By K W Warburton, The Reluctant Spoonie
Haircuts were the talk of 2020 with many people expressing their ‘right’ to a haircut. As someone who is rarely well enough to go to a salon, I found these protests to be odd and a bit offensive. When you cannot make it to the salon, you have three options: shave it all off, let it grow or cut it yourself. Below are my tips for an easy at-home self haircut using scissors.
For many people who are housebound due to chronic illness, haircuts and maintaining hair are one of the first things to go. You don’t realise the amount of time and energy that go into maintaining hair until you have to choose between brushing your hair or teeth because you don’t have the energy to do both. Many people choose to shave their hair off. I have never been that brave, choosing the ‘let it grow’ option during the first few years of my illness where I did not get my hair cut at all.
These days, I keep my hair long and go for a professional haircut or trim 1-2 times a year. I have been cutting my own fringe (bangs) since I was a teenager. However in 2020 when all the salons were shut, I did find that my hair was looking scraggy after missing its usual trim.
I decided to join the masses an have a go at trimming the rest of my hair. I did not have anywhere to go, so I did not mind if it turned out looking messy. To my surprise, it looked decent. Not salon-quality of course, but the split ends were gone and my curls were back which is all I wanted from my at-home self haircut.
My Tips for an Easy Self Haircut
- Use sharp hairdressing scissors
Not your kitchen scissors! - Cut the hair longer than you want it to be
You can always trim more, but you can add it back. - Keep the ends of the hair within your eye line when cutting
Only cut hair that you can see when you’re doing a self haircut. See point 2 for reasoning. - Always point cut the ends after you cut it
This will give your cut a more professional looking finish. - Dry cut before washing and styling (You can go back and neaten the ends after you’ve dried it)
Cutting your hair when it is dry will help you to see what the final shape will look like. This is especially useful for those with curly hair which will bounce up after drying.
How I cut my hair
My hair type is curly/wavy with the individual strands of hair being coarse. I tried several methods but found that the ‘Unicorn Cut’ worked best for me. I dry cut before washing and styling, Afterwards, I usually go back in with the scissors to neaten any pieces that I missed during the first cut.
The unicorn cut is where you gather all the hair at the front of your head in a ponytail. you then add more hair ties to the ponytail and then you cut off the end section. I usually cut around 1-2 inches off the length using this method. I then part the hair as normal and point-cut the ends to ensure that they are even.
I cut my fringe by sectioning off a triangular portion above my eyes. I cut it straight at the tip of my nose and point-cut the ends to ensure it is straight. By keeping it long, I can push it to the side or clip it back.
That is how I do my easy at-home self haircut. It is a good stopgap to tide you over between professional cuts if you cannot make it to the salon for whatever reason.
Do you cut your own hair?
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