Have you ever cut your own hair?

[janinegirly]

This falls into the "totally random question" category but I''m curious, has anyone done it and is it hard? I have a very simple cut...back, bangs that''s it! Yet they often mess it up or don''t cut enough and then charge me $70! Not seriously considering doing it myself (yet.haha), but made me wonder how hard it really is!

 

[kenny]

Using one mirror reverses the motion.
This is hard to adjust to.
Using two mirrors reverses it twice, which eliminates the problem.

I suspect this would be a zillion times easier if you had good light and a way to easily move those two mirrors around so you could see what you are doing.

I cut my own hair but I'm a guy with a buzz cut.

 

[Strawdermangrl]

I cut my own bangs once. I was 12. Please focus on the "once" part of that statement.

I was trying to make them "even" and every snip was supposed to be the last but by the time I had them "even" I had no bangs and was left with a spiky fringy thing.

Kudos to those who can do it correctly, I trust my hair lady and love her for the fact that not once have I left with a "fringe".

 

[Ara Ann]

I cut my own hair!

I have done it for years, for the reasons Janine mentioned. I have done short cuts, long layers, you name it. Right now my hair is longer and straight with some side layers and longish bangs. It''s fairly easy to maintain myself! I HATE paying to have a messy/chop job done and I find myself re-doing what I had paid someone else to do!


My MIL does her own hair too...she got it cut fairly short recently and it''s naturally wavy and she had some uneven layers after her hairdresser had done it... she knows her own hair better than a hairdresser, so she does it on her own now and it looks great.


I cut my sons hair too! They haven''t gone to a shop in years! Comes in handy.

 

[LilyKat]

Yes. It was a horrible, horrible mistake.

It''s really harder than it looks. If you''re not happy with your current hairdresser, I''d look elsewhere (maybe take recommendations from friends with good hair?), or go for a less expensive place, rather than do it yourself. Seriously.

 

[vc10um]

I''ve done mine before, but only a maintenance trim on the length and the bangs.

Check and see if there are any Aveda, Paul Mitchell, or Redken academies in your area (I''m sure there''s a few companies I''m missing, too). You can go get your hair cut by a student for cheap, and they''re generally watched like hawks by their instructors to make sure they get practice in giving you exactly what you want. Cuts range from $12-$25 based on location and the company, but if you have a relatively low-maintenance cut, I''d highly recommend it!

 

[MonkeyPie]

If you have straight hair it''s easier (I have curly hair), but it is still SO easy to mess up. I would find a good hair lady and have her walk you through it a couple times with two mirrors so you can see what you''re doing.

My grandma cuts her own hair, but it''s boy-short, so she has a lot less to make a mistake with. She''s also in her late 70''s so I think she has had a lot of practice lol.

 

[April20]

I''ve trimmed my bangs a number of times over the years, but never the overall cut. I''d jack that up in a heartbeat. Cutting bangs has never been a big deal to me, though most of the stylists I''ve gone to over the years have offered free bang trims so that people (like me) don''t do it themselves. My hair is longer now and I don''t really have bangs per say, so I''ve quit the home cuts.

 

[dani13]

Hi Janine!!! Got to Zoku in Summit!!! Its a little pricey, but they do a great job!!!! I got my hair cut and colored there in July, and it turned out great! Now I have to make another appt to go back- Im so overdue!!!!

 

[lilyfoot]

Yes, I cut my own hair and have been doing it for years.

I don''t find it hard, I know my hair. I wouldn''t touch anybody else''s hair though.

 

[VRBeauty]

I think broomstick-straight hair (like mine) is actually very hard to cut well -- there are no curls or waves to cover up any missteps! I could go to a chop shop when I was wearing it longer but now that it''s back up above shoulder length, I shell out big bucks for the best cutters. It''s totally worth it to me to have a terrific cut that makes it easier for me to get ready in the morning.

So... cut my own hair? Never!

 

[Smurfysmiles]

I once had a friend give me bangs. We were waiting for a friend to come home before we went out dancing and thought "let''s have a few drinks first so she is stuck being the dd" (yeah we were awesome friends lol i think we all took a cab home that night regardless!) Anyways! That is when I said hey M I really need some bangs to go with my outfit to which she replied OK!! They came out surprisingly good!! Lol

 

[packrat]

I used to. When it was straight and when it was permed. It was all one length tho, so no layers or anything to mess with. When I was little I cut my bangs and managed to give myself a permanent cowlick somehow. Aaaand I got in trouble.

 

[LGK]

I''ve cut it myself for many years. I can count the number of paid haircuts I''ve ever had on my hands. I grew up with my mom cutting my hair, her hair and my dad''s hair, so it just seems to me to be the normal thing- I do my hair and my husband''s hair, he''s never actually paid for a haircut since we got together I don''t think.

If your hair is curly it''s a bit easier- curls hide un-evenness quite well

Just make sure you use sharp scissors, start with your hair wet, and take small bits off at a time. And remember your bangs especially are going to curl under a bit usually- so leave them a bit longer than you might think you want.

I cut my hair every time it gets much longer than down to my bra strap in back, and I do it with long layers and bettie page bangs.

My co-worker who walked into a salon and asked for bettie page bangs got half her hair butchered into a ''70s feather cut, and was on the verge of tears all day. I''ve had my hair screwed up fairly often when I''ve gone to a professional too, so I just... don''t. At least I''m not going to cut a foot off my hair accidentally! (That happened to me once- I asked for long layers and ended up with hair maybe 6 inches long.

)

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Yes, I''ve tried cutting my own hair. Not only around the bottom, but I attempted to make layers. My hair ended up looking like a mesoamerican stepped pyramid.

 

[blackpolkadot]

I''m really bad at cutting my own hair, so I leave that to the pros! I do cut DH''s hair though!

 

[TooPatient]

I cut my own hair. Very straight and very plain so it isn''t too hard. Just trim my bangs to length and the ends of the rest occasionally to avoid split ends.
Not too difficult. I''d be nervous to change my style myself.

I also cut B''s hair almost monthly. His hair is naturally curly.


Since I started cutting B''s hair, he has been getting many compliments on how good it looks.

 

[dianne]

Date: 11/23/2009 4:05:39 PM
Author: SanDiegoLady
Yes, from the time I went through Cosmetology school and became licensed.. only in the last four years have I begun to have my stylist cut my hair. The times I''d gone to see stylists before, I got hack jobs and figured I did a better job on my own. lol Find a stylist through friends you trust! Mine gives my referrals deals on seeing her.

Me, too! Licensed and only worked 3 weeks as a professional. Worked for years out of my kitchen, though, for extra money. Now, I just cut my own hair. I sometimes let a hairdresser do it but I always come right home and recut it. Two weeks ago I went to a new salon for cut and a partial foil. I asked about the foiling at was quoted $70 which I felt was fair. The cut is what I should have asked about...it was $130 when I got to the register so that means $60 for the cut...and I went home and recut it again. It was a good bit longer on one side and there were some sprigs around the bottom that were not cut at all. I know I should have gone back but I''m always afraid if they do that bad and I''m a new customer they should be trying to impress what in the world would they do if I came back for a re-do?!!

Bangs for me are easy....always leave longer than you think they should be and don''t just cut across....take the scissor ends and snip at jagged angles about 1/2 inch from the end to make the ends light and fringy and not just a solid straight cut.

Good luck!

 

[iheartscience]

I used to when I had very short hair and it always looked great if I do say so myself! It was very short, though-I would use the 1" blade cover on clippers to do the sides and back and then I would cut the top myself. I''m also good at cutting bangs, but anything more complicated than that and I''m sure I would screw it up. Now my hair is long and my newest haircut seems complicated so I don''t bother trying!

 

[Burberrygirl]

Omg, not recently.. I''d be so scared I''d mess it up. I did get my hands on some safety scissors when I was five and chopped some of my hair off. My mom freaked out and took me to her stylist the next day who gave me bangs and layers. I have a lot of hair and my mom liked to keep it pretty long when I was little. I guess I got sick of the up keep.. I can''t think of any other reason..

 

[somethingshiny]

I started cutting my own hair when I was about 12. I wasn''t "allowed" to get my hair cut so I did it myself. I cut my own hair until I was 19 and then I got a professional cut really short. While I wore my hair short I always had it professionally done, although I would tidy it up every so often. Now that my hair is longer again I''ll be doing most of the cutting myself.

I have wavy/curly hair so I don''t really have to worry about messing it up too badly. I cut it when it''s either VERY wet (so it hangs straight) or completely dry so I can see where the curls are.

It''s just hair. The worst thing that''ll happen is you''ll go to a stylist to fix a mistake.

I cut DH''s, JT''s, my mom''s, and my friends'' little girls too. Of course it''s nothing fancy, the most I do is layers, but it does save lots of money!

 

[hihowareyou]

I go to a training salon now. $15 vs. $70+ and all the staff are supervised, have to approve the cut with a teacher before any scissors go near hair and any unevenness is fixed up by their teachers before you walk out. The first time I went I was really nervous but I honestly can''t tell the difference between it and the expensive place where I used to go.

 

[Lilac]

When I was around 11 or 12 I went into the bathroom with a pair of scissors and cut one side of my bangs because I didn''t like how that side looked. The result was absolutely awful and I spent the next few weeks lying to friends and family when they asked "HOW in the world did that happen??" - I told them I got a bad haircut from a new hairdresser. Refused to admit to anyone that I actually had done that myself.

I''ve stayed away from scissors since then.

 

[D&T]

yes I have given myself bangs, and have given myself frontal layers to frame my face a few times (when I had medium-short hair length) and looked pretty good, then my hair grew longer and got nervous trying it again

.

 

[Kaleigh]

I can only manage to do my bangs...

 

[Skippy123]

I cut my sisters hair; my poor sister! I saw this Today show program saying if you put tape on the bottom it will act as a guide. It turned out bad!

My poor sister; I paid for a real haircut for her. I have cut my bangs which isn't hard but straight hair can be hard if they aren't bangs.

 

[HopeDream]

I wear my long (bra strap length) hair in an up-do all the time, so I have my mom or my aunt cut a few inches off the bottom every few months.

I have straight single length hair with no bangs so it works out nicely. My mom has sharp scissors and a good eye.

(Thanks mom !!)

Often my BF buzz-cuts his own hair with an electric razor - slowly he''s getting better at it.

 

[marcy]

Yes and I was awful. I do cut my bangs but that is about it.

 

[janinegirly]

Thanks Dani--def will check it out soon!

And thanks to everyone else for the great feedback--it's so interesting and some funny stories too! I've cut my bangs plenty of times..I wear them long and my hair grows fast! I do have super sharp scissors, meant for hair cutting.

Now I wouldn't dare do my own other than the bangs, but I have no time lately and my hair is crazy long so it crossed my mind...probably not a smart thing right before the holidays! I told DH about this (more to give him an idea of how little time I had) and he said he'd do it--I think he's sick of my overgrown hair too, haha.

Dianne, can you describe again how you cut bangs? I always do mine straight across (the times I do do it..). What do you mean by jagged angles?

 

[kama_s]

I cut my bangs alllll the time. The first few times weren't as successful (actually, the first time ever was in kindergarten and i chopped off a good 5 inches on a dare

my mother was mortified. I hoped she wouldn't notice, but ofcourse she did when she tried to pigtail my hair the next morning and didnt get very much to clip up! And to make matters worse, a friend of our family did a HUGE portrait of me - a massive life sized picture on a canvas, and you can see my hair sticking up - I won't ever live that down!), but you get better at it the more you try.

I would definitely NOT recommend cutting your back hair yourself! No amount of mirrors can prevent a mishap!

ETA: I cut jagged angles as well, and not in a perfectly straight line. I like slightly messy bangs.