We’ve been in some level of staying home for ten months now, and many of us are dealing with hair that is begging to be cut. I have toyed with the idea of cutting my own hair for a few months now, and I finally took the plunge this weekend. Should you cut your own hair at home? The answer is: maybe.
First of all, I want to say that I’m not advocating for cutting your own hair. Do this at your own risk! I will show you my own before and after, but also know that I am prepared to immediately hand this process back to the professionals as soon as it is safe to do so. Just like I will welcome the return of pedicures, I have no interest in replacing my stylist, but the pandemic made me do it!
Questions to ask yourself before you cut your hair.
Do you have a backup plan? Wendy asked me this and the answer was NOPE. I don’t know what I planned to do if things went sideways. I was either convinced that it would be fine, or I was so tired of my long scraggly locks that I didn’t care!
How upset will you be if things don’t go the right way? Again, I had no backup plan. Salons are supposed to be closed here and any that are open are open against government regulations, so it’s not like I can pop down to my stylist for a fix. How invested are you in your hair? How badly will you feel if mess this up?
Megan’s Haircut Journey – Before and After!
Tutorials to watch before you cut your own hair.
I would highly recommend watching several hair cutting tutorials before picking up a pair of scissors. I was sent several videos that other friends had used to guide their own home trims and that was really helpful. In the end I watched several different methods and chose the one that seemed the most do-able to me.
Many of the home haircut tutorials include steps for adding in layers. While I would always have a stylist add some long layers to help keep my hair from feeling heavy, I did not trust my own ability to layer my hair, beyond some minimal face-framing layers. I kept watching videos until I found a tutorial that I was comfortable with replicating.
Ultimately I went with this tutorial from Beauty by DN.
Other tutorials I considered:
Brad Mondo’s tutorial has over 5 million views but, while touted as a simple tutorial, it also seemed very easy to mess up. Pass.
I strongly considered this method from Pick Up Limes, which is very similar to the method used by Beauty by DN above, but ultimately the layering scared me.
Supplies you need to cut your hair at home
Do not use your kitchen scissors. Please. Hair cutting scissors are inexpensive and will do a much better job. Beyond that, you likely have the rest of the supplies you’ll need at home. You’ll want to have a comb, hair clips or ties, and a spray bottle if you plan to cut your hair while it’s wet.
Tips for DIY Haircut success
Start small. Okay, yes I cut about five inches off of my hair and it was fine. I had a ton of length to work with, and that still left me with long hair. (Real talk: I deeply felt like I needed a CHANGE. I wouldn’t have been happy with a trim.) My recommendation is not to go drastic, but to aim for a trim. See how that goes. If you feel comfortable, then by all means step it up next time. Because once you’ve gone shorter than you would have liked, there’s no going back until it grows out!
Good luck! Tag us on Instagram if you try it!
