self trimming methods help

[Aingeal]

Im starting to itch for a trim, maybe a half inch, to even up my ends a bit. its been almost six months since my last. I don't really want to go to a salon though. what method do I use to self trim for a curly with layers?

[walterSCAN]

Are you wanting to keep your layers with this trim?

[Bagginslover]

You could try a compact cut. brush/comp all your hair into a ponytail, anywhere from your forehead to the top of your head (the further forward you go, the more layers you get) pull the hair out straight, and cut off the ends.

If that sounds too scary, section your hair off, and just trim the end off each senction, making sure to comb it straight downwards first.

[NativeSparrow]

I had a stylist who used to do a "twist cut" on my hair to get the split ends. She would just take small 1" sections of hair & twist it & then take her scissors & cut up the section just getting the very edges of the hair that stuck out. Then do that to all of your hair. The idea being that if you do that the split ends or broken pieces of hair stick out of the twisted section. It seems like it should work, however, at the same time I heard that doing that can be bad if you have wavy hair bc it can make it frizzy. Who knows though I hear so many conflicting things that I never know what to believe!!

[spidermom]

Many curlies just pick up each curl clump and trim the end, paying no attention whatsoever to trimming the same amount off each curl.

[NativeSparrow]

Yall are BRAVE!!! im so particular about my haircuts! I thought it was important to keep your hair well trimmed to prevent split ends? I get mine trimmed religiously every 8 weeks or so. The woman I go to does a good job & cuts very little (less than a quarter inch in some spots - more in the center to get my "duck tail"). She is also helping me recover from some really bad layers. My hair is kinda wavy, but, also kinda fine; so, its prone to split ends & breakage. I think need to keep it cut to keep it healthy. But I Also feel like I want it to GROW!!!!! My hair grows slow so if I could get by with skipping a few cuts I could defenitly make more progress. Im new here so I dont totaly understand the hair type classification system yet ... Aingeal is your hair fine?

[lapushka]

Yall are BRAVE!!! im so particular about my haircuts! I thought it was important to keep your hair well trimmed to prevent split ends? I get mine trimmed religiously every 8 weeks or so. The woman I go to does a good job & cuts very little (less than a quarter inch in some spots - more in the center to get my "duck tail"). She is also helping me recover from some really bad layers.

A little off topic here but... It's a myth that hair needs cutting every 6 to 8 weeks! This way you're cutting all your growth off. If you are serious about growing longer, you need to go longer between trims, and you can (if your hair isn't particularly damaged). The rest you can do with S&D missions.

[NativeSparrow]

Sry ab going off topic ... Thanks for the info though. ;)

[melusine963]

Many curlies just pick up each curl clump and trim the end, paying no attention whatsoever to trimming the same amount off each curl.

Huh, I'd never thought of that. Not that my hair is curly enough to do this any more, but I'll keep it in mind.

[Anje]

If you want to keep the layering, you could try a compact cut (that is, any cut that involves gathering the hair in one or two sections and whacking off the ends of the bunch) with your hair more or less ponytailed at your forehead. If I were doing it curly, I imagine I'd wait til a day when my hair was combed out and fairly straight or else would do it with my hair wet and detangled. Otherwise, I like V hemlines on curls enough that I'd suggest going with Feye's V-shaped self-trim over the straight hemline.

Snipping the ends off each curl sounds labor-intensive to me, but I imagine it would give a good result, especially if you don't mind that you might have a little fairytaling. IMO, curly hair fairytales beautifully (I prefer straight hair with thicker ends), so it's a good option if you want to go that route.

[walterSCAN]

A little off topic here but... It's a myth that hair needs cutting every 6 to 8 weeks! This way you're cutting all your growth off. If you are serious about growing longer, you need to go longer between trims, and you can (if your hair isn't particularly damaged). The rest you can do with S&D missions.

Continuing the OT because I feel like I should (sorry OP!)... To add to the good advice lapushka's given you: If you want to grow your hair long, you shouldn't trim to prevent splits. Only trim if the hair is split. It's totally counterproductive to trim off unsplit/ undamaged ends. (Preventative trimming has always seemed like an odd concept to me-- you can't know beforehand if that hair is going to split or not. Give it a chance to grow!) You'll find that a lot of members here trim their own hair-- it's really not as scary as it seems as long as you're careful!

/derail

OP, I hope you find a method that works for you!

[lapushka]

If you want to keep the layering, you could try a compact cut (that is, any cut that involves gathering the hair in one or two sections and whacking off the ends of the bunch) with your hair more or less ponytailed at your forehead. If I were doing it curly, I imagine I'd wait til a day when my hair was combed out and fairly straight or else would do it with my hair wet and detangled. Otherwise, I like V hemlines on curls enough that I'd suggest going with Feye's V-shaped self-trim over the straight hemline.

There's two versions of the "compact cut". There's the one for longer layers where you gather all of your hair on top of your head and snip a bit off, and there's the one for shorter layers where you gather all of your hair at your forehead and snip a bit off. The latter method is easier for precision, I find. I've had both, loved them both. I now have the one for short layers. My hair is in a V in the back, and layered from hip all the way to APL. I would *not* recommend these methods, either of them, for hair shorter than BSL.

I wait until right before a wash, by then my waves have sagged considerably and it's easier combing them out. Would recommend totally doing these methods on dry hair!

[pri108]

You could try a compact cut. brush/comp all your hair into a ponytail, anywhere from your forehead to the top of your head (the further forward you go, the more layers you get) pull the hair out straight, and cut off the ends.

If that sounds too scary, section your hair off, and just trim the end off each senction, making sure to comb it straight downwards first.

Hi Bagginslover,

Thats a good trick to make pony tail and cut. by the more "forward" the more layers do you mean the Higher up the more layers?

I used to make sections and cut. see what i did. i didn't even know my hair looked like that until i asked a friend to take picture of my hair for TLHC.
Before:

http://s14.postimg.org/4nfj8ei7x/photo_6.jpg (http://postimg.org/image/4nfj8ei7x/)

After seeing teh picture i chopped off that section :(

http://s22.postimg.org/gvrypx0nh/photo_5.jpg (http://postimg.org/image/gvrypx0nh/)

ETA:

Continuing the OT because I feel like I should (sorry OP!)... To add to the good advice lapushka's given you: If you want to grow your hair long, you shouldn't trim to prevent splits. Only trim if the hair is split. It's totally counterproductive to trim off unsplit/ undamaged ends. (Preventative trimming has always seemed like an odd concept to me-- you can't know beforehand if that hair is going to split or not. Give it a chance to grow!) You'll find that a lot of members here trim their own hair-- it's really not as scary as it seems as long as you're careful!

/derail

OP, I hope you find a method that works for you!

Dear Walterscan,

Your hair is so beautiful.

ETA2:

You could try a compact cut. brush/comp all your hair into a ponytail, anywhere from your forehead to the top of your head (the further forward you go, the more layers you get) pull the hair out straight, and cut off the ends.

If that sounds too scary, section your hair off, and just trim the end off each senction, making sure to comb it straight downwards first.

You hair is lovely

[Anje]

There's two versions of the "compact cut". There's the one for longer layers where you gather all of your hair on top of your head and snip a bit off, and there's the one for shorter layers where you gather all of your hair at your forehead and snip a bit off. The latter method is easier for precision, I find. I've had both, loved them both. I now have the one for short layers. My hair is in a V in the back, and layered from hip all the way to APL. I would *not* recommend these methods, either of them, for hair shorter than BSL.

I wait until right before a wash, by then my waves have sagged considerably and it's easier combing them out. Would recommend totally doing these methods on dry hair!

To me, it's a "compact cut" no matter where you gather the hair, whether it's the nape of your neck, top of your head, forehead, nose, or chin. I've done it myself at nose or chin position, just snipping the longest ends, which gives subtle layers and a U hemline.

[lapushka]

To me, it's a "compact cut" no matter where you gather the hair, whether it's the nape of your neck, top of your head, forehead, nose, or chin. I've done it myself at nose or chin position, just snipping the longest ends, which gives subtle layers and a U hemline.

True, compact cut just refers to snipping it all off in one go. :lol:

[Aingeal]

Are you wanting to keep your layers with this trim?

Yes, I prefer layers because I have sooo much hair and curl.


You could try a compact cut. brush/comp all your hair into a ponytail, anywhere from your forehead to the top of your head (the further forward you go, the more layers you get) pull the hair out straight, and cut off the ends.

If that sounds too scary, section your hair off, and just trim the end off each senction, making sure to comb it straight downwards first.

That actually sounds like just what I need! THanks!!!!


Many curlies just pick up each curl clump and trim the end, paying no attention whatsoever to trimming the same amount off each curl.

I've heard this too, but I really don't think I have the patience. LOL!!


Yall are BRAVE!!! im so particular about my haircuts! I thought it was important to keep your hair well trimmed to prevent split ends? I get mine trimmed religiously every 8 weeks or so. The woman I go to does a good job & cuts very little (less than a quarter inch in some spots - more in the center to get my "duck tail"). She is also helping me recover from some really bad layers. My hair is kinda wavy, but, also kinda fine; so, its prone to split ends & breakage. I think need to keep it cut to keep it healthy. But I Also feel like I want it to GROW!!!!! My hair grows slow so if I could get by with skipping a few cuts I could defenitly make more progress. Im new here so I dont totaly understand the hair type classification system yet ... Aingeal is your hair fine?

No, my hair is thick and coarse.


If you want to keep the layering, you could try a compact cut (that is, any cut that involves gathering the hair in one or two sections and whacking off the ends of the bunch) with your hair more or less ponytailed at your forehead. If I were doing it curly, I imagine I'd wait til a day when my hair was combed out and fairly straight or else would do it with my hair wet and detangled. Otherwise, I like V hemlines on curls enough that I'd suggest going with Feye's V-shaped self-trim over the straight hemline.

Snipping the ends off each curl sounds labor-intensive to me, but I imagine it would give a good result, especially if you don't mind that you might have a little fairytaling. IMO, curly hair fairytales beautifully (I prefer straight hair with thicker ends), so it's a good option if you want to go that route.


Thanks! I do like fairytale ends on curlys, but I have too much. It's almost 6-8 inches in some places.


There's two versions of the "compact cut". There's the one for longer layers where you gather all of your hair on top of your head and snip a bit off, and there's the one for shorter layers where you gather all of your hair at your forehead and snip a bit off. The latter method is easier for precision, I find. I've had both, loved them both. I now have the one for short layers. My hair is in a V in the back, and layered from hip all the way to APL. I would *not* recommend these methods, either of them, for hair shorter than BSL.

I wait until right before a wash, by then my waves have sagged considerably and it's easier combing them out. Would recommend totally doing these methods on dry hair!


True, compact cut just refers to snipping it all off in one go. :lol:

Thanks! I think I'll try it!

I'm actually excited about a trim. I feel like my ends are thinning. I think though that it's not my ends thinning, it's the top portions of my hair that I've been taking care of for almost a year getting thicker. :) It'll be nice to have fresh ends too.

[Weewah]

I trimmed my own layers last time, after reading about different hair elevations, etc. on this site: http://www.hairfinder.com/howto/how_to_cut_hair.htm

[CurlyCap]

I'm 3b/3c, and I totally vote for the "cut each curl" approach. I used to think it was totally wacko, but now I think it's the easiest option really.

I co-wash my hair, put product in it (what my hair usually likes), and let it dry naturally to allow best curl formation. Then I sit on the couch, but on a good moving, and start to cut . It's gonna take a while, but whatever, you're home in your jammies.

The key is to section your dry hair and loosely tie them up with scrunchies. Then take down ONE section, grab the end of a curl, and cut off the desired amount (ex: 1/2") making sure to cut perpendicular to the curl. Be sure to cut any single strand knots as well since this is prolly the only time when you are going to be looking at your hair this intently. Then grab the next curl and repeat.

When you complete a section, tie it up with a scrunchies into a tight bun to mark that you've done that section.

I've done this for nearly 2 years and my hemline is "even". Even in the sense that as a curly, no one can tell the difference and I don't notice any problems when my hair is straighter when wet. Also, I have a tiiiiiny bit of layering left from a cut I put in when I was shoulder length (I put in a tiny layer because I wanted to see if I could do it), and that layering has been maintained over the last two years. If you cut 1/2" off everything....no section has a chance to grow longer and catch up. So if you like your layering, this will maintain it but clearly won't add newer shorter ones.

As for simpler: It's a lot of work, but I like not having to make appointments at salons anymore, or wonder how much they took off, or wonder how it'll all look dry. I now know how to cut my hair and can do it in comfy clothes on a chill night. I am considering going to a salon for a future date when I want a truly blunt cut, say when all my hair passes hip and I want it cut straight across at hip. I don't feel comfortable doing that on my own curly hair using Faye's methods or something similar.