Cut Your Own Hair?

[redbelliedhound]

Any of you ladies cut your own hair? 
It seems like the prices consistently rise for a haircut and I cringe at the idea of spending $50.  The last one I purchased was at a beauty school from a girl I know.  The cut cost $8 and I tipped her $22 since I was already getting a super cheap cut and because I wanted to contribute to her success.  She also spent almost two hours on my hair...so it seemed reasonable. 
I tried to cut my own hair this morning.  (I have an aline style.)  So far it's looking pretty bad, but if it saves me $200-$600 a year it seems worth it to learn.  Appearance is pretty important at my current job, so hopefully I don't muck it up too bad. 

[Carl]

Any of you ladies cut your own hair? 
It seems like the prices consistently rise for a haircut and I cringe at the idea of spending $50.  The last one I purchased was at a beauty school from a girl I know.  The cut cost $8 and I tipped her $22 since I was already getting a super cheap cut and because I wanted to contribute to her success.  She also spent almost two hours on my hair...so it seemed reasonable. 
I tried to cut my own hair this morning.  (I have an aline style.)  So far it's looking pretty bad, but if it saves me $200-$600 a year it seems worth it to learn.  Appearance is pretty important at my current job, so hopefully I don't muck it up too bad.

I'm NOT a lady...but a big manly man. I use a barber set (electric) and a mirror to do my own hair because I just don't get out and also don't have the mony to buy a happy meal,let alone a hair cut.

[Cedar]

I used to all the time, but then again I never saw anyone I needed to impress. Scissors out of the glovebox and cut in the rear view mirror at the fairgrounds, only as I could not see to drive was the last time I cut my hair, which was in July?

But... I now go to a haircutters school. It costs $7 to have my hair washed, cut and styled. $5 on certain days of the week. They do a professional job, and have teachers supervising them. At this school they do everything from hairstyling, colouring, beards, men, children, makeup, pedicures, manicures.. at too reasonable of prices.

Cedar - who is not cutting her own hair anymore.

[David in MN]

Another guy... sorry. I have cut my hair for years but...

I have cut my wife's hair in the past. She would ask me to trim it straight to save between trips to the salon. Tell any guy who worked construction to take 1/2" off and make sure it's level...

These days she's gotten very savvy with groupon and crowdcut offers from salons around the area. I know for her a haircut isn't really about a haircut. It's the feeling of being taken care of. The ability to relax. The serenity I get from gardening or running a bandsaw she gets from a shampoo and cut. Sometimes with the bargains available a little "me time" is good.

[Oil Lady]

last time i did so i was 8 years old. never again.

[strangetanks]

I actually have a Flobee from back in the 70's.  Use it all the time on my 2 year old, sometimes on myself when I get a bit too shaggy.

Works great and has some pretty good comedy value.

[Carl]

last time i did so i was 8 years old. never again.

Looks like it grew back in OK../.

[endurance]

sorry, only one thing comes to mind for me, The Suck Kut.

[LibertyBelle]

I haven't set foot in a salon in years, mostly because I can't tolerate the chemical smells.  Plus, I can't use the hair wash basins due to a neck injury.  While I used to cut my own hair on a regular basis, now I've taken to letting it grow and I either pile it up or pull it back in a pony tail.  Every once in a while I'll trim the ends (DD checks the back to make sure it's even), but that's it.  Just did hubby's this evening ("cop" cut) and it looks every bit as good as the $20 cut they do at the salon.  DD usually does her own hair as well, but the last couple of times she's went to a salon and had it cut and coloured...and that was only because her grandmother was footing the bill.

[Aniera]

So I certainly am not brave enough to cut my own hair, especially since I need some layering otherwise a straight cut at one length makes me look like a goomba (gets poofy on the bottom, not a good look). However, my mom has been successfully cutting and dying her hair for years now. She has finer hair than I do so she uses a hand mirror and a large bathroom mirror to mostly just cut it straight across with a little angle in the front. Maybe because I am used to it, but I think it looks fine and not what you would expect from her doing her own hair.

[busymomx3]

I tried cutting my 3yo's bangs... yeah I'm not great but it was a good first go.  I did take her to have the back trimmed but she did about as good on the bangs as I did.  So I won't bother paying for that again.  Good luck.  I think it's a learning thing.

[Carl]

I tried cutting my 3yo's bangs... yeah I'm not great but it was a good first go.  I did take her to have the back trimmed but she did about as good on the bangs as I did.  So I won't bother paying for that again.  Good luck.  I think it's a learning thing.

With todays hairstyles, a mohawk will not look like a mistake....just go for it while she is too young to care and you will get good at it.

[RitaRose1945]

I found a hair stylist that I would move across the country for.  I've got some real horror stories when other people cut my hair, including (but not limited to) one woman who kept cutting, standing back and looking, cutting a little more, then turning to the receptionist and saying "I never was very good at cutting the front."

I can't make this stuff up.

My stylist does a really good job, but I have trouble affording either the time or the money to go all the time.  I keep my hair long with bangs, so I just trim the bangs myself (brush them up vertical from the forehead, then cut straight across - you can always cut more if it's not enough, but you can't glue it back on) and let the rest grow long.  Then I have my stylist cut the whole thing 2 or 3 times a year.

[AutumnDawn]

I use a CreaClip to cut my own hair. Here's a link: http://creaproducts.com/store/

I do my hair in the long-layered cut and I cut my daughter's as a bob. My boys get the standard 1 inch layers with a good trim around the ears and the back of the neck.

I highly recommend it.

[LvsChant]

I cut my own hair all the time (front and sides that I can easily see). However, I also have a deal with a friend and we swap cuts for each other. I cut her hair and she cuts the back part that I can't easily see on mine. I typically like my own work better on the front and sides, so that is how we typically do it. I generally give myself a trim on the front part and then she blends in the back with what I have done...

Haven't paid for a haircut in a very long time

And... I also give her and my Mom perms when needed and we help each other color our hair, too. This is really pretty easy stuff.

[AvenueQ]

I use a CreaClip to cut my own hair. Here's a link: http://creaproducts.com/store/

I do my hair in the long-layered cut and I cut my daughter's as a bob. My boys get the standard 1 inch layers with a good trim around the ears and the back of the neck.

I highly recommend it.

How long did it take you to get proficient with this? Any horrific disasters at first?

[AutumnDawn]

How long did it take you to get proficient with this? Any horrific disasters at first?

Biggest learning curve was getting used to the textured cutting but it really helps soften the cut. Usually when people mess up a cut, it's because they cut too much, or they cut some really hard lines. The built-in spirit level helps keep your cut even from side to side and my cut came out just like the videos the first time.

The bob cut can leave some of those hard lines if you don't tip the bottom of the clip down and in toward the neck. You have to do that to make the top layer of hair a bit longer than the under-layers. Sometimes you need to re-trim the neck on the bob cut, but it's simple to do.

So far, no disasters.

[TiredOldGrunt]

Ive cut my own for the last 15 or more years. At $10 a week (average?), Ive saved myself over $7,800!

I also cut my wife's hare on request. 

TOG

[TexDaddy]

[Carl]

Yep Tex Daddy,that's what I was thinkin' too.

[raeellis]

I cut my own hair for several years then decided to just let it grow.  It's down to my waist now so might have to do something sooner or later

[Cryptozoic]

I'm a man.  Have a sister who cuts my hair.  Had professional training so is good at it.
I have electric clippers so trim my own beard.
If all fails, I can drop $20 at Supercuts, (that includes a good tip) and that's good enough for me.
 I cut my own once but that was to give myself a crew cut in 2002.  That's about my skill level.
At the time I was going for low maintenance before an adventure.

[oclisa]

Okay, most of you will roll your eyes...but I swear it works.
If you have longish hair, bend over until you can touch your toes, put your hair in a pony tail and get out your sharpest hair scissors. Just cut that pony tail off at an inch, two, three....as appropriate for your hair length and the length you want it (or at least think so). I now have shorter hair but when my hair was long (and getting scraggly) but I wanted to keep it long and looking good, this is what I did. It adds a fullness and some layering. Many women asked me "Who is your hairdresser?" This is true!  Even my hair-snob daughter thought my new cut looked great until I told her where I got it. LOL

[alpacamade]

Why are we cutting the hair again? Sorry, Hi, I am new & probably should have posted that fact somewhere else.
Moving along...
I had long hair, I cut it to give it to a girlfriend who was well into Female Pattern Baldness so she could have a wig made.
O no, I did not like the look of short hair!     (translation: way too b(%5^, ummm un-feminine for me)
Now I have three-ish feet of hair and forget to go get it trimmed every week.
So back to the original question, why are we cutting the hair again?

[LvsChant]

@alpacamade: Sounds like you have beautiful hair...

Many of us cut our own hair as a means of being frugal. My hair grows very quickly, so if I had to keep my hair trimmed by going to have it done professionally, it would be quite an extra expense... by doing it myself, I am a bit more self-reliant and save some $$'s, too. I used to keep my hair about waist-length... but my very blunt (and probably correct) sister told me that it made me look older than I am. At her suggestion, I began cutting my hair in a shoulder-length layered style. It is a bit more becoming and does make me look a bit younger. It is also less work to care for.

That being said... I don't think you can really characterize all short hairstyles as un-feminine... differences in taste and style make the world go around

[RitaRose1945]

My hair grows very quickly, so if I had to keep my hair trimmed by going to have it done professionally, it would be quite an extra expense... by doing it myself, I am a bit more self-reliant and save some $$'s, too.

Same here.  Once you include the tip, it's $60 for me to get my hair cut right because I have a LOT of very fine hair and some pretty awful experiences with getting it done cheaper.  I have actually had a stylist finish cutting it and say "You know, I never really was very good at cutting the front."  That kind of bad experience, multiple times.  So I get it done about twice a year by a woman I trust and trim it myself in between.

[surfivor]

 I don't know why some place doesn't have hot looking women who cut hair. Seems like a business idea for someone ? They have hooters where certain women are waitresses .. I sometimes feel tempted to look in the window of hair salons and see who is cutting hair.

 Too bad so many people give mediocre haircuts. I have been going to the same place for years. I don't always cut my hair quite as short as alot of guys, but I have to keep it kind of shorter for business reasons. So much for discrimination, if you are a guy and your hair is kind of long, your chances of getting hired go way down. 

[RitaRose1945]

I don't always cut my hair quite as short as alot of guys, but I have to keep it kind of shorter for business reasons. So much for discrimination, if you are a guy and your hair is kind of long, your chances of getting hired go way down.

Try working in academia.  We actually think long hair makes you smarter.

[alpacamade]

@alpacamade: Sounds like you have beautiful hair...

Thank you

That being said... I don't think you can really characterize all short hairstyles as un-feminine... differences in taste and style make the world go around  

I may not have worded my comment regarding my short hair as concisely as I could have.  When I took the plunge on behalf
of my friend's prospective wig, I did not realize what a dramatic difference the image staring back at me would be. I had hoped
for a sassy, tousled Nellie Forbush mop. However, what I actually ended up with was un-feminine in my own eyes.
No slam on the gal who cut my hair either, she did a great job!
------------------------------------------
--------------
Mary Martin played Nellie Forbush in Rogers & Hammerstein's "South Pacific."
GO NAVY!

[LvsChant]

Ah... you went from very long to very, very short on a recent cut of your own hair? That kind of dramatic change can be a bit jarring.