And I really like how it turned out 
For years, my husband has been cutting his own hair. Most of the time, he just shaves it all the way off using the closest setting on the clippers, and then waits a few months and does it again. Sometimes I’ll give him a snazzy haircut that utilizes two different settings on the trimmers… fancy, I know!
And we’ve always cut our boys hair in the same manner, using the trimmers two or three times a year to give them a very close cut and then doing it again when they start to look shaggy.
But I’ve always paid someone to cut my hair. I only get it cut about once a year, so the expense is minimal. But it’s still about $35 plus tip at the salon in our little town, and it’s usually an hour and a half out of my day by the time I bike over there, get my hair cut, and bike home again.
Then yesterday, I came across “the ponytail method” of cutting your own hair. There are tons of how-to videos online, but it basically involves putting your wet hair into a ponytail on the front or top of your head, and then making one chop with a pair of scissors to remove whatever amount of hair you want. When you take it out of the ponytail, you end up with layers. This is my new cut after it dried:
And here’s a side view:
I’m not exaggerating when I say that this took me three minutes. And most of that was spent combing my wet hair into a ponytail. The actually cutting process was just a few seconds.
Obviously this only works if your hair is long enough to put in a ponytail and if you like the layered look. I think it also helps that my hair has a very tiny amount of wave to it, because it hides layering imperfections pretty well. And it’s usually up in a ponytail or a bun, which also helps to hide flaws…
I’ve been shampoo-free for about two months now, and I feel like my hair is doing really well on the no-poo method (baking soda to wash, apple cider vinegar to condition). I’m happy with it anyway!
For my female readers, have any of you tried cutting your own hair? If you’re nervous, you could wait until you’re just about to go get a haircut anyway, and then give this a try. Worse case scenario, you can always go ahead with the salon appointment and have them fix it for you. But you might just find that you love it, and that you end up with a haircut that takes all of three minutes and doesn’t cost anything at all. Have fun with it! And remember, it’s just hair. And it grows back.
Kelly says
Looks awesome! My mom was a hairdresser when I was growing up, and had a shop in our basement, so I have never paid to have my hair done. However, I now live 1000 miles away, and while my mom chopped it off for me last summer when they were visiting, I need a new alternative. I’m growing it out anyway, but I need a trim. I might just have to give this a try. I’ve always had the same philosophy…it’s just hair, it will grow back!
Jenny says
Wow! How long was it before? How much did you cut off?
Fiona says
Perfect timing, looks great.
BI hate going to the hairdresser and it was overdue. Saw your post, watched a few videos and went for it. Generally quite happy. Had to trim some length off after I was done and didn’t see the part about cutting into the remaining pony tail to getting rid of hard lines till I was done so that will be another day. Thanks so much.
Frugal Babe says
Thanks! I only cut off maybe a half inch from the overall length, but some parts of the ponytail I chopped off were three or four inches long, so I’ve got a lot of variation in the length of the layers. And I forgot to mention in the post that I went back later and did the whole process a second time before I took pictures, putting the ponytail further back on my head (only took about a minute, because I did it with my hair dry and just wet the ends under the faucet before cutting). That added in some more layers, but I only cut off about an inch during that second chop, and so a lot of the hair from the front and sides didn’t get cut at all.
My main goal was to get rid of split ends (it had been 9 months since I’d had a hair cut) and take off a little bit of length. Overall, I’m pretty happy with how this turned out, especially given the price and time required :-)
I’m now fully self-sufficient when it comes to personal grooming, and I like that. I’ve always cut my own nails, groomed my eyebrows, etc. And I don’t wear makeup or color my hair, so that part’s easy. Cutting my hair was the only thing I ever paid for when it came to my appearance, and I love that I’ve found an easy way to get around even that.
M- says
My husband just dart cutting my hair. He does a really good job.He is a dorsal mechanic by trade. I got a good pair of scissors for hair and that seems to make a big difference. After one hair cut the scissors paid for themselves. Your hair looks great!
Frugal Vegan Mom says
I have a short messy cut and used to let my husband do it most of the time – not only for the cost savings but I also hate going to the salon! Recently I put some blue streaks in and had a friend who used to be a hairstylist help me – still paid her $20, but she came to my house and our kids played together, so no need for a sitter and the $ is going to a friend so win win =)
Meg says
I have been cutting my hair since I moved out of the house – also in layers. I have thick hair and it gets weighed down FAST. People are amazed when they hear that I cut it myself – I just chop a little here, a little there, voila! It’s really not that difficult. Then again, my hair is never perfect…so it doesnt really matter. :-)
I’ve gone someplace to have it cut TWICE and after they were done, I came home and trimmed it because it wasnt what I wanted. :-) What a waste.
It’s nice seeing a face to the site! :-)
bogart says
I went through a brief phase of cutting my hair the way your DH cuts his, although with a 1&1/2 inch spacer (the longest I could find). It still left my hair really unattractively short for me, which, honestly, I was fine with (as you note it grows out). And after maybe a month of being dreadful, it would start looking quite nice, like a short cut I’d get at a hairdresser. And it was easy! And free! But it made my husband (and my mother!) grouchy enough that I stopped doing it.
For my hair when it’s long, I usually let it get really long and then go to Great Clips and donate to Locks of Love, so I get a free cut, go from long to a bob (or shorter), and just pay the tip. But now I want some layers — more precise ones, honestly, than what you’ve got, though yours looks lovely and is similar to how I’ve been wearing mine for several years — so I’m waiting to see if a Great Clips coupon shows up. But free and easy are good, so I may yet try your approach!