some noobish questions about cutting your own hair

[freckles]

Hi guys!
I had my last trim in September, which was done by a stylist. I was totally happy with it, but I'm going to have to think about trimming again soon -- if not now, then at least sometime in the next couple of months. My hemline is still a nice shape, but even though I S&D my splits are multiplying, and my ends are getting tangly. A trim might help this a little.
I'm currently trying to decide whether I should go to a stylist again, or trim my own hair. I trim my friends' hair sometimes, both long and short, but I'm a little more worried about my own! Because they're all guys who don't really care what their hair looks like, and I'm ... vain about mine :p Also, I can't see the back of my own head!
BUT -- if I trim my own I can save money, I can take off as little as I like, etc. Well, you all know the advantages. So I have a few questions for those who cut their own hair.

question one -- I've studied Feye's self trim method and it looks good, and I understand people have had a lot of success with it. But Feye does mention she's a wavey and that it can hide a slightly uneven hemline. My hair is poker straight (I might change my hairtype to '1a'). If you're a straighty who uses this method, are you happy with it? Do you have pics of your results prettyplease? :D

question two -- Those who use Feye's self trim method, do you do it on wet hair, or dry? I'm thinking I'll probably do it on wet hair (if I choose this route) just to make sure there are no braid/bun waves that might change my results. But I'd really like to know which you do, and why.

question three -- is there anyone here who cuts their hair into something other than a plain v/u/blunt hemline? My hair currently has a tiny bit of layering on the bottom, but I'm not too worried about gradually losing that through self trims. I don't mind either way having it or not. HOWEVER, I have some face-framing strands at the front. They're currently about shoulder length but I think I would like them even shorter. They soften the style a bit if I leave them out of updos, and I like the shape with my hair down, so I kind of want to keep them. However, I am really scared of screwing them up! I don't want to get them uneven or be unable to 'blend' them into the rest of my hair so they look 'stuck on' or something. Does anyone cut face-framing strands themselves or do something else 'fancy' with their hair? Is there a good guide for this sort of thing? Or should I leave it to a professional?

Thanks in advance for the advice. Sorry for the MA-HOO-SIVE post. :blossom:

[Kris Dove]

I use this method for the straight across trim and I'm about 1b/c-ish, there are pictures in my profile.

I do it on dry hair, usually when it's freshly washed and hasn't been bunned or braided yet though.

[Lemur_Catta]

Hi guys!
I had my last trim in September, which was done by a stylist. I was totally happy with it, but I'm going to have to think about trimming again soon -- if not now, then at least sometime in the next couple of months. My hemline is still a nice shape, but even though I S&D my splits are multiplying, and my ends are getting tangly. A trim might help this a little.
I'm currently trying to decide whether I should go to a stylist again, or trim my own hair. I trim my friends' hair sometimes, both long and short, but I'm a little more worried about my own! Because they're all guys who don't really care what their hair looks like, and I'm ... vain about mine :p Also, I can't see the back of my own head!
BUT -- if I trim my own I can save money, I can take off as little as I like, etc. Well, you all know the advantages. So I have a few questions for those who cut their own hair.

question one -- I've studied Feye's self trim method and it looks good, and I understand people have had a lot of success with it. But Feye does mention she's a wavey and that it can hide a slightly uneven hemline. My hair is poker straight (I might change my hairtype to '1a'). If you're a straighty who uses this method, are you happy with it? Do you have pics of your results prettyplease? :D

question two -- Those who use Feye's self trim method, do you do it on wet hair, or dry? I'm thinking I'll probably do it on wet hair (if I choose this route) just to make sure there are no braid/bun waves that might change my results. But I'd really like to know which you do, and why.

question three -- is there anyone here who cuts their hair into something other than a plain v/u/blunt hemline? My hair currently has a tiny bit of layering on the bottom, but I'm not too worried about gradually losing that through self trims. I don't mind either way having it or not. HOWEVER, I have some face-framing strands at the front. They're currently about shoulder length but I think I would like them even shorter. They soften the style a bit if I leave them out of updos, and I like the shape with my hair down, so I kind of want to keep them. However, I am really scared of screwing them up! I don't want to get them uneven or be unable to 'blend' them into the rest of my hair so they look 'stuck on' or something. Does anyone cut face-framing strands themselves or do something else 'fancy' with their hair? Is there a good guide for this sort of thing? Or should I leave it to a professional?

Thanks in advance for the advice. Sorry for the MA-HOO-SIVE post. :blossom:

I trim my hair with Feye's method, in a V shape. My hair is pretty much poker straight, expecially when I use cones and blow dry (which I always do during winter, since I hate having my hair wet in the cold). Let me try to answer your questions :)

Question 1: As I said, I have been trimming my own hair for years, always in a V shape, always with Feye's method. To be honest, the first time I trimmed my hair I didn't know about LHC or Feye, it was after summer and my ends were fried and bleached by sun and salty water, so I took the scissors and did what seemed more rational and natural: part my hair in the center, and cut. It was actually good, and I was happy to discover it was a "real" method and not a product of my crazy mind :D The pic you see in my signature was taken last December, when I had cut the tip of my V to make it more like a U. I have a V again now, because I had to trim off damage. I will post a pic of my hair now tonight, as soon as I can get someone make one :D

Question 2: I do it on dry, freshly blow dried hair, because it is straighter :) I think it would be ok to do it on wet hair, just make sure you don't take too much, because even straight hair shrinks a little after drying.

Question 3: I currently have face framing layers at chin, and I am growing out my fringe. I cut both myself. Actually, I had my fringe cut by a stylist first, then I decided to grow it, then I changed my mind again and trimmed it again :D It was easier than I thought.
It is quite easy, the only important thing to do is to part hair before cutting. I mean, don't take a bit of your hair that seems to be in the front and cut it, because it would look funny when you try to pull your hair back and leave the layers down. It's just like cutting a fringe: first you part, let's say, a triangular section of your front hair, down to your hair, clip the rest of your hair back, then cut. If you want face framing layers, you can part again this piece of hair, as you would part the rest of your hair...center or side, as you wish. Then you cut. When I cut, I try to layer the layer...I don't know how to explain this. I mean that I don't cut horizontally, but with an angle, so that the layer doesn't look like a curtain of hair :)

I hope this is useful to you. I will post pictures tonight.

[Pixna]

I am only qualified to answer one of your questions. I've used Feye's method for many years. It's a great method, and Feye, the originator, is terrific, too! :redgrin: I have used the method on both wet and dry hair. I think with straight hair, either way would work fine. With wavy or curly hair, wet is best so you can pull it straighter and get a more even trim. But, wavy and curly hair are more forgiving when it comes to a blunt trim (if the hem is a little uneven, it is less noticeable).

Wet hair is definitely easier to clean up afterward. Dry hair scatters everywhere like dust and is difficult to pick up. While that has nothing to do with the quality of the trim, it's a valuable tip. I prefer to do larger trims with wet hair and dustings with dry hair (even though the cleanup is harder).

Hope that helps! Let us know how it goes. The first attempt is the hardest and scariest. After that, it's a breeze!

[aisling]

I have straight hair and have used Feye's method for years. The result can be seen in my album, I haven't been to a hairdresser for years and I'm happy with the result.

Of course you can cut face framing layers yourself, if you already have some it is even easier, you just have to trim them then. I've cut face framing layers on myself, right now I'm sporting something that could be called long side swept bangs and I'm happy with them. Sorry, no pics of those, but it's not that difficult exactly. Just do it in many small steps, don't chop of huge chunks at once. This also goes all self trimming, it's better to do many small steps than one huge.

[GoddesJourney]

1. First, I used to cut my hair into a V by parting it in the middle, angling my head forward and down, and cutting one side at a time. I think I found LHC that day and I was not terribly surprised to find I was not the first one to think of that. Over time, I've switched to the ponytail method. I put my hair into a ponytail at the nape, pull the hair band as far down as my trim will be (with both hands together to make it centered) and check at least twice with two mirrors before cutting. You have to angle your head down a lot with this method or you end up with an inverted U. The I cut off my hair in section just below the hair band, being careful to squeeze it with my other hand so the hair doesn't slide through while I'm pulling it over my shoulder. My hair is pretty straight and my ends come up straight every time. I comb the front hair forward after my trims to make sure both sides match up.

2. The first couple of times I cut my hair, it was heavily oiled. Now I just do it wet. I find this especially important for the parting your hair method because I want it to hang straight down. Once I have my head at the right angle, I place the hair I'm going to cut between two flat hand and sort of squeegie it straight down. This makes it very straight and the water makes it stick together so it doesn't move around while I'm cutting it. I cut my mom's hair and my friend's hair with the squeegie method and the each said their hemline has never been straighter at a stylists. Also, I'm a little superstitious that it's better to cut moist ends than dry ends. I guess I feel they're more likely to split, since really you're just pinching them off with something sharp.

3. If you want to cut the front yourself, that's easy enough. If you go to a stylist, they will section off the front hair down in front, snip off the middle so both sides end up the same length, and cut one side at a time. For a more natural look, they will first cut the hair at an angle, going toward the outside of your face, angling the scissors at a 45 degree angle facing down and outward. Then, once the correct anle is established, the will angle the scissors at a 45 degree angle facing up and outward to snip off little pieces down the hemline so that it's not too straight and unnatural. Repeat on other the side and then compare the two. This should give you that slightly grown in look. Enjoy.

[CaityBear]

I have poker straight hair as well and I cut my own hair. I've never had a problem. I cut off a very, very little bit at a time to get to how much I want to cut off. My profile shows my hair, not sure if you can tell how straight it is. I also have some layers growing out, but that doesn't affect the hair when I cut it.

I usually do it wet as well though I have done it dry before, but I comb it 10 times or more before I actual cut it and then I cut only about a cm off at a time.

I do my bangs and have done face-framing pieces before. I just cut off a tiny bit at first and keep cutting over time until they are to the point I feel comfortable with.

[Rivanariko]

My hair is pretty straight as well, most days I'm 1a, but some days it's 1b... just depends on what my hair is feeling that day. I've been using Feye's method since I joined LHC (not that long, but long enough) and I've had great success with it. I only trim off about 1/4" at a time, so any unevenness wouldn't be too apparent, I don't think, but I haven't had a problem with an uneven hemline so far. I trim mine into a slight U shape, and you can see the results in my albums. I don't know if I labeled them actually as after self-trimming, but I did my first self-trim in August, so anything after that is post-trim. :)

I do it on dry hair, because I don't comb my hair when it's wet. I let my hair air dry after a shower, then finger comb all of the tangles out, then brush it (VERY CAREFULLY) to make sure that all of the hairs are laying straight, then I trim. This is pretty much the only time I brush my hair anymore.

As for the fancy stuff... I can't really help you. I've never had layers or anything face-framing, just hair! Good luck to you though! I'm so happy with this method. Along with the money saved, the convenience factor is huge for me, as I hate trying to figure out how to work a salon appointment into my schedule!

[Bluebell]

The face framing layers, this is how it works for me:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gTLM7FhP2Zg

I hope it is of any help ;)

[freckles]

thanks everyone for the responses! I haven't trimmed yet (might try to stretch it for another month or two), but all your replies have been super helpful :)