The Money Mustache Community
Learning, Sharing, and Teaching => Ask a Mustachian => Topic started by: momo5 on May 15, 2014, 04:56:47 PM
-
I'd like to start cutting my own hair. I have long curly hair and I really only get it cut a few times a year. the problem is that most places I've been to have no clue how to manage curls. the one good place I found is $70 per haircut, and now that I've found MMM there is no way I am going back. so I dont want to spend a ton of money, I dont want a cheap awful haircut, but I'm willing to risk a free awful haircut.
anyone have any tips on cutting your own curly hair? I need a trim, which seems straightforward but I have long layers.
-
I cut my own curly hair, although i only have experience with cutting it short (i'm currently growing it out). But in my experience of having long curly hair, it's far more forgiving long than short, so in theory that should, if anything, be easier (in theory!).
I did a fair bit of research through google before jumping in, so that could help. But i'll pass along the main things i've picked up.
Since your curly hair looks completely different when it dries than when it's wet, do not cut it while it's wet! Although, with a grain of salt - i've actually had the most luck cutting it when it's about halfway dry from a shower, that way the wet kind of holds it together and keeps the frizz factor from getting in the way, but it's dry enough that the curl is really showing.
Which brings us to cutting with the curls. Basically, this is the good alternative to a nice, even haircut - because a nice, even (straight-hair-style) haircut will look okay...the day you do it. But as soon as you touch it, or certainly when you wash and dry it again, the curls will completely re-arrange themselves into...usually, a hot mess. So, the basic idea of cutting with the curl is that your hair naturally falls into "chunks" that curl together (for me, they vary from very small (like 1/16" or less) to solid 1/4 or 1/2-inch pieces), and you are focusing on cutting each of these chunks of curl separately so that they hold a...complete curl. Sorry, that's really hard to explain, but your curls will have a pattern (rings, or S's or something), and you want to not cut the pattern in the middle - that's what makes the curls just stick out all over the place - you want to let the curls kind of "finish curling" and cut there.
Sorry, that's a pretty confusing description, but knowing nothing about hair or haircutting, that's the best i can do to explain it. I hope it make a little sense, or at the least it might give you some fodder for a google search =).
The other things i've found helpful:
Remembering that my hair is curly, so while wrong looks awful, "right" is a huge spectrum, because my hair looks different every day - in that respect, it's fairly forgiving of haircuts.
Getting the spouse (or whoever) to help clean up the back. Somehow there's always a hair or two (or an inch) that you miss.
If your cutting it yourself, you can clean it up anytime! No deciding by your budget whether it's "haircut time". Plus, with my curly hair, sometimes it seems like one single curl has grown all out of whack, and all you actually need is to trim the wild hair, not get a full cut.
Hope that helps a bit. (P.S. it will be absolutely terrifying the first time (or 12), but remember that the worst thing that can happen is that you end up going for that professional haircut that you'd have been getting anyway if you hadn't tried).
-
I cut my daughter's hair, which is very curly. I know it's not the same as cutting your own but I do as described above. I cut the layers the same way I do mine (very long) and then we let them hair air dry. Then we clean up the curls so they don't stick up and out (like it said above, let them "finish curling" and no, I have no better way of explaining that) and the pieces that curl together look nice. And some days the curly hair just won't have it and she wears a bun. lol.
I found a really good tutorial for cutting long layers on youtube. I've done it on myself, my sister, my daughter and two coworkers because they loved it! Unfortunately I don't have a link. You might need some help to clean up withe curls in the back but the layering is pretty easy.
-
I think your best bet is to find a friend who might be willing to undertake this for you. Perhaps you know another frugal friend who would be willing to check out the youtube videos and the two of you can swap haircuts or you trade her another favor for the cutting. It's very hard to cut your hair evenly yourself. I work in a salon and hair stylists won't even cut their own hair beyond the occasional bang trim. In the vein of trading services perhaps you could set up a barter with a hair stylist who could help you out a couple of times a year. Perhaps you could swap things like food prep, babysitting, errand running, etc. Just have some clear guidelines up front and it could really work (i.e. one haircut is worth 4 hours of babysitting, etc)
-
Thanks to the OP for starting this thread. I've been wanting to learn to trim my longish curly hair. I have a stylist who is awesome with curly hair, although I try to stretch the time in between (usu 4-5 months) to try to spend less on cuts. My hair is really layered, and my stylist also really thins it out. My problem is that a few months after a cut, it will get heavy in the front and sides, hang in my face, and drive me nuts. I would love to learn to trim even just the top/front and sides to stretch the time even more between pro cuts.
you are focusing on cutting each of these chunks of curl separately so that they hold a...complete curl. Sorry, that's really hard to explain, but your curls will have a pattern (rings, or S's or something), and you want to not cut the pattern in the middle - that's what makes the curls just stick out all over the place - you want to let the curls kind of "finish curling" and cut there.
^Thanks for sharing this. It's makes total sense. I've had haircuts where my curls were cut too short, or in the wrong point on the curl. Some of my curls are really big, so if they are too short, it can only be like half a curl which ends up sticking out. So I understand what you mean by cutting where the curl finishes. I'm going to give it a try next time my hair is feeling overgrown. Thank you for the tips!
-
My hair is more wavy than curly, but I totally get how difficult it is even for the pros to get right. I was always trying different hairdressers until I found one that was great, it cost $58/cut but they were awesome, I limited myself to a couple times a year.
I'm still not up for cutting my own hair yet, but recently I volunteered as a hair model for an apprentice so I got a haircut for free. That could be another option you could look into, if there is such a thing available in your area. It turned out surprisingly good! I think my regular place is still better, and they are also much faster, but for a freebie it was quite fabulous.
-
I think your best bet is to find a friend who might be willing to undertake this for you. Perhaps you know another frugal friend who would be willing to check out the youtube videos and the two of you can swap haircuts or you trade her another favor for the cutting. It's very hard to cut your hair evenly yourself. I work in a salon and hair stylists won't even cut their own hair beyond the occasional bang trim. In the vein of trading services perhaps you could set up a barter with a hair stylist who could help you out a couple of times a year. Perhaps you could swap things like food prep, babysitting, errand running, etc. Just have some clear guidelines up front and it could really work (i.e. one haircut is worth 4 hours of babysitting, etc)
The key to cutting your own hair is to pick a super simple style. The ONLY thing I can do on myself are very long layers. I love to wear a pixie cut sometimes and there is no way I could do that. I bet everyone could do what I do to myself. I can do my hair my hair very long but I also love it very short- for that and all the in between I go to a stylist.