You can’t get to the salon, but your hair is in desperate need of a trim. Maybe you’re trying to save a little money and want to stretch the time between cuts. No matter what the reason, your hair needs some serious attention, and it’s time to take matters into your own hands–literally.

Cutting your own hair can be a good experience, or it can be a disaster. It can fill you with absolute dread that has you shaking at the thought of it. Or you can read the following tips and have the confidence you need to tackle the task and come out looking better than ever – or at least freshly trimmed.

Tips for trimming your own hair

You know those kids in grade school who grabbed the safety scissors and went crazy on their bangs? Were you maybe even one of those kids? It’s okay if you were because you’ve moved way past that. 

In fact, that look is what you’re desperate to avoid, but there’s no choice now. You need a trim, and you’re going to have to do it yourself. The following tips will help you master the self-trim, or at the very least, avoid the grade school hack job.

The right tools

Put down the kitchen scissors and don’t even think about grabbing nail scissors. A good pair of hair shears is crucial to getting a good cut. Hair shears are extremely sharp, so caution should be a priority when using them, but you need this sharpness to get a clean cut and to avoid split ends.

Other than great shears, there isn’t a lot you need to do a good cut at home, but you may want the following:

♦ Something to put on the floor to catch the hair

♦ A bib or towel to cover your clothing

♦ A comb with fine teeth on one side and wide-spaced teeth on the other

♦ Hair clips

♦ A spritz bottle

♦ A hand mirror

Less is best

You can always cut a little more hair off if the length isn’t what you want, but you can’t put it back on if you cut it too short. Cut a little bit at a time, and then look at it to see if it works, or live with it for a while. This will help you decide if it’s the length you want.

Dry or wet

This is one of the biggest questions, and there’s no definitive answer, but a dry cut is definitely more forgiving than a wet one. It’s probably where you should start if you’ve never cut your hair before. 

When your hair is wet, the weight of it pulls it down. When your hair dries, it will “spring” upward. This is especially true for people with curly locks, but it’s also true to a degree for people with stick-straight hair. 

To get a real feel for what your hair will look like, it’s best to trim it when it’s dry. But if you’ve done it before and understand your hair’s nuances and you really want a blunt cut, then wet should work for you.

One compromise is to spritz your hair with water so it’s damp. This doesn’t weigh on the hair too much and can make it easier to get a clean line.

Tips for texture

The texture of your hair has everything to do with how you trim it. So, let’s break it down a little to help you find your solution.

Straight hair. Blow-dry your hair smooth and straight and divide into sections. Hold the scissors straight horizontally and only cut off a half-inch. Work one section, then work the adjacent section so you can compare the length.

Wavy hair. Let hair air dry, so it falls into natural waves. Divide into sections and trim a small amount. Don’t pull hair straight or use tension to trim.

Curly hair. Detangle freshly washed hair and let it air dry since there will be a lot of shrinkage. 

The shape of your cut determines how you hold your hair. If you have a round shape, hold the hair forward while cutting, triangle shapes should be held backward while cutting, and square shapes are trimmed from top to bottom and side to side for an all-over look.

Thin hair. Focus on just dusting the ends of dry hair. Don’t do anything “fancy” because mistakes really show up on thin hair.

Thick hair. Try pulling your dry hair into small sections and twist them, then trim off the little hairs that stick out. This will remove split ends in the body of your hair. Then dust the ends a little bit.

After-cut care

Now that you’ve trimmed your hair, you want to support your hair by nourishing and moisturizing it with the Hair La Vie Mask. This level of deep, salon conditioning is exactly what your hair needs after a cut to add hydration and thickness. 

Botanicals that include protein, oils, silica, and vitamins go to work immediately on your freshly cut hair to give it the strength it needs to continue growing without as many split ends. This will help you avoid future cuts at home or even cuts in the salon. It’s the perfect way to support your hair goals, and continued use will have you looking amazing.

Final thoughts

If a salon is not in your immediate future, you can still look great. The trick is learning some techniques to manage your split ends and raggedy old cut on your own.

The most important tip is to use a good pair of hair shears. This can’t be stressed enough; all other tools are optional, but a good pair of scissors is not. 

The next step is to determine your hair type, how best to approach it, and then only trim a little bit at a time. It’s better to move with caution, and think of it as a process that may include many additional cuts to get the right length and look you want. 

Finally, make sure to follow up your haircut with a Hair La Vie Mask to nourish your hair and condition it. You’ll end up with more professional-looking results, and it’ll feel and smell like you actually did visit the salon.