so would cutting my own hair be a bad idea?

[1littlebit]

i am very tempted to do this. my hair is down past my bra strap almost to my elbows and i really need a trim. my main reasons for wanting to do this myself are i have no desire to take DS (15 mos) to the haircuttery with me, i dont really want to spend the money, and for some reason when i go to a salon to get a trim i always end up with my hair up to my ears.

my hair is kind of fine and i dont have a whole bunch of it.. its mostly strait .... there might be a wave or two in it.. this could be the pony tail bumps though so would i be able to trim it myself? it doesnt seem terribly hard but then i worry that it must be harder then it looks or people wouldn't need to go to the salon to get it trimmed.

soooo thoughts... and erm perhaps instructions if you have them!

[NicaG]

could your dp do it for you? Or a friend? Seems like it would be pretty easy for someone else to cut it straight across, but hard to do it yourself.

[Ruthla]

I voted "yes i do but i my way probably wont work for you "

I trim my own hair- but I'm not sure if my method will work for you or not. A VERY big detail here is that I always cover my hair for religious reasons. I only uncover it in my own home (and then only at times when I'd be in pjs anyway- not when I may need to answer the doorbell) or during medical appointments, if needed. For example, I took off my hat (with a brim) during my eye exam today, and when getting chiropractic adjustments. I don't walk around in public with my hair showing. So, I don't really care if it comes out perfectly even or not- I simply want to get rid of the split ends. Additionally, I'm not comfortable uncovering my hair in a unisex hair salon, and I don't know of any "ladies' only" haircutters around here. I could ask one of my daughters to cut it for me, but I find it easier and quicker to just do it myself.

What I do is pull all my hair over one shoulder and trim off the split ends- usually about half an inch to an inch. then I pull all my hair over the other shoulder and do it again- as the hair falls differently over each shoulder- when cutting the right side, I cut shorter on the right and longer on the left, and vice versa over the left side. (Obviously my hair is well brushed and NOT in a ponytail when I do this.)

If you always keep your hair in a ponytail, and don't really care if the bottom isn't perfectly straight, then this method might work for you. But there IS the risk that you'll hate the results and a hairdresser will end up taking off even more hair to even it out.

[Sailor]

I get my hair cut twice a year, at the local hair cutting school. It's like $5.00 for me. And the person, at the very least, has basic training and the right pair of scissors.

I would go in that direction before trying it out yourself.

I used to do this myself, but I was NOT good at it. I sucked. I wound up wearing my hair up all the time, and whenever I let it down, I just didn't feel good about myself. I think it's important to get a hair cut that feels good/attractive to you. I think those boosts of feeling good are important. It might seem like a small thing, but the small good feelings add up!

My haircut isn't anything fancy, but it's easy to maintain and I can leave it down while feeling good about it.

So, unless you know how to cut hair or are gifted naturally in this area - I wouldn't do it.

[1littlebit]

thanks for the responses. a bit OT but ruthla thats a good point about the ladies salons how on earth do women who cover their hair get their hair cut at a salon? perhaps they should have certain womens only days or something.

anyways i actually cover my hair my most of the time, not a religious thing.. just sort of happened.. i think the scarves are pretty and DS was a hair puller: and i pretty much never wear it down it annoys the bejeezuz out of me

sailor- so am i going to have to actually try to find out if i am good or not? b/c i can see that going bad i suppose i can go to the salon and have them fix it if i mess it up to much.

[Ruthla]

Well, when I lived in Baltimore, there were a few women who had salons in their homes (usually the basement or a converted garage) for women only, with no windows to the outside. Usually they styled hair AND wigs, as many Orthodox Jewish women cover their hair with wigs at least part of the time. Plus, many of the fancy wig stores cut women's hair as well, but those tended to be more expensive than the WOHMs who were just getting a little extra income by cutting hair a few hours a week.

I could probably find a similar service on Long Island if I went to one of the larger Orthodox communities (one's about half an hour away and another is about 40 minutes away in another direction), and there just might be a lady in the area who cuts hair as a side business, but I haven't seeked one out. Why should I spend the money?

[1littlebit]

did you by any chance live around pikesville/ owings mills? we used to live there with my best friend... lots of people there covered their hair!

[puddle]

My hair is long, and I've cut it myself for around 15 years. I almost always wear it up, so I don't really care how even I get it. When my hair is wet, I part it down the middle all the way, then bring both sides to the front. I hold them together and just snip it straight across. That makes the hair a little shorter in front and longer in back, which is how I prefer it. If I wanted it straight across, I would make DH do it. He has longish hair too (down to his shoulders) and I've cut it since we got married. It never ends up even because he wiggles and squirms and won't sit still and won't give me a chance to even it out.

[jimblejamble]

No. I cut my bangs once and then a couple years later thought I'd go "pixie style", figuring it'd be easy. Yeah...looked like I got attacked by tree trimmers. I do not recommend cutting your own hair!

[Whistler]

I cut my own hair and have done several styles from layers to a straight-across trim of the ends.

I say go for it!

[mk12]

I've been cutting my own bangs for as long as I can remember, and some times I cut the rest of it too. I usually like it better than when I've had professionals cut it. Good sharp hair cutting scissors are important.

[sugareemoma]

I just got a huge wad of gum stuck in my hair on the bus. Someone stuck it on the handle of the chair behind me & I didn't notice it there when I sat down. Vnyway it baked in from the sun so there was no other way to remove it. I just lost about three inches of hair & it looks aweful! Oh well, at least the gum didn't get on my diddymos ruck straps.

[Siennaflower]

I've done it in the past following this method and had decent results. I wore my hair up a lot back then though so it didn't matter it if was perfect.

[katiesk]

i have long hair and i have cut it myself for ages. it is incredibly hard to explain how via typing...(i have been sitting here for like 5 mins trying to type it out.) it's easy...but you have to know how!

[loon13]

Since your hair is long enough, I think you can try cutting it yourself. I would just cut small, small amounts to start with. It's always easier to go back later and cut more.

There are lots of youtube videos that demonstrate how to cut hair. And there are some threads and articles at The Long Hair Community.

Here's one just for trimming the edges either straight across, u-shape or v-shape.
Feye's Hair Trimming
(ETA: this is the same method Siennaflower linked above)

I do trim my hair using the above methods but only because it is now long enough to do so. When it was not long enough to pull the ends forward, I always had it cut. DH was not willing to try to cut it for me.
I'm never happy with how stylists cut my hair, since it's wavy/curly. If I found one I liked, I would stick with her, but no luck yet. So I just do it myself.

[ecoteat]

I was going to post this link:

Originally Posted by loon13

Here's one just for trimming the edges either straight across, u-shape or v-shape.
Feye's Hair Trimming

I've done this a few times and it's worked fine. My hair is the same length as yours, but really thick.