Niel

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jordyonbass|1439525494|3914365 said:
I used to do my own - but then again, a #1 buzzcut for a guy isn't too hard :roll:

I'd think trimming of my gandalf beard would be kinda awkward if someone else did it :lol:

Number 4 for a lady isnt too hard either :lol:

So yes I do my own.
 

Niel

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iLander|1439582904|3914632 said:
I have given up on fancy salons :rolleyes: and just go to Great Clips now. I used to pay $200 for a cut now I pay $15 (and tip heavily, since I'm saving so much).

I started doing it because I was waiting outside a grocery store one day, and all these people kept walking by with great hair! Kids, women, men. I followed the crowd and found this Great Clips where all those ladies cut hair all day long. No egos, just lost of experience! I pointed at the oldest stylist there and it worked! It's an extra 4 bucks to get your hair washed so I spring for that, too. :)

If you bring a picture to a Great Clips, they can do it for you. Those ladies are crazy good and you just walk in.

I'm too frightened to cut my own hair. I can barely dye my own hair, I'm pretty sure it's all grey in the back somewhere. :bigsmile:

My sister works at a super cuts (or alike) and a high end salon. More hours = more tips. So I fully believe you get a nice haircut there.
 

jazzoboe

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azstonie, I really just winged it for the angled bits around my face. I'd love for them to catch up with the rest of my length but I just get way too many split ends and broken hairs there. I basically did that part last by taking really small sections at a time and vertical cutting into the ends such the it was angled shorter toward the front. It's far from perfect but it all blends in pretty well. Looks better than damaged ends anyway.
 

TooPatient

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I have done my own in past and will again soon. Most in my family do their own.
I also do DH's curly hair free hand.

"A" just got here at a salon. Her mom took her to where I have taken her. I would have done here too except she starts whining about every haircut less than a month after and I didn't want to be blamed.
The salon charges close to $100 for just wash/cut/dry but they are pretty good.

The times I went to Great Clips were NOT good. "A" went there before she moved in with us and she never had decent looking hair.
Not saying they are all that way. Just varies by location and person.
 

packrat

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I used to have long hair, down to my bra strap, and what that girl does, is what I used to do. I did it for years. I did my bangs myself too-my bangs were about as long as the back of my hair so they were part of the length gradient.
 

missy

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azstonie|1439580298|3914614 said:
missy|1439548937|3914408 said:
Kristie, FWIW since you hair is a little bit wavy/curly cutting it dry is best IMO. Here are 2 links fyi.

http://www.byrdie.com/dry-hair-cutting/slide3

http://www.naturallycurly.com/curlreading/curl-salons/wet-vs-dry-cutting-is-one-damaging/

Sonnyjane, it's amazing you can cut your own hair so well! Thanks for sharing how you do it.

Whoa, Missy, these links are amazing. No wonder my hair hasn't looked good since I got to Arizona (My hairdresser in Anchorage cut it dry!). I printed those off, those are terrific links.

When are you going to cut your own locks, MIssy???? Am I your canary in the hair mines??????

LOL no way am I cutting my locks myself haha. My hair is schizophrenic/bipolar (apologies to all bipolar schizophrenics) and needs a professional.

I have not tried Devachan salon or Ouidad (near us also) but I did try a curly hair salon just a few blocks away and they did a decent job. No I prefer my Tuey though his specialty is straight hair I love him and he does exactly what I want. It took a few years (decade haha) to get there though but I have been going to Tuey for almost 3 decades and it works for me.

Anyway as you know I only get my hair cut twice a year as it is difficult to retain length when one has curly hair so I do the best I can to treat it gently (read no blow dryers and minimal coloring with less harsh products) and I do the best to make the most of my hair as it is. The most one can when one's hair is the (second) bane of one's existence LOL.

YAY for your hair unicorn though girlfriend and woohoo on successfully fixing the cut yourself. You rock Kristie in more ways than one! :appl: :appl: :appl:
 
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