How to Cut Your Own Hair: Tips on How to Trim Long, Short, or Curly Hair

How to cut your own hair? Trimming your locks might be scary at first, but if you want to be on the safe side, it would be wiser to have your hair done at home. If you could wait until it is safe before you could go to the salon, save yourself from the efforts of cutting your hair.

However, if you must, read on for some tips on how to do it at home.

Tools you may need

Before you start trimming using any pair of scissors, stop! You will need a sharp pair of cutting tools to make sure you get it right the first time. Using just any pair that are not as sharp would make you run over the same hair shaft which could cause more damage than good.

Quality scissors

You need this because using their sharp edges could prevent your hair from fluffing out at the ends. An overused pair of scissors could cause your hair to move around too much as you trim. It would be better to use hair-cutting shears or precision scissors.

Be careful though for hair-cutting shears as they have razor-sharp edges.

Hair clippers

Hair clippers are self-cutting trimmers that help you cut your help without any help. They are good for cutting short hair.

how to cut your own hair, tips, long short curly hair

(Photo: unsplash/Taisiia Shestopal)

How to trim your hair

If this is your first time cutting your hair, be careful not to restyle it entirely. You might want to start small as you cannot regrow them in an instant. You can always repeat the steps if the length still does not make you happy.

Wash your hair and condition it as usual. Then, let it dry completely as it shrinks once dry. Brush your hair to remove tangles. Mist your hair if it is unruly, but avoid making it too damp. Use the ends of the shears to trim your hair.

Drape an old towel or a cape over your shoulders. Section your hair into manageable segments. Follow the steps below for either long, short, or curly hair. A tip for cutting your bangs is also written below.

Long hair

Section your hair and bring one forward at a time. Trim a quarter of an inch or half. Add texture by snipping off the ends, then blend everything out.

Short hair

It would be better to cut damp hair for people with short-lengthed hair. Also, you may need someone to help you out. Start at the sides then work around your head using scissors. Let the person cutting your hair use a comb as a guide for the shears to know where to cut.

Curly hair

Different types of curl have varied ways of cutting. For people with looser 2A to 3B curls, work with dry hair then trim curl by curl in angles to make sure you get volume afterward. Tighter curls from 3C to 4C, you may section your hair first then gently detangle your hair. Keep your hair from moving too much by applying firm pressure on your hair.

Cutting bangs

Trimming your bangs at home is not too much of a deal, but if you do not have them yet, better to let the professionals do it. It might be tricky to get it right and it would take longer to grow our a botched fringe.