anyone else cut their own hair (or cut by means other than going to a salon).

[LynneSin]

After 40+ some years I know this about my hair. It's a waste of time to style it and spray it up because my hair is so fine that it just loses the style within 15 minutes. I kinda like a free flowing hairstyle but get annoyed that a haircut means an hour of my life in a chair because I'm suppose to have all this precesion with my hair cut.

Then it dawned on me, why spend the money? I would love to have long hair, but when my hair is too long it starts looking greasy even if I wash it every day. Again the curse of the baby fine hair. Most of the time I wash it, blow dry most of it and put it in a bun where after an hour or so my hair will have nice pretty waves to it.

So instead of going to a hair salon I asked my best friend if she'd cut my hair. I put it in a pony tail and told her to cut everything off below the hairtie. She's done this twice now and honestly, I haven't had a better cut anywhere then what she does (which btw lasts a whole minute).

It's not that I'm cheap. I mean there are low price options for hair cuts but I hate sitting in that chair and waiting.

what do others do about their hair?

[hollysmom]

1. I do

fine hair is a blessing and a curse - my hair looks great when I wash it, but then flattens quickly, I have more hair than most people I know, but you could not tell that by looking at it being so straight and laying parallel and flat.

I went to super cuts and they did a much worse job than I did myself - who knew you could get my hair to stick out at odd angles?

[LynneSin]

2. sounds like you and I have the same type of hair

I must have killed the ozone layer over Harrisburg PA from my excessive use of Aqua Net Hairspray just to hold that Farrah look hairstyle.

I like being able to wash-n-go. My hair has never looked better.

[valerief]

3. I hate getting my hair cut, too. I hate the wait and sitting in the chair and answering the cutter's

questions. There are definitely worse things in life, but that's up there with taking out the garbage.

I tried cutting my own hair myself a couple of times, when I didn't feel like venturing on ice to get to the salon. Mixed results. Luckily, it grows out.

Actually, I'm due for a cut now. I'm growing out some hair coloring.

I like your idea of cutting below the hair tie. I may try that when the coloring is all grown out.

on edit
BTW, I have straight fine hair. Lots of it but it's straight and fine.

[pinboy3niner]

4. When I tell people I cut my own hair...

...they always respond, "Yeah. We can tell."

[hedgehog]

5. I wear my hair long, and a few years back went back to bangs

(as in every 50 years or so, I change my hair style!)

So - I put it into two braids and trim the ends periodically, and I trim the bangs when they get too long. Right now I'm growing them out slightly to see if I can sweep them to either side and still show off the curly texture.

But - don't go by me - I like my hair best on humid days when it forms a lot of soft curls - which I recently realized is what other peole call "frizzy" and a "bad hair day."

[fizzgig]

6. i have been for a few years

quarter-inch guard on my husband's clippers.

[LWolf]

7. Sometimes, but

I don't recommend my technique, lol.

I get a "professional" (cheap $10) haircut once or twice a year. When I've been rushed for time for that mid-year cut, I've been known to stop what I'm doing in my classroom, grab a pair of dull scissors with one hand, and the band holding my pony tail with the other, and cut all the hair off at the band.

This is quick, free, and has the added benefit of immediately getting 100% of the attention of 100% of the students.

It also has some not-so-great side effects: The hair is not even. It's going to be longer in front than back. The ends are going to look like the fringe hanging off of an old 70s hippie shawl, because the hair wasn't even and the scissors weren't straight.

It doesn't look great...except the students love it. When an adult walking down the hall gives it a sideways look, there's always a student to jump in and explain my radical hair-cutting and styling cool.

I'll get a short cut on labor day weekend; cut it again in January, and let it grow out enough to fit in a ponytail for the summer so I can keep it off the back of my neck in the heat.

For about 20 years, the end of high school through young adulthood, I had an in-law that was a stylist. She never went anywhere without her shears, and I've had my hair cut in some bizarre places: standing in line to get into the movies; at the park; in the parking lot of a dance club; on a sailboat; and, of course, at her, or my, kitchen sink. She spoiled me.

[LynneSin]

10. Weird thing is this - I don't mind the uneven bottom

First, I like my hair a bit longer in the front so that doesn't bother me.

And I know it's not an 'even' cut but where is it in life's rulebook that our hair must be evenly cut? I think it's a style that gives me a wild youthful look, that I'm willing to buck society's norm when it comes to getting my hair cut.

So wear your unevenly free haircut with pride & joy!

[LWolf]

29. Yes,

even when I'm a gray-haired grandma; THAT'S what my students love.

[Martysbestcatch]

8. I use a Flowbee...

(yes, they probably still laugh when you say that) but it's been great. I've been using it for about 15 years now. I have been cursed with the thin, straight hair so I keep it short. It only takes about 15 minutes to use. It hooks to the vacuum cleaner so there's no mess to clean up. They have them at Amazon or you can get them right from Flowbee.

[grasswire]

11. what the hell is a flowbee? nt

[Tom_Foolery]

14. Go here...

http://www.flowbee.com/

[grasswire]

21. whoooah!

Who knew?

I have turned the vacuum hose on my hair before, when vacuuming my border collie. It's very cooling.

[jmowreader]

45. Kinda like this...

[Tom_Foolery]

13. I've been using a Flowbee for 15 years, too...

It has saved me a lot of money.

[Martysbestcatch]

16. Thank you...

Thanks for responding to grasswire. I didn't know how to put a link in my post. Yes, it sure does save you money.

[Tom_Foolery]

19. You are very welcome! n/t

[rurallib]

34. We are on our second Flowbee

had 'em for @ 25 years. I was getting some terrible cuts, so I figured Flowbee couldn't be much worse.
Really need a snip right now.

[riderinthestorm]

9. I do. My hair is wild and long, just like Diana Ross' so nobody would ever know if it was "straight"

or not. I just stand in front of a mirror and chop off a couple inches of hair that I've gathered in the other hand. (Try to) even it up and then I'm done. Usually takes less than 3 minutes total.

For work its typically pulled back and under a baseball cap so I'm not worried about daily "styling" either.

On the rare days I go out I usually let it do its wild thing or I'll pull it back into a very loose braid clipped with one of a collection of interesting clips I've picked up over the years.

[bluesbassman]

12. Yep, super easy. #2 guard on the clippers.

Sad part is the pile left is getting smaller each time.

[RebelOne]

15. I have always done my own hair,

mainly because I used to style and cut wigs. When the hair on a wig is cut, it does not grow back. I always had a knack for styling hair. I have very fine hair and wear it up most of the time. The only thing that controls my hair is teasing and a lot of hair spray. The older I get, the more fine and thin my hair becomes. I use volume building shampoos and conditioners. I also color my hair because it gives me more body.

[KamaAina]

17. A-yup.

Just lopped some off the back this morning. Right out of the shower, so it was wet. Maybe I'll try that more often.

[LiberalEsto]

18. I leave it long except for the bangs

I trim the bangs every few weeks. For the rest, I part it in the middle of the back of my head as though I were making braids on each side, pull each section forward and cut off an inch or so. My older daughter took a few inches of split ends off a couple of months ago and did a nice job. Problem is she lives in Pittsburgh and I'm in the DC area.

I color it with henna about 3 times a year with pure henna from an Indian grocery store and one of the recipes from the web site hennaforhair.com
It doesn't change the color drastically, just adds warmer tones to my graying natural light ash brown.

[NightWatcher]

20. just gave myself a mohawk a couple weeks ago

I always did my own hair back in the grudge days, now I usually keep it closely buzzed.

I'm lucky, I don't have an office job

[MrScorpio]

22. I bought a pair of clippers and I cut my own hair

Best purchase ever.

[Kali]

23. haven't cut mine in over 20 years

could use the ends trimmed but I AM cheap.

[frogmarch]

24. I have cut my own hair ever since

my mom thought I was old enough and knew well enough how to do it to take over for her. I was in the 8th grade. I've gone to a salon twice in my life and both times my hair turned out looking awful. I'm 70, by the way.

[Phentex]

25. My friend followed a you tube video

with her daughter as a back up for trimming some and it turned out nice. It is layered around her face.

Me? No. I have Sasquatch hair. I need cutting a some good products to keep from frightening small children.

[surrealAmerican]

26. I haven't had mine done professionally ...

... since the '70s. It's the opposite problem from yours, though: thick, frizzy curls.

I learned (from a book) how to cut it myself, but have since decided that I like it better long. I braid it in the summer, but otherwise just wash, comb, and let it do what it wants. Lately, I've been getting compliments about it - people are impressed by grey hair these days.

[noamnety]

27. I've been cutting mine for decades.

I've got long hair, no bangs. Mine's on the other extreme from yours, thick thick thick. Sometimes I blunt cut it, but that leaves the bottom edge so thick it can be hard to get the comb past the final inch. So now I've gone to the pony tail method - the kind where you make the ponytail coming off your forehead so you get a little layering around the chin and it's longer in back


[img][/img]
^ not me

[PasadenaTrudy]

35. Hmmm..I may try this

Mine is past my shoulders now and needs a trim. It's straight and fine.

[LynneSin]

40. I do it like that but with the Pony in the back

I like it a bit longer in the front. Since it's in the back it's a bit harder to cut, especially since there is so much fricking hair. So I have my friend do it and then afterwards I treated her and her kids for halfprice burgers at Klondike Kates

[magical thyme]

28. I cut my own for the first time a couple months ago

I was inspired to try to pony-tail cut based on a thread I think by Cali. Not the best cut when I was done, but it worked. I don't care if it's perfect or not. Not trying to impress anybody; just keep it easy to care for.

I like having somebody do it for me...it's such a luxury to have somebody else wash my hair and cut it. But I didn't have time in the spring. Now I have time; maybe I'll have it done for me.

But then I hate looking in their mirrors. My bathroom mirror is much, much kinder to me.

[GoCubsGo]

30. Yep.

I grew out my layers, and I normally wear it pulled back in a pony tail. I cut mine the same way you do, and I also trim my own bangs. My hair waves up when it's humid, which is most of the time around here, so even if I mess up, it doesn't look so bad. The pony tail also covers up any unevenness. My hair tends to do what it wants, thanks in part to a couple of ill-placed cowlicks, and I can't afford the type of hairdresser who might be able to give me a great cut in spite of them. So, what the hell...

[pinboy3niner]

31. I started cutting my own hair when I became suspicious of the credentials of my barber...

...Theodoric of York.

[Skittles]

33. JAYSUS

[Sweet Freedom]

32. I started cutting my own hair

last year when I lost my job. I ended up getting a haircut this year (I had a coupon), but I think I did a better job!

[flying rabbit]

36. I use a razor

YMMV. If you need tips just ask.

[Scuba]

37. I cut my own, but it's so short it's easy.

Right down to the wood.

[Art_from_Ark]

38. I gladly pay the lady barber $7

to have her run her fingers through my hair for 10 minutes

[pipi_k]

39. Damned hair!

Mine is baby fine too, but now at my age I don't have to wash it more than once a week because oil production is way down

Anyway, it's waist length and I trim the ends myself

[LynneSin]

41. I wash my hair about 3-4 times a week anymore

Anything more than that and the hair gets way too flimsy and flyaway.

[Aerows]

44. I fucking dread it like the plague

In sisterhood. I'm on my last resort, and I HAVE to go to the fucking beauty shop with my mom. She's not well, and my hair needs help, too. Thank God and all that is merciful that we are going at 6am.

[BlueJazz]

42. I cut my own hair. fairly easy if you use mirrors and do a little at a time.

Also...practice really does make it quite easy after a while.

[Aerows]

43. I have to go get my hair done tomorrow

I dread it like getting an organ taken out. Thank god I'm going at 6am and there won't be a bunch of gossips.

I've had everyone under the sun do my hair. We must be twins. I fucking dread it. At least there won't be a bunch of gossipping women there.

[trackfan]

46. I do - even though I have two sisters who are hair stylists. Here's the story:

By the time I was a teenager, both of my older sisters were hair stylists. I always got my hair cut by the younger of the two. My oldest sister is too headstrong, and would cut it her way, not mine. (She's had a 30+ year career doing hair and makeup in movies). For years, though, I got my hair cut by sister number two. I would usually go into whatever shop she was working in, and get it done there, but she also would do it at home, if that was more convenient. (I've basically never paid for a haircut in my life). Anyway, as the years went on, more and more often I would just go to my sister's house to get my hair cut. For quite a while, she lived about 2 miles away, so it was very convenient. About 10 or 12 years ago she had to move, and ended up moving to a community that is about 10 miles from me. At that point, having been so spoiled, I decided that 10 miles was too far to go for a free haircut, so I bought a clipper, and have been doing it myself ever since. My sister, within a few months, actually moved again, to a house 1 block from me; but having gotten used to cutting my own hair, I just kept up with it.