Call for all self trimmers!

[Little_Bird]

Hello there!

Today I trimmed my hair using the Feye's method but!... I didn't do the second step. I just cutted the tip of my banded ponytail and that was it. It was a very slight trim.

My doubt is: is it safe to do it this way? Can I be sure to have straight blunt ends in a few months (or a year) just by doing this? From what I understand from the tutorial Feye did, the second part is just to even out some bits that could have gone wrong, so I think it's secure to ignore this step right?

My ends are horribly far from blunt so I have to take measures and start trimming more. I just need to find a practical way to do it, making sure it'll work and all.

So are there more people here who used a tecnic different or adapted from Feye?

Thank's for reading! I hope to get a lot of tips with this thread, because I am really looking forward to belong to the trimming club and have beautyfull ends in a year or less!!!!!

Thank's :flower:

[Periwinkle]

Well, I've only trimmed once, but I too ignored the second step, and my hemline was just fine. I don't think you'll have any trouble - if you're worried, you could always try doing the trim twice, which might help to even it up a bit.

[Shanarana]

I have used that method, only I didn't put it in a pony....I just combed the hair in front and tilted a bit back and trimmed. That seemed to work well for me. Depending on how much you tilt your head determines what type of hemline you get.

[SweetPea88]

I think you should be fine. I trim every month using the same method and my hemline is getting much straighter (I'm growing out layers). If you notice that it is not getting as straight across as you would like, just make adjustments as needed.

[crystal_89]

I think you should be fine, because that's how I trim my hair, too. I've probably done it like that about 4 times since I came to this site about a year ago.

[Calanthe]

It should be ok, I think. I skip the second step almost always and it looks fine.

[psycho]

I also think it should be fine...and I can't even begin to count how many trims I've done that way. I started out with horribly ragged ends and a u-shaped hemline and am now almost completely straight across and great blunt ends, it just takes lots of time and patience! (I have before and after photos in my blog, if you'd like an illustration for my point)

[aisling]

Yes, it is perfectly good to do like that, I've done so for ohh, 4 years now :) Of course, there's no guarantee you'll have straight, blunt ends in a year or so, that depends on how much you trim, how your hair grows and on your own skill of making a successful trim every time ;)

[Little_Bird]

Thank's so much for the inpit everyone!

I even had a dream today that I had my hair all cut to a pixie again, but my hairdresser had a product that gave me 2 years worth of growth in like 5 seconds, how crazy is that?!! Yesterday I was really stressing out...

So yes, I'm gonna keep at trimming. I love my hair lenght and as far as hemline's go, it's not like I use mine a lot. My hair is always braided, so I guess I can wait. I feel very happy and secure tough, knowing that more people are skipping the second step and getting good results!

My concern was that, when you do a ponytail, the ends are not in the same position as when the hair is loose, so in my idea they would have a kind of inverse U when the pony was loose. But oh well, if it works for you it might work for me too :D

Thank you all soo much :flowers:

[Jamie Lynn 40]

LittleBird-
Was your hair chin length when you started in 2006? You have very pretty hair by the way. Do you use any other oil besides the almond oil? Also, do you trim very often? If so , how much at a time? Thanks & have a great day.
JamieLynn40

[danacc]

My concern was that, when you do a ponytail, the ends are not in the same position as when the hair is loose, so in my idea they would have a kind of inverse U when the pony was loose. But oh well, if it works for you it might work for me too :D


The inverse U will happen if your hair in the front, and to some degree on the sides, catches up with the length in the back. When I started with a straight-across hemline, and used Feye's method, I had an inverse U until I did the second step.

A lot of people's hair naturally grows in a U-shape, though, and so having a straight-across hemline that needs a trim is unusual, I think. If you start with U-shape, you can skip Feye's second step as long as you are not trimming into the shorter front and side hair in the U.

[catekat]

I attempt to self-trim, but my scissors just aren't sharp enough! :(

[Anje]

I attempt to self-trim, but my scissors just aren't sharp enough! :(

Oooh... you need to get some really sharp scissors for hair trimming, and don't use them for anything else. Hair trimmed with dull scissors tends to cause splits, which you do not want. You can usually get some passably good scissors made specifically for hair for $5-10 at Walmart. Granted, they're not the wonderful things that many on the forum rave about, but they'll be sharper than paper scissors.

LittleBird, I'm trying to thicken up my hemline using that method too. What I did was re-ponytailed it, and checked the ends again for any unevenness.

I'm not too worried about the inverse U. The hairs in front grow rather slowly, as it is, so I'm not sure how successful I'll be in getting my hem straight, as it is. Besides that, my hair is rarely loose, so if nothing else I'll end up with a nice blunt ponytail.

[soleluna]

do you trim on dry or wet hair? would it work better if my hair was damp?

[happymommy]

I keep trying to get a 'u' hemline when I trim, but I always manage to get a blunt straight across trim. I think I am tilting my head back too much.

[soleluna]

no more self trimming for me ever!! it was a disaster!

[teela1978]

I keep trying to get a 'u' hemline when I trim, but I always manage to get a blunt straight across trim. I think I am tilting my head back too much. I usually hold my head as straight as possible. Seems to give a good U that way. For deeper you can try tilting your head forward... but it always looks like so much hair would come off that way!

I've never done the ponytail method. I get great results with the U/V trim method and never "clean things up" so I'd say you're doing fine!

[arylkin]

no more self trimming for me ever!! it was a disaster!

Oh no! What happened?!

[soleluna]

My hair was 3 cm shorter on one side. I had to go to the hairdresser and in the end lost 5 cm total

[arylkin]

My hair was 3 cm shorter on one side. I had to go to the hairdresser and in the end lost 5 cm total

Ugh! I'm so sorry!!

[MagpieMama]

My hair was 3 cm shorter on one side. I had to go to the hairdresser and in the end lost 5 cm total
Oh no! I am afraid that would be the result of my efforts if I tried.

btw - I love the color of your hair!!

[soleluna]

thank you dear!

[ilovelonghair]

My concern was that, when you do a ponytail, the ends are not in the same position as when the hair is loose, so in my idea they would have a kind of inverse U when the pony was loose.


Never thought of this, but it makes sense! Maybe it depends on how you put your hair in the ponytail. I comb all my hair back, without making a parting. I think that helps, because the bit that gets combed over the top bit of my head probably ends up a bit longer.
I haven't been able to check if my self trims end up straight, my ends are really thin, so I think it will only start to become visible when the thickness grows in the ends.
I trim every week half a centimeter or a centimeter depending on how fast it grows. I also s&d weekly. Really necesairy as my hair is a mess.

I do wonder if it gets harder to do self trims when hair gets thicker.

[WavyGirl]

I normally do the second step. It really is just a few stragglers that I find. If you can't see any then you probably don't need to do it. My hair curls & waves so fast even when wet that I really can't afford to miss this step or I have completely different lengths going on. (I'm sure it would be easier if all my hair curled or waved the same amount.) If you're not sure, do it without actually cutting so you can see exactly what you'd be missing/trimming. It's much easier to make an informed descision.

[soleluna]

I do wonder if it gets harder to do self trims when hair gets thicker.

might be why it was hard for me

[may1em]

I do the U-trim because that's what I'm going for - hair that's elbow length at the sides and hip at the center. Because it involves parting the hair, I can usually tell if one side is longer than the other.

I did my second self-trim last night after doing one in February and having a salon trim in April. The first time I messed up and it was uneven, which I found out a few weeks later when I put it into two braids. This is a good checking mechanism. It's also good to bring each side together in the front and see that way if one is longer than the other, then you can adjust accordingly. It worked this time! No more salon trims for me!

[dancingbarefoot]

I suppose I'm technically a self-trimmer, but I do it so rarely that I don't have a very established routine. Some people will probably be horrified to hear this, but when I trim, I just eyeball it. :wink:

[Niphredil]

I have had mishaps with self-trimming AND with hairdressers (ending up with with a 2" difference from side to side).
Well, with self-trimming, I'm the one to blame and it didn't cost me money :D

[HappyKarin]

I self trim and I don’t use the second step. When I did, I always mess it up. So now I pout my hair in a ponytail and just cut and I get a straight blunt.

[dor3girl]

I part mine down the middle while it is wet. I don't do bands, but I comb it straight down & cut only the ends. I have a rounded v-shaped taper, so I am not terribly concerned with complete accuracy. I might have to post photos of the technique, as it is a little hard to describe. I don't think my technique would work on curly or very wavy hair.