Cut Your Own Hair, or Someone Else's, and SAVE MONEY!

Enjoy a stylish haircut along with the joy of knowing you did it yourself AND saved money! Read on for a simple but effective secret tip.

Everyone knows how expensive a trip to the barbershop or beauty salon can be. And sometimes does it seem that your hair grows like weeds? Making "every three weeks" appointments commonplace.

In these trying times, when not spending a few dollars can mean the difference in whether or not you eat so well this week, every little money-saving device helps. So, pocketing that money you would spend on haircuts could really add up. And you do not have to be a trained stylist. Perhaps just visit the stylist occasionally for a good overall cut and style.

Get Started

While you don't have to splurge on top-of-the-line barber shears, start with a good pair of scissors, preferably made for hair. A small pair that fits well in your hand and allows you to manipulate the blades smoothly will make your task more enjoyable. And, if you cut a friend or family member's hair, it CAN be a mutually enjoyable experience.

Various hair types present different types of challenges or advantages. Wavy or curly hair with some thickness is more forgiving. A mis-snip here or there might not show up as glaringly. Thin or fine hair more likely will show the line of scissor cuts, and magnify mistakes, but is less time consuming to cut. Just take your time and a little care and you will soon become comfortable with the differences.

Many people prefer hair kept wet while cutting. My preference is always hair that is dry, and if possible, combed into a semblance of how your hair normally looks when styled. Hair does not have to be freshly washed, as long as it is not super oily - or smashed totally out of shape, like from a cap or sleeping.

On your own hair, begin by facing the mirror. If you want to keep the style you already have, just follow the contours of your existing cut as much as possible. But, for a new style, cut in lengths, your own hair or someone else's, the process will be mostly the same. Begin at the crown, toward the back of your head. It is not necessary to painstakingly part and pin up sections of hair. Pick up a narrow swath of hair, perhaps one inch or so wide, and comb or finger-comb the strands straight up with the length of hair you wish to cut extending beyond the flat of your fingers.

Using your fingers as a guide, cut through the width of hair.

A critical point to remember here: Try to cut at an angle that is not horizontal to your skull. Cutting straight across your head, particularly on fine or straight hair, exposes a visible line made by the scissors. Try to cut the strands from top to bottom of your head, in a vertical or slanted cut.

Now, HERE IS THE SECRET for a professional-looking, uniform cut.

Pick up the cut strands, along with a new swath of uncut hair. You will easily see the difference in the two lengths.

Simple Secret Step - Notice Different Lengths

As you work on the back of your own head, where you cannot see, use a hand mirror with the larger mirror to check results. Look in the mirror as you gather up a swath of hair, put down the hand mirror, pull the hair out to the side, using your fingers still as a guide, and cut as before, vertically. If the back of your hair is too short to pull to the side, turn your back to the mirror, use the hand mirror, and as you watch, use the point of the scissors to pick up tiny amounts and snip just the tips. Keep checking with the hand mirror, combing as necessary, and snipping.

On your partner's hair, just as with your own, use your fingers as much as you can to measure the cuts. But, on extremely short sections of hair, such as over the ears, (taking extra care not to snip the extremely sensitive flesh of ears), use the tips of the scissors as described above.

For long hair that is to be cut straight across, or for bangs, comb the hair straight, this time make a horizontal cut, comb again and clip the tips until a straight line is achieved. For hair to be cut straight across in the back, use the hand mirror, making the horizontal cut, as you watch.

The process of matching uncut longer strands to shorter cut strands works with long or short hair.

Believe it or not, each cut does not need to be surgically precise. A few tiny swaths of hair that are slightly different lengths, helps to obscure scissor marks. Twisting strands of hair here and there before you cut actually lends itself to achieving deliberately varied lengths.

When you are finished, finger-comb and fluff your hair to see if there are any small adjustments you need to make.

That's it! You've done it!

If you are hesitant to jump into an entire haircut, practice with just trims, mimicking the style you already have. And remember….. if you can be a little bit daring…..

IT WILL GROW BACK!!!