How To Cut Your Own Hair For Men: A Step-by-Step Guide
So you want to start cutting your own hair? Maybe you are social distancing, or your barber just can't seem to get it right. Either way, It can save you a lot of money in the long run, and with the right tools and techniques, it's possible to do. In this step-by-step guide, we will show you how to cut your own hair like a pro. We'll cover everything from choosing the right tools to avoiding common mistakes. Let's get started!
What You Will Need
You don't need a lot of tools, but you need a few key things to cut your hair correctly. Here's what you'll need.
Electric trimmer with guards
A good quality electric trimmer like the Brio Beardscape is important for getting a perfect cut on the sides and back. It will give your hair that nice even look, and you want to make sure it comes with multiple trim guards. Trim guards will provide you with more control and help you create a nice gradual fade.
Hair Clippers
If you are going to cut your own hair, then you need to get hair clippers and not just regular scissors. Regular scissors might not be sharp enough for cutting hair, and you could end up pulling out hair or creating split ends.
Hand Mirror
You also need to be able to see the back of your head! A hand-held mirror will help you see the back of your head, and ensure you aren't giving yourself a buzz cut by accident!
Hair Comb
A hair comb is a must. You don't need anything fancy; you just need something that gets the job done. Hair combs are essential for moving hair in the right direction and removing dead skin cells.
Styling Product
This depends on the style you are going for; if you like that natural look, then all you need is a texturing paste. If you have thick hair that is hard to control, then opting for a styling clay and even a matte hairspray is a good option.
Set up Your Workspace
Cutting your own hair can get a little messy, so make sure you are standing in front of your bathroom mirror and put down a towel on the floor for an easy and simple clean-up. You also want to make sure you have all your tools on the counter.
Wash and Comb Your Hair
Before trimming anything, you want to give your hair a nice wash with a shampoo of your choice. We don't recommend putting in conditioner or any other products after washing because you want nice clean hair with no residue or gels that could make cutting harder or clog your trimmer.
Make sure to pat dry your hair with a towel, don't use a hair dryer because your hair will become too fuzzy and unruly. You should leave a little water on your hair so that you have control over the next steps.
Trim The Sides
Before trimming the sides, take your comb and comp the hair up onto your head away from the sides. This will ensure you don't cut any unwanted hair that you want to keep.
Get your electric trimmer and place a guard of 4 or 5 on it. This will ensure you don't cut off too much in the beginning.
Start trimming at the bottom of your head at the temple and slowly go up. When you reach the top, slightly curve your hand and the trimmer blade out. This will ensure there are no harsh lines and everything looks smooth.
If you didn't cut enough, slowly go down to a shorter trim guard until you reach a length you are happy with. We will fade the hair later, so you want to pay attention to the mid and top the most.
Slowly trim from the front to the sides until you have trimmed the entire side of your head. Once you are happy with the results, you can repeat the same steps on the other side. Don't worry about the back too much; we will get to that next.
Trim The Back
Now it's time to tackle the back. This is a little tricky and where a lot of people go wrong, but don't worry; we will guide you and show you how not to mess up your hair.
The first step is to face away from your mirror in the opposite direction. Next, take your handheld mirror and hold it up in front of you in a position that allows you to see the back of your head clearly. Take some time to move around and get comfortable looking at the small mirror in front of you.
Make sure you have your trimmer with a high guard of 4 or 5. You don't want to take off too much hair in the beginning. You can start to trim from the bottom to the top of your head just like you did on the sides, moving your hand outwards in a curving motion when you reach the top.
It's going to take a little time to get used to trimming your hair in the mirror because everything is the opposite; we recommend using a high guard or even practicing first.
Once you have practiced a bit and are feeling confident in the movements, you can put on a lower guard and begin to trim. Take your time and slowly move down to a smaller guard to reach the desired length. Go over the entire back of your head, trimming from the bottom to the top.
Fade The Sides and Back
Fade The Sides
Now it's time to fade the sides of your hair. You want to have your trimmer with a slightly shorter guard this time. You will perform the same technique as you did in the last step, but this time you will stop and curve away at the middle and not the top. Remember to go slowly and trim from bottom to top. Trim until you are happy with your appearance, and then perform the same steps on the other side.
Fade The Back
Make sure you are facing away from the mirror with your handheld mirror and slowly trimming the back side of your head using the same technique as before. If you need to practice before you start trimming, then that's totally fine because cutting your hair using a mirror can be tricky.
Fade The Temple
Next, you want to fade the temple area. We recommend going down one more guard again, but it's optional. You want to perform the same technique by trimming up and rolling the blade out. Just stay in the temple area, and don't go too high up.
Trim The Outline
Ok, now it's time to define the outline of your hair. You can use your trimmer without a guard, but a precision blade like the Brio Zero Blade will really give you those nice defined lines.
You want to start by trimming the sideburns and make sure the bottom is nice and straight. Next, bend your ear down and slowly trim the hairline all the way behind your ear. You then want to repeat this on the other side.
Next, it's time to define the neck. It's a good idea to get your handheld mirror and use it in the same way when you were trimming the back of your head in previous steps.
You want to start with the area by your ears and work your way down. Once you are happy, trim the other side. Once both sides look nice and sharp, you will trim the back of your neck to get that nice defined line. Make sure to use your mirror for this part, and you shouldn't make any mistakes!
Cut The Top
Alright! Now we are going to cut the top. If your hair is dry, then you can put a little water in your hair to make it easier to work with in this step. Once your hair is nice and prepared, pull out your hair clippers and comb this time, and let's get started.
Cut The Front
We are going to start by cutting the front. Take your comb and pull a section of hair straight up. Take your finger and grab the hair right under the comb. Then take your scissors and cut just a little bit off at the top of your hand at first. You can then let the hair fall and see how it looks. If you feel it needs to be shorter, then go back and cut until you reach the perfect length for that section.
Repeat this with the entire front of your hair going left to right until you have everything cut. Remember to go slow and take your time, you can always take hair off, but you can't add it back on. Once you are happy with the front, you can move to the next step.
Cut The Middle
Once you are happy with the front, it's time to move to the middle of your hair. Do the same technique as the previous step. When cutting the middle of your hair, be aware of the side part, and don't cut that too short.
Cut the Back
The last step is to cut the back of your hair. This is the trickiest area. Make sure to use your handheld mirror and practice cutting a few times to get used to moving your hand in the opposite direction.
Finishing Touches
Your hair should look amazing! Take some time to look in the mirror and move your head around to see if you notice any stray hairs or details that don't look right. If you notice anything, then carefully clip or trim those hairs away.
Style Your Hair
You're almost done! That wasn't so hard right? If you already have a hair styling routine, then go ahead and use that, and you're done. If you're unsure how to style your hair, check out our guide to the best men's haircuts here.
If you are going for a more casual look, we recommend using a styling paste if you have thin hair and molding clay if you have thick, coarse hair. If you want a more refined or sleek look, styling gel with hair spray is the best combination.
Conclusion
That's it! You should be looking at a sharp-looking gentleman in the mirror! Cutting your own hair doesn't have to be difficult, and even if you mess something up, don't panic because it will grow back. Keep practicing, and you might be giving yourself better haircuts than your barber. We hope you enjoyed the article! Let us know about your experience in the comments below!
Thanks for reading!
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