Do you cut your own hair?

[Mezmer]

I’ve got wavy thick hair that is just past my shoulders. I’m starting to wonder if it plausible that I can avoid spending £500 per year getting it cut. One thing that annoys me is that my son can walk into a barbers and get an intricate skin fade done for £15 whilst I have to pay £50 to have a few ends cut off. If anyone is cutting their own hair; support and guidance please! Or, is it a totally no-go? FWIW, I do not like the polished just walked out of a salon/high maintenance expensive look. I would embrace a punky edgy look if i could find the confidence and knew how to achieve it. Thanks!!

I cut my own hair, started during lockdown and just carried on. £60 for a cut and blow dry is just too much.

When my hair was long and curly I cut it myself for years. Would just tip my head forward and cut an inch or so off everything I saw then go upright again and make sure it was even. This really doesn't sound the best way to go but if that worked I'm sure you can do it in a more organised way.

Schedule an appointment then try to cut it a few days before? Cancel if it works, messy bun and make up some ridiculous story if it doesn't?

Mine is dried straight now, can't get away with anything.

I've been cutting and bleaching/colouring my hair for years. Start looking at diy haircuts on YouTube and find some YouTubers that have similar hair to you and take all their different bits of advice.

Honestly, I think it's one of those things better left to the experts. But I'm sure you could find a cheaper expert! Hairdressers that visit you at home are usually 50% cheaper than salons. Often, they're salon-based hairdressers looking to top up their income.

How often are you going to the hairdressers??
I go 2 or 3 times a year, so just over £100 a year.
When I lived abroad, I used to cut it myself for most of the year, then go to a senior stylist each summer in the UK - so probably £65.

I’ve given myself a trim from time to time. I have long hair so I pull it round to the front so it’s easier to do the back. I cut in a full fringe once using a YouTube video and it came out really well! I also regularly dye and highlight my hair and have used different techniques using YouTube. I enjoy it though!

I don’t, but I also get my hair done every 8 weeks so roughly 6 times a year instead of your 10. Could you reduce the frequency of your visits?

I started during lockdown. Watched some YouTube videos and carried on. My hair is fine and dead straight so it's relatively easy.

I did for over a year and it grew lovely and long, just kept doing a ‘dusting’ of the split ends with proper hairdressing scissors. Decided to splash on a hairdresser appointment recently asked for a trim, without warning she cut about 6 inches off and now my hair is short and choppy, I hate it. Charged me £55 and I left crying!

Yes, I haven’t been to a hairdresser in years. I even gave myself a fringe a few years ago.

I did it for a few years and it looked great, some of the cuts I gave myself were way better than hairdressers. If you have thick wavy hair then that’s easy, just do this:

m.youtube.com/watch?v=LakVQeznBJk

Started during lockdown and never gone back. I have short hair and it’s great to get a free haircut every couple of weeks, looks a lot better than when I went to a hairdresser every 6-8 weeks!

Yeah, I've been cutting my own hair for a couple of years. I'm sure any hairdressers who see me have quiet conniptions but who cares? It's hair. It's dead. It always grows back. And I was so, so fed up with throwing all that money at salons and them never doing what I asked!

I have thick wavy hair and find it easy to cut myself. My mum has always done her own hair and does a great job of quite an intricate style - we both have quite full hair.

I started doing mine in my early 40's when I could no longer afford the really nice salon that left me feeling amazing, and shopping around for a few years left me with endless disappointment - I even had one hair dresser tell me that my grey/white hair would never look shiny, bullshit. I think after a decade I've pretty much perfected my cut (and my ability to care for it and make it shiny!). I do a version of the "unicorn" in that I start with that, then I do an extra trim of the back as I prefer a blunter edge. The "unicorn" will look different on different people depending on the shape of your head and nape of the neck hairline, min'es quite oval so make a deep U shape in the back that I square off.

Lots of good advice above but my main tip is invest some money in proper hairdressing scissors and only ever use them to cut hair.

Secondly think and look carefully before every snip. Make sure you take off less than you think at first. I have curly hair and it's fairly easy to cut myself if I do it "curl by curl" - see Marisa's curls on YouTube. If your hair is more wavy than curly this would still work (mine is wavy in places and curly in places).

I wouldn't attempt a "straight" cut myself - although it can be done I'd be worried about getting the back right. There's a Brad Mondo tutorial for DIY covid cuts that also might help (should be on YouTube) but haven't used it myself.

I did quite a few times even before lockdown then I watched a lockdown tutorial, got too big for my boots and fucked it up. Still growing out my fuck up and it's not going to look how I want it for a few years tbh. I don't recommend.

The Brad mondo is the one I failed to follow. No shade to Brad but I don't recommend.

Some barbers will cut women’s hair for a fraction of what a hairdresser charges.

Thanks for all you messages. Am reading them all with interest!

For the record I do have a mobile HD that comes to me and charges £44 every seven weeks. I have used her for years. I did used to go to a salon until the senior stylist I booked with didn’t turn up one appointment and her replacement gave me a horrible mullet and ruined years of hair growing. I vowed never to let any random touch my hair again after that as my hair grows really slowly. Now however I just find this current lady cuts hardly anything off and my split ends are horrendous. She isn’t helping me keep it healthy and I dread the whole shenanigans of washing it over the bath and having her in! I looked at prices of the local salon and it was £57 for a junior stylist!! I just feel the whole thing is an expensive chore. If I could take it ‘in house’ as it were I would at least have some control. And of course if I don’t practice I will never learn! But I am wary of some of your stories.

Oh and what is a unicorn?

Oh don’t worry I have got it. I think it’s just what I need.

Would it be easy to cut this yourself?

I started cutting mine during lockdown and have kept on doing it as it's no worse than when I went to the hairdresser.

I have shoulder length, wavy/curly hair so it hides anything uneven, I'd probably be much less enthusiastic if it was straight.

I just section it into 3 layers and take off a finger width of hair. Then go back and try and make sure each layer is even on both sides. It is always followed by a few days of snipping off anything that still annoys me.

Give it a go, how bad can it be?

OP how about getting that style done professionally and then trimming it yourself when it needs doing?

£44 every 7 weeks is more like £350 a year.
Why not spread it out to every 10 weeks, and ask her to cut off a bit more.