Those with type 1 hair, how do you trim?

[baaaad_kitty]

hello! I've been reading up on hair trimming, and the idea that I get is that it works best for those with wavy or curly hair, etc etc. I currently have thin-ish ends (pic later) and they're looking a bit scraggly. I'm also not fond of blunt hemlines. I said before to myself I will never trim but now that it's been a year since my last haircut and I only S&D, I feel the need :p

So, type 1 longhairs, do you trim? How do you do it? Pics? :D Any help will be greatly appreciated

EDIT: my last haircut (march 2010) left me with super layered hair, which I want to maintain, but with the layers starting from about shoulder level

[Juneii]

I have no pictures, but I trim my hair by splitting it in half and pulling it over my shoulders. I then smooth it straight and cut it straight across. This somehow gives my hair a bit of a u-shape hemline when I push it back over my shoulders.

ETA: actually I do have pictures, my siggy is an example :>

[MsBubbles]

I have been doing the 'Feye's self trim' now for about 3 years. You can follow the instructions for 'U' shaped hemline if you want. They seem to work well for most people (pretty much the same as Juneii described!). I always do a blunt hemline because my hair is thin/fine/straggly and looks healthier that way. But any cutting errors do show up more on straight hair, so I can see your concern. I was worried about it too before I started cutting my own hair.

[MissManda]

I also follow the instructions for Feye's Self Trim. I use the method for a shallow U-shape and haven't run into any issues with it at all during the eight or so months of self-trimming. I just take my time and make sure that the ends I'm cutting are even and snipping off only a tiny bit at a time. I usually have to go back to even up one or two more times, and my hair is good to go. :)

[Phexlyn]

I use Feye's Self Trim method for a straight hemline, so that's probably not what you want, but I'm trying to thicken up the hemline and blunt and straight is best for me ;)
If I'm not sure it's even, I get someone to check how it looks from behing, but mostly I manage to cut nice and straight. Even if I get a slightly lopsided cut (which is rare), it's not really noticable because my hair moves all the time, so unless you pull it completely straight and neat, no one's going to see it.

Whatever you do, just cut slowly and in little bits, check in the mirror what it looks like, so it's easier to stop cutting or correct things :)

[Lemur_Catta]

I use Feye's method, first I used to cut my hair in a V hemline, then I got tired of it and now I use the method for the blunt hemline, but since I don't trim very often it's still kind of a U hemline. You can see pics in my signature and in my album :D

[baaaad_kitty]

All right. Thanks all! I'll trim my hair when I muster up enough courage. Maybe in a few hours LOL

[Marjolein]

I tried the "splitting the hair in half and then cutting it from the front" method recently, but couldn't get it right. On side was always longer than the other on, because the slightest tilt of the head causes rather big differences in the hemline.

So I hopped under the shower, got my hair soaking wet, combed it (carefully!!) so it stuck to my back and had my husband cut my hemline into a nice shallow u-shape. I'll stick to that method from now on ;)

[skyblue]

Ive been trimming straight because I'm trying to grow out my layers, Fey's self trim, I don't think it looks bad

[baaaad_kitty]

Okay so I've trimmed my hair. Like an inch off. Now I feel bald. I did the V trim then the step for the blunt trim, it came out U shaped ?? The ends look nicer, not scraggly, but I still feel like my hair's gotten so short! LOL

[frizzinator]

My hair is straight, about 35 inches long and I cut it dry. My hair's thickness tapers in length, and the circumference measurement near the hemline where I'm trimming is about one and a quarter inches.

I comb all of it straight down my back and trim it straight across by holding the ends between the fingers of one hand behind my back and cut with the other hand. My holding fingers are like a straight cutting guide, and I trim above the fingers, so the fingers are holding the hair that is being cut off. Then I just drop the cut ends in the compost bucket.

Initially I thought I needed two mirrors to see what I was doing behind my back, but after having done it that way 2 or 3 times, I figured out that I don't need the mirrors.

I've been able to comfortably cut it behind my back ever since it was 33 inches long, and my hands remain comfortable behind my back while cutting if the trimmed length is no shorter than 32 inches.

[MissEarlGrey]

I pull it over my shoulders too. I found you have to trim on a diagonal when you do this or else when it goes to the back again it won't be straight.

[lapushka]

I tried the "splitting the hair in half and then cutting it from the front" method recently, but couldn't get it right. On side was always longer than the other on, because the slightest tilt of the head causes rather big differences in the hemline.

There's a trick to that, Marjolein! This is how we do it at home. Tie the two halves with elastic bands, while looking straight ahead, then tilt your head in the desired direction, and holding onto the elastics, move them down both of the lengths (until there's about an inch left). Same thing as when moving the elastic down your length in back. Now you can cut both halves precisely even.

[spidermom]

Since you want to keep your layers, I think the ponytail on top of the head would be the best method. Just bend forward and carefully comb all your hair smoothly to one point, keeping the side hairs on the sides, etc. Make a ponytail. Then put on a second hair-tie and slide it toward the ends until you get to the point where you want to cut.

Actually, you don't have to have the second hair tie, but I used one when I did this method just to make sure everything had the same tension on it.

[Marjolein]

There's a trick to that, Marjolein! This is how we do it at home. Tie the two halves with elastic bands, while looking straight ahead, then tilt your head in the desired direction, and holding onto the elastics, move them down both of the lengths (until there's about an inch left). Same thing as when moving the elastic down your length in back. Now you can cut both halves precisely even.

That's so smart! Thanks for the tip!!

[lapushka]

That's so smart! Thanks for the tip!!

Happy to help! :)

[|Xei]

I have heavily layered hair, v-shaped hemline, and this is what I do to keep the layers but keep the damage away.

1) Split my hair evenly in two, down the middle.

2) With each half, section horizontally into 5-7 parts (or you can section as you go, it really doesnt matter). I find that with by splitting your hair into more sections, the layers come out looking more blended and natural, and more damage is cut off.

3) Starting with the bottom-most section, comb through while pulling out at an angle towards the side, and blunt cut/point cut. This is easier to do if you bring the hair to the front. The deeper you want your v-shape, the more you'll pull it outwards. I've never tried, but I'd imagine it'll work for a straight hemline as well if you don't pull the section outwards.

4) Clip the newly cut section out of the way, and repeat what you just did with the previous section.

*Alternate between working on one section on the right, and then working on the left section so you don't end up with an uneven cut.

[RocketDog]

What Spidermom is describing sounds like a method I used in the past to cut in layers, I found that a lot of tutorials call this method 'compact haircutting' and it worked quite well for me. I am now growing out the layers and working with a U-hemline since I am hoping to bulk up my updos. Layers make my hair look great when it's down, but they make updos look puny and messy despite my best efforts.

[Panth]

For the last ... probably 10 years (!): got my dad to do it. He's a perfectionist, so it would come out as a very tidy gentle U-shape. I did lose a fair bit, though, as I gave him free-reign to take off up to about 3" and then a little more in the process of evening things out.

Last year: Feye's self-trim method (U-shape). Worked very nicely.

This year: not trimming. Just doing S&D.

[Kwongdzu]

I was looking up how to do a sock bun today (even though I have super short hair and will need years before I can begin to even practice this!) and came across really good tutorials on youtube. Not sure I'm allowed to include links in my postings as a newbie? but her name is Habioku and she has a good video on Feye's trimming method. Her hair seems fairly fine-

http://www.youtube.com/user/Habioku#p/a/u/2/L9Erf49Eyxc