Just looking for some "bad" haircut consoling...

[ThisDreamer]

Hi there, Its another classic tale of a haircut gone...not so good.

It wasn't a hair stylist, it was me; and while its not exactly terrible, I'm not fond of it and its really bothering me. I did the ponytail layering method, cutting off no more than one inch (Or a less), in about three different sections, and then the bang area. (I did however split hair from the middle of my head up in order to not touch the length, and so glad i did). The layers in the back are subtle and i think probably quite nice, adding some needed movement as i am a wurly and its gotten very weighed down.

The front bothers me.

To me its too blunt for curls which are now curlier, even know i kept them below chin length. Really I am not sure if im just distressed because its a change I'm unsure about and I identify myself by my hair, or if the cut is actually something I don't like. It also feels thinner to me (Which I reeeaally don't want) But I'm incredibly certain this is all in my head, stemming from a wreck job by a stylist a yr ago. Either way Iv'e got quite a bit of anxiety in the back of my mind and just though I'd pop on here to talk it out if you don't mind. :) Maybe share your haircut disappointments? Anyone else cut their own hair without the happiest of results?

[Anje]

Give it 2 weeks... That'll give it some time to soften and it'll give you some time to get over the "it's a change" feelings.

[Darrin]

Hi there, Its another classic tale of a haircut gone...not so good.

It wasn't a hair stylist, it was me; and while its not exactly terrible, I'm not fond of it and its really bothering me. I did the ponytail layering method, cutting off no more than one inch (Or a less), in about three different sections, and then the bang area. (I did however split hair from the middle of my head up in order to not touch the length, and so glad i did). The layers in the back are subtle and i think probably quite nice, adding some needed movement as i am a wurly and its gotten very weighed down.

The front bothers me.

To me its too blunt for curls which are now curlier, even know i kept them below chin length. Really I am not sure if im just distressed because its a change I'm unsure about and I identify myself by my hair, or if the cut is actually something I don't like. It also feels thinner to me (Which I reeeaally don't want) But I'm incredibly certain this is all in my head, stemming from a wreck job by a stylist a yr ago. Either way Iv'e got quite a bit of anxiety in the back of my mind and just though I'd pop on here to talk it out if you don't mind. :) Maybe share your haircut disappointments? Anyone else cut their own hair without the happiest of results?

It is probably not as bad as you think. If it bothers you, I would find a trusted stylist to trim it for you. I found my stylist by asking another guy, who had great long hair, who trimmed his hair? You could do the same by asking women you know, with hair that you admire or men. I tried to trim my hair in junior high and it did not go well. I could never trim my own hair and get it right. My own hair dresser claims it takes her hours to trim her own hair. She has been trimming hair for 35 years.

[elsieivy]

I agree to give it a few weeks. I sometimes end up with cuts that look too blunt and they usually soften up and look more subtle after a few weeks.

[ThisDreamer]

I've never wanted time to move so fast, lol. I know it prob wont bother me so bad 2 weeks from now, and ill probably be Ok with a little subtle trimming to fix the bluntness by then. I just have to keep telling myself: "It was an inch. An inch will grow back fairly quickly."

At this point I really just don't trust any stylists. That and coupled with the fact that it cost money, I just can't see it happening right now. There is a gal I think did my hair quite well, but she is $50 for a simple trim. :(

[ThisDreamer]

I guess what bothers me too, is that its not just sort of blunt, it's also quite thick compared to other parts of my hair. So blunt and thick. Ehhh.....

[arr]

It's going to be all right. I too used the compact cut method and wasn't happy with the results. (I even created a thread about it). I did it about a month ago, and after a little subtle fixing and time, I feel so much better about it. And I cut 2-3 inches! It's true the hair needs time to settle and the blunt ends to soften, then your hair will start to lay better and also you will get used to how it looks. I still wish I hadn't done it, but I am no longer disturbed about it and in fact don't notice it much now.

(I don't want to imply the compact cut method is bad, in fact I've seen many beautiful results. Just wasn't the look I wanted after all.)

[arr]

I guess what bothers me too, is that its not just sort of blunt, it's also quite thick compared to other parts of my hair. So blunt and thick. Ehhh.....

This was my problem too. It was like there were sections that didn't actually layer, it just looked chopped and not blended. I took those sections and brushed then as vertically up as my arms could reach and then very lightly layered those parts at an angle. I'm sorry I can't explain it better. Basically the way I've seen stylists do it. It helped so much. But if you don't understand what I'm saying I would suggest leaving it alone or finding a trustworthy stylist to fix it.

[lilin]

Hi there, Its another classic tale of a haircut gone...not so good.

It wasn't a hair stylist, it was me; and while its not exactly terrible, I'm not fond of it and its really bothering me. I did the ponytail layering method, cutting off no more than one inch (Or a less), in about three different sections, and then the bang area. (I did however split hair from the middle of my head up in order to not touch the length, and so glad i did). The layers in the back are subtle and i think probably quite nice, adding some needed movement as i am a wurly and its gotten very weighed down.

The front bothers me.

To me its too blunt for curls which are now curlier, even know i kept them below chin length. Really I am not sure if im just distressed because its a change I'm unsure about and I identify myself by my hair, or if the cut is actually something I don't like. It also feels thinner to me (Which I reeeaally don't want) But I'm incredibly certain this is all in my head, stemming from a wreck job by a stylist a yr ago. Either way Iv'e got quite a bit of anxiety in the back of my mind and just though I'd pop on here to talk it out if you don't mind. :) Maybe share your haircut disappointments? Anyone else cut their own hair without the happiest of results?

Hey, think of it this way. You've got hair at the end of it!

I'll tell you my most recent haircut disappoint. I shaved my head in December and had finally grown about 3 inches of hair, when I decided to buzz the sides and go all Rihanna.

It... did not go well. I wound up looking like something out of Happy Days. It was so bad I ultimately decided it was better to shave it all off again than it was to suffer through months of humiliation at the hands of my god-awful haircut.

It's all good -- I found it funny pretty quickly. But it was awfully sad-looking, and resulted in me being sheered a second time.

So, take pleasure in my misfortune! ;)

[lapushka]

Yeah, definitely wash it after a cut. It will fall differently and show the results only then.

[Princess_Anna]

I cut my own hair a few months ago. I didn't follow a precise method and it was just supposed to be a small trim. Ended up going from just below hip to waist and it was terribly uneven :(. I've always been the girl with long hair and it's very much a part of who I am, so waist felt very short and strange indeed. Definitely wait a few weeks, maybe wear it up as much as you can for a little while. You're right, an inch will take about 8 weeks to grow back, it's not as bad as it could be! Good luck!!

[Betazed]

I had a horrible experience trimming my own bangs, which stemmed from a bad cut from a salon. At the time, I had the straight across Betty Page-style bangs. When I went in to get them trimmed, the hairdresser cut them completely uneven. They actually sat on a weird angle. I went back and had another (much younger) stylist fix them but by the time she was done they weren't so much bangs as an inch-long weird peice stuck on the front of my head. So, when the time came for another trim I decided to do it myself. Needless to say, it did not go well. Once again my bangs were horribly short once they were fixed.

Now I'm scared of going to a salon and I'm afraid of doing it myself. No good.

[HintOfMint]

Oh dear, I've tried to trim my layers myself and... it did not go well. As much as I tried to angle and follow instructions, somehow I ended up with six inches of a chunk of hair in my hand. I did not walk, I RAN to my school hairdresser's and she fixed me up to the best of her ability.

It's great to trim your hair if you want a very simple style, but I've found that layering is a bit of an art. It either takes practice (and I'm not sure if you want to sacrifice the inches for the sake of practice), or forking over the cash to a professional. He or she will be able to see the angles that you can't really see yourself.

For the time being, just let it grow in a little and I think the layers should soften into something you like.

[AZDesertRose]

I've never tried to trim layers into my own hair. When I used to trim my own, I did Feye's self trim with the U-hemline, so that was fairly blunt. I happen to hate bangs/fringe on me (my hair is wavy enough that the bangs/fringe don't behave well, and my face is round enough that bangs/fringe look a little silly on me), so I haven't cut my hair like that in a long time. (About 5-6 years ago, I tried the long side-swept bangs/fringe that have been in fashion for a bit, and in order to look nice, I had to use a straightening iron on that hair, which was more bother than it was worth to me.) I think the last time I tried cutting my own bangs/fringe, I was a little kid and it REALLY ticked off my mom and wound up looking utterly ridiculous to boot. :P

That said, I agree with other comments here. Give it a couple of weeks to soften up, and if you still don't like it, have a trusted professional stylist fix it.

[spidermom]

I agree with most - give it a couple of weeks to let it settle.

[endlessly]

I've been in your shoes and sometimes, yes, it's just in your head, so give it some time and you might find yourself starting to like the new style. If, after a few days, you still feel the same way, maybe consider finding a stylist to help you. You've mentioned having a bad experience with a stylist in the past, but sometimes, a professional hand helps.

The worst haircut I gave myself started in a similar way that yours did, however, instead of doing several sections, I put my hair into one ponytail directly on the top of my head, pulled it to wear I wanted to make the cut...and you can guess the rest. Basically, I was left with the worst long-ish layers of my entire life and ended up having to chop back up to waist just to even out my own hack job. However, that being said, I also went into a salon to have just a trim - told the stylist only 2 inches off the bottom with just the bottom lightly layered - and instead, she sectioned my hair in half and cut the top half to my shoulders because she "made a mistake" and yes, those were her words. After several trips to fix her screw up, I gave up for 4 years and just stopped cutting my hair because I wasn't willing to have my hair chopped to chin-length to even it out. I finally had the layers I'd been trying to grow out reach a length I felt comfortable with removing in March - it took that long to even it out. So, sometimes, hairstyles are worse with scissors than we are!

Recently, I gave myself bangs and I HATED them with a passion. But, after one week of crying and hating myself, my blunt bangs suddenly turned into sideswept and I absolutely loved them. So, sometimes you just need to give it a bit of time to settle.

[Winterwitch]

Here's something that happened to me recently..
I dyed my hair with henna over my already henna'd hair and it turned to dark. My hair seemed only slightly damaged at the time, so I thought why not use a little peroxide. I completely coated my hair, and put some 40 developer (which has a bit higher peroxide content than the stuff you buy in the brown bottle to clean cuts.) Well, after about 10 minutes I noticed my hair was becoming incredibly light on the lower half and slightly lighter at the upper half, so I rinsed it out. SO much hair fell out on one side near the front. I waited for it to dry, and discovered that my hair had burned off some choppy layers on one side. It seemed horrible, but I cut similar layers on the other side to make it even.
So while I was lamenting over how damaged my hair was I decided to play around with it to see if I could find any styles to make it "bearable." It really cheered me up to do this, because I discovered that having the short layers made a half up half down style look adorable. When I put my hair in low pigtails, I looked like Louise from Bobs Burgers (very good thing for me.) And two french braids looked great with the bad layers tucked away nicely. Two tiny low braids with the short layers hanging out at the top looked like a really cute "anime" type hairstyle.
Similarly, I think you should play around with hairstyles. It may look like **** when it's just down and plain (or not!) but you may find that hairstyles that you couldn't pull off before look good now. And if all else fails, you can wear a simple bun.

Also, when I've had less than pleasant blunt fringe cuts, I notice they soften up in less than a week. So I doubt the bluntness of your hair is going to be much of a bother for more than a week or two, maybe even just a matter of days.

[ThisDreamer]

Ah, you guys are the best. Thanks for sharing all your stories! My mother actually went to hair school many a moon ago, she knows enough to give a nice basic cut and shes going to soften the blunt for me just a tiiiiiny smidgen. The back, as it turn out, is actually sorta nice. I still have the mentality that it thinner, but logic also knows it can't be. Not significantly anyways.

I think I do know what your referring to about cutting on an angle. After cutting I came across a video of the ponytail method where she was holding the ends vertical rather than horizontal, and then cutting at a slight angle. That seemed like it came out more how I had pictured, and made a bit more sense. Was I ever kicking myself for not watching that first...

Between not trusting or really having money for a stylist, and the knowledge that I will probably never cut my hair myself again, I feel a bit discouraged and frustrated. One length can look very nice on some people, but on me it just looks dragged out and pulls out my hair. Now however, I'm not sure what it is I will do in order to achieve a nice style.

Coming home tonight though, I am feeling a bit better about, and I hope my feeling will just continue on down this path.

[ThisDreamer]

WinterWitch, I can see many a different braids coming. I actually work in an environment where my hair has to be contained, so, this would be a very good reason to really sit and experiment with different types.

[kitcatsmeow]

I agree with the unanimous about giving it a couple weeks! And while your waiting....keep it up! Bus, braids...any protective style that keeps it up and keeps you from thinking about it. When I'm growing after a cut or trim that is the one thing that keeps me sane. I wear my hair up 95% of the time anyway.