Cutting Your Own Hair

How I began cutting my own hair

I remember many years ago, I wanted this haircut- it was the same as a girl on tv. It was longer on the top and sort of shorter around the neck and it looked so good on her. I had been going to the same stylist for a while and he always gave me very good haircuts.

I had never had this cut before, but I was confident he could pull it off for me…..

It was a disaster!! About halfway through the haircut- we realized seemingly at the same moment- though in silent horror- that the shape of my head did NOT work with that haircut.

My skull sort of curves outward more in the back of my head and then comes in, which I didn’t really even realize until this particular day. So, when you pair longer hair on top- which is already extremely and naturally curly/wavy with a head shape that curves more in at the bottom- it accentuates it, in the worst way possible.

I learned a valuable lesson that day. Just because a hairstyle works on someone else, does not mean it will work on me.

The only way the stylist could fix it was to almost cut all of my hair off except the front and a section of the back. It essentially was almost like an undercut that I had NOT wanted, but had no choice but to have. As it grew out, I was brave enough to learn techniques of cutting hair to help blend it in to itself so that it didn’t look so bad while it grew.

Through this process, I became more confident in cutting my hair.

Avoiding bad haircuts

Unfortunately, this is not the only time I had a horror of an experience getting my hair done. And I’m not blaming my stylist- he was trying to give me what I asked for, and there have been other times where the same was true, but it just didn’t work out.

I tried another stylist after that, and that worked for a while, until I moved away and eventually got a terrible haircut there too, which I also had to correct once I got home.

My hair is is very unique I feel, and it is much thicker than most. I’ve had many people mess it up over the years.

I know my own hair best

What I’ve finally decided, is that after years of experience- my entire life, with my particular head of hair-I know my own hair best.

Also, haircuts are expensive, and when you have long, thick hair particularly, they take a long time. It’s taken hours for me to get my hair done. Typically, because it takes so long for people to cut and style my hair, they underestimate the time it takes and then the whole schedule is thrown off for them etc.

On the other hand, when I cut my own hair. I can take my time deciding how I want it cut. I can test out different ideas. I can trim it up at any time I need too. I can do it at a time that’s convenient for me- like at night after the kids are in the bed, for example.

How I learned to cut my own hair

Once I finally decided to just take the time to learn how to do full haircuts for myself, I began watching videos online to teach me. I found this hairstylist who teaches other stylists how to cut hair. Even though his videos weren’t meant to teach people cutting their own hair, I learned from him and adapted the techniques he does for clients for me to do them on my own head.

This is the video, by The Salon Guy, that I learned from and refer back to when I cut my own hair.

I liked the way the haircut turned out that I saw him do and I basically just keep using the techniques I learned then to cut my hair again each time. It’s not been probably about 10 years that I’ve been cutting my own hair.

Of course, you may prefer a different style, and I suggest that you just search for a video that matches what you’re looking for. I recommend looking for a video made by a professional and really taking your time to learn by carefully watching as many times as necessary. Also, it’s important that you are doing your best when attempting to cut your hair.

If you don’t truly do your best, you may mess up your hair and be scared to try again. On the flip side, don’t be so worried about messing up that you don’t try at all. It is just hair, and it grows back. You may want to try with longer styles, and slowly cut off more and more as needed until you reach your desired cut, rather than just chopping off a ton all at once. Take your time. No rush.

Tools to use when cutting your own hair