cutting someone's hair without experience

[windinherhair]

My husband's hair is short. A little longer on the top then in the back, and it grows very fast. He could get it cut monthly but usually waits a couple months or longer. The price of hair cuts is enough in the US, and even double the price or more when visiting family in Europe.

I actually thought maybe I could try to cut it. :confused: I have no experience cutting hair besides when I started to trim my own hair last year. My hair is really easy to trim because it is one trim across and I am done! I know if I cut my husband's hair, I could use an electric trimmer in the back, but on the top of his head I would need to use scissors. I don't know how risky this could be but I think how simple it could be too.

Anyone teach themselves to cut someone else's hair, or have any stories to share? Any tutorial recommendations would be nice too. I haven't been with him to get a hair cut in a while since he usually goes by himself. Maybe I should go with him once and watch someone cut it too.

[Aero]

I cut my brothers hair all the time. I go around the perimeter with scissors first, and trim the over all length. After, I use the shears to clean up the back and sides then trim his bangs with scissors. I usually style it in a 'Hitler youth' long on top and shaved on the back and sides.

[windinherhair]

I am familiar with the basic technique of cutting a little, and then measuring the next hair with it before cutting some more. I would be very careful... You can see the hair cut my husband has in my profile picture. I could cut off a little, and always cut off more after that if he wants. That way it won't be too big a change at first. :)

[Arctic_Mama]

I cut my family's hair and had no previous experience, I just read up on technique first, and this book was very helpful to me:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d.html/ref=mp_s_a_3?qid=1269809736&a=0977006808&sr=8-3

[moominhapa]

I cut my boyfriend's hair once in a while. I'm not sure what I do is necessarily "right," but it usually turns out fine. I use a comb to separate sections of hair one at a time and I cut the same amount from each little section, working my way around his head. I only cut a very little bit at a time, and like windinherhair, I use the hair I have already cut to measure the next part of hair I'm cutting. I leave the hair around his his face for last, and when I'm done with everything else, I carefully trim that too. For that part I hold the scissors at an angle to the hair (I think this is called point cutting, but I'm not sure) and just use tiny snips, so it looks a little bit feathered. This is how I used to trim my bangs before I grew them out. The main idea for me is to just maintain the cut he already has, but shorter, since he does still go to the barber sometimes. Sometimes I spray a little bit of water on the hair first, but I once had trouble with the hair shrinking when it dried and becoming a bit shorter than I expected. Anyway, that's something to be aware of if you do cut the hair wet. Even if you know it's going to get shorter, it can still be surprising! I suggest looking up "how to cut hair" or something similar on youtube. That's what I did before I first cut his hair. Good luck! As long as you only cut a little bit, I'm sure you can't do too much damage. :)

[Hiriel]

I cut my boyfriend's hair. I just went at it with scissors, hoping for the best ;)
I've done it perhaps 5 times or so now, and it looks better each time. The front is the worst, avoiding a straight-across-fringe of doom ;)

[loralie]

I've cut my hair for years, and cut hair for alot of my guy friends/boyfriends. I even cut my pomeranian's hair! :lol:

I like to cut hair dry, and point cut. Definitely what everyone else said: use pieces you've already cut to compare. Come around and check out how he looks straight to get an idea for how you're doing and make sure it's even. Cut less first, then more if you need to. Pull sections of hair up with your fingers, fanning the ends between two fingers of one hand and snip towards the hair at an angle in tiny sections.

I had some crappy self done haircuts around 15 but since then I've just experimented and gotten better. Once you get the feel for it, it gets easy, and it's fun! And men are often more forgiving about their hair than women are... haha!

[invisiblebabe]

Yes! :)

I started cutting DH's hair when we were engaged. I was scared I'd mess it up at first, but it wasn't too difficult to do. I still cut it every 3-4 months just so we save money on haircuts. He also doesn't care a whole lot about his appearance, so he's fine if it doesn't look completely perfect.

I prefer to cut his hair when it's wet. I use scissors. I imagine an electric trimmer would make it even easier.

[ukuleleclaire]

I've been cutting my own hair for years. My friend Diana used to cut it for me, and before that she'd been cutting her own hair for ages. I'd still have her do it, but sadly she lives hours away now!

I wouldn't be scared to try it, windinherhair. With a little bit of reading and some practice, it's not too difficult. Unless he's the type to be bothered by a haircut that isn't absolutely perfect, you'll be fine.

[cassie_g]

When my brother was going for the 'longer on top' cut, I did trim it a few times. I just took off like an inch over the whole head so that it was the same cut just shorter. Now that he does all one length, I just take the clippers and go all around his head, making sure that it all gets cut because of his crazy growth pattern.

Just go slow and leave it a little longer the first few times till you feel comfortable and confident. If you screw up, there's still length to work with to fix it.

[Liss]

I haven't been with him to get a hair cut in a while since he usually goes by himself. Maybe I should go with him once and watch someone cut it too.

That's how I leant to cut my partner's hair. I pretended to be engrossed in a magazine but was actually intently studying every single little snip. It worked quite well and I did it for years, although I admit to making a mistake once or twice, going shorter and shorter trying to fix it. In the end he looked like he was about to enlist in the army. He forgave me though!

[Brat]

I just bought a hair trimming kit for hubby. It's clippers with different attachments for lengths. The longest was one inch, and I buzzed it for him with that inch attachment. Turned out pretty good, it even had the left and right side tapers for around the ears. Pretty neat! Will save some money and time too.

[masa_inn]

I did it once...to my mom. She couldn't go out after my cut :) Thanks God my ex BF was a genius with the scissors and he was able to undo the damage. It was truly horrible; and to think I was so confident about cutting her hair :)

[Yozhik]

I cut my father's hair, but it's really simple for me, because he's not picky about how it works, and we use a clipper and just get it all down to one length ;)

[Irishred]

I cut all 4 of my boys hair and I had no real experience. I started with my DH and just followed his previous hair cut trimming 1/2 inch or so, kept what I did even and stepped back and looked at it a lot. I actually prefer scissor cuts that are a touch longer but DH likes high and TIGHT so I learned to use the clippers as well. The kids, well I just have always done since they were little. They each have slightly different hair too.

Watch video how-tos. First few trims cut a bit longer than you think then if needed he can go to a barber to.

[joiekimochi]

My high school had very strict regulations on boys' haircuts and back then I wanted to be a hairstylist so I would cut my male classmates' hair for free. I never had any training and experimented on the spot. Some of them turned out really nice, but once I made a boo-boo and hacked off too much of one of my friend's hair, so he had a huge hole at the back of his head! After that I got too guilty to cut others' hair so I just stuck to trimming my own.

[SurprisingWoman]

I cut my husband's hair all the time.

I bought one of these: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flowbee

I use the flowbee, some clippers, sissors and that's all it takes.

[Samitra]

I started cutting DBF's hair a while back. I'm very nervous every time, but since he claims that he doesn't care (though I know he does, his face when he's examining my work is giving him away) I work up the courage to do it. It takes me almost 2 hours, and I use scissors for the top and clippers for the rest. (He wants the longer-on-top style)

I've asked him several times to go and get a real cut so I can see how it's supposed to be done, and have something, a shape, to work from. But he refuses and says he's happy with me cutting it. :rolleyes:

I only cut when he's starting to get a mullet. Or if the hair on top gets so long that he looks like a younger version of himself cirka 1995 when he had a bowl cut. shudder:

Here's my advice:
- Watch when he's getting a "real" haircut.
- Tell him if you're nervous. He should be aware of that.
- Set aside at least one or two hours the first time so you won't rush it.
- Agree on how you'll deal with a disaster: trim it all very short with clippers (DBF and I agreed on this one), send him off to a professional to correct the error, or something else entirely.
- Find a funny story about a hair cutting disaster, and tell your husband about it. After you cut his hair, remind him of that story and say "well, at least it wasn't like that".

Good luck!

[countryhopper]

I have cut DH's hair since we've been married. He's only gone to get a "real" haircut a handful of times in the years since.

It takes me under an hour to cut his hair with scissors. His hair is longer on the top, swept to the side.

The only "major" mistakes I've made is making the layers too short in the back and then it would stick up. So just err on the side of caution and don't take too much off near cowlick areas!!

[eyesofsummer]

I actually helped cut my boyfriend's hair tonight. He started at it with trimmers while I looked on (I was way more nervous than he was!) and then he had me clean it up and make sure he didn't miss any spots. I also shaved around the ears and the neck hairline. It wasn't too bad! Definitely not a fancy hair cut, but it looks fine.

He used a size 4 guard on the razor (I'm not sure how much this is exactly, but I'd estimate his hair wound up around a cm long), so his head wasn't buzzed completely.

My only hair cutting experience is my own hair and my dog's fur. I'm sure I've messed up on both, but not very noticeably.

[Bluebell]

Watch some how-to-cut-hair examples on youtube and try it. Just start cutting a little. You can always cut off more.
Good luck!:)

[Purdy Bear]

I do my OAP Dad's all the time, I just trim the back, and clean the neck. Its a bit daunting, at first but its best just to take a little off at a time.

[Merlin]

Mrs Merlin used to cut mine a lot of the time, and still does the boy's and she has no training - I think a lot depends on how 'forgiving' the hair is ;-0

[xoxophelia]

I cut hair for spare cash. Lots of good suggestions here. One thing I noticed from the profile pic is that your husband's hair looks fairly fine and the cut is very smooth. So, the hardest part about it will just be avoiding a choppy look. I never read a book about cutting hair just learned through observation/common sense. A tip I'd try it when you bring the hair out from the scalp between your fingers to line it up in a "row" (trimming the tips of the hair on the outside of your fingers or comb), make the rows vetical instead of horizontal. So your comb or fingers pointing up an imaginary standard y-axis. Definitely even it up with some horizontal cutting, but the vertical helps it fall more smoothly. Also just pay attention when you do this, that you don't "cut in" to the head too close at any point.

Take your time and you should be good to go.

[windinherhair]

I know my husband would appreciate me trying to cut his hair, and he wouldn't be too particular. When he is ready, I will review everything again and go from there. Thanks for all the advice! :)

[Johanna]

The only time I ever did a good job cutting someone elses hair is when I cut my brothers. It was an all over short cut X)
My fiancee asked me if i could cut his hair, I wouldnt do it. He's very stylish when it comes to his hair and clothes, plus he has curly hair, so there is no way I'd want to mess up his hair!

[jasper]

I learned how to cut my husband's hair with an electric clipper/trimmer for the first step of it and scissors for shaping it at the end. I watched the video that came with the clippers and read an article. It was trial and error - with a couple of overly short hair cuts in the beginning. But he's not particular and I got better at it. I've been cutting his hair for years now and the clippers have more than paid for themselves. It beats nagging him to go get a hair cut and the only hair dresser flirting with him is me. ;-)

[Darkhorse1]

I've cut my friend's hair before, but he has very fine, straight hair, so it was pretty easy. I did not use an electric razor though. I wasn't comfortable with it.
My best advice would be to do some searches on line and maybe go with him to his next hair appointment and watch the barber/hair dresser cut his hair. I know the hardest is to get the length even at the top. If he has curly hair, it could be tricky, but I'm sure you can do it. Just get some really good scissors.