I cut my own hair today

[Independent]

I'm 72 and stuck at home. I don't care how I look. However, hair hanging on my ears bugs me*. My wife has hair scissors she used to use on the kids. At some point I will get them out just for the sides. (No, I don't want her to cut it. She could, but she would be incredibly slow. I couldn't sit still for it.)


* When I was 20 I routinely had hair hanging over my ears. That was the style. Hard to remember that long ago.

 

[jcretire77]

Cut mine yesterday. Wahl clippers. Sides/Back. Not a lot left on top .

 

[Silver]

I wear my hair short and spiky and I have cut it myself since high school. No electric razors...just scissors.....kind-a punky...….and I get compliments from other women all the time, which surprises me. My response is always "You are very kind".

I inherited truly silver-white hair from my DM, so I'm grateful for that. I went totally white and very short in my early 40's....and have never regretted it.

I have also cut my DH's hair for many years, and he is so handsome my heart still misses a beat when I look at him. We are very lucky.....and we know it.

 

[VungTau]

My DW tackles, with gusto, all the things that grow on my body and the last stickler was headhair - tick it off, done. She's a real trooper!

 

[Out_the_Door]

I just called my regular barber and she cut my hair at her home. I don't care for self mutilation and I like the feel of someone else's hands on my head.

 

[MrsHaloFIRE]

I gave DH a 2 on the sides, a 6 on the top and scissor trimmed the front. It looks as good if not better than the barbershop. Im gonna make him pay me next time. Plus he got a kiss when we finished.

 

[rick55]

I shave my head when the face needs shaving. I use my trusty Costco 3blade razor and some Edge gel. I used to complain that I had more hair in my ears than on the top of my head!

I dont have to comb anything when I get up in the morning. And nothing blows around when I drive with the windows open.

So liberating
Rick

 

[Revlefty]

My wife has been cutting my hair since we got married 47 years ago. And she reminds me every time how much money she has saved me in haircuts. Then she tells me to quit whining about her going shopping!

She is self-taught and does a pretty good job. She likes to tell people she used the same bowl on me, our son and daughter and the dogs.

 

[DallasGuy]

I bought one of these a few years ago and never looked back

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B014SG66UO/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

works like a charm if you wear your hair short.

I have one of these also...works great! I've been cutting my own hair for the last 15 years or so. If you have fairly short hair to begin with, you'll quickly find that most people can't tell whether you've cut your own hair with a clippers or had it cut by a barber.

 

[Joylush]

I've been cutting my own hair for years, after a kindly barber suggested I buy an Oster 76 and Andis Master instead of paying her every 2 weeks.

Seriously - if you can get either of these for a decent price, BUY THEM. They are both "pro" barber clippers and better than most Wahls or other brands you can buy (with one or two exceptions).

You'll also need a set of guards - each "number" is 1/8 of an inch. So, a #1 is 1/8..#2 1/4 (2 * 1/8)..#3 (3 * 1/8) or 3/8s, etc. They make guards ranging from a 0 to an 8 (1 inch). And if you want to get really crazy, the Oster 76 takes detachable metal blades (vs guards) and those go all the way down to 00000 (1/100th of an inch) to a "3 3/4" which is really more like a 3 1/2.

DW has worn a pixie for years and fortunately, I learned to also cut her hair years back after she wasn't able to find anyone decent with women's short hair. Just cut hers for her the other day and it's better than 90-95% of the "pro" haircuts she's ever gotten..that said, it also took me several years and dozens of "bad" haircuts on her to get to that point, so don't expect perfection until you've studied a ton of YouTube videos and have tried it numerous times..

ETA - a very good pair of shears is also helpful..I have the Kamisori Black Diamond but they are not cheap..$400+ for the pair (5' shears and 5' thinners) but worth every penny. Virtually all cuts aside from crew cuts require shears..don't skimp on these..spending the $$ makes all the difference..

This is very helpful. I used the clippers on myself a couple days ago. Not too bad! After doing a bit more YouTube viewing I realized I do need a good pair of thinners to help with blending. I think I will go with your recommendation. Unfortunately I will need two sets being as I’m right handed and my DH is a leftie.

 

[martyp]

I've been watching YouTube videos and planning a clipper purchase but today I got an offer from my wife's hairdresser to come to the condo and give me a cut. Much relieved but I will reserve judgement until after the deed is done.

Yesterday I saw some photos of a friend's before and after DYI cut. I don't want to go down that path until I absolutely have to.

 

[RenoJay]

Cut mine today. Came out pretty well.

 

[martyp]

I got lucky today. My wife has a friend who works in a nail salon. She made a house call so now I’m good for another 4-6 weeks. I’m living in Thailand. The house call was about $12. She cut my hair on the condo balcony.

They are about to lift restrictions here. I’m not sure how it will affect hair salons. Some near my condo are open air businesses so they may have an easy time getting permission. Anyplace with walls, a door, and air conditioning will have a tougher time opening.

 

[scrabbler1]

I remember when I was a kid back in the 1970s my mom buying a simple trimmer and using it on my hair successfully. The other day, I was at my dad's house and found it. It's made by Hoffritz and it has a long, skinny handle and you pop in a double-edged razor blade. There are notches on both sides of the razor end and you run it through your hair like a comb to trim your hair. (I saw Hoffritz hair care items on Amazon but I guess they don't make this one any more.)


My last haircut was in early March and I had just begun getting my hair cut every 7 weeks instead of 8 weeks this year, so I would have had one last week. I haven't yet summoned up the courage to use this trimmer on my hair but my otherwise short, bushy hair is beginning to get out of control.

 

[obsessed]

I remember when I was a kid back in the 1970s my mom buying a simple trimmer and using it on my hair successfully. The other day, I was at my dad's house and found it. It's made by Hoffritz and it has a long, skinny handle and you pop in a double-edged razor blade. There are notches on both sides of the razor end and you run it through your hair like a comb to trim your hair. (I saw Hoffritz hair care items on Amazon but I guess they don't make this one any more.)

.

I think my mom used something similar. As I recall it felt like it was ripping my hair and not cutting it. I kinda hated it.

 

[statsman]

Having healthy, thick, wavy hair that is slightly receding with no bald spot or thinning on top at age 61, no one but a stylist is touching my hair.

 

[Ready]

I finally received my set of clippers from Andis on Monday. Fifteen minutes later I look good as new. I’m not sure why I kept going back to the barber shop. I may never go back again.

 

[RobbieB]

I ordered a Remington from Amazon, backordered of course, should be here early May.

Maybe I'll do a Mohawk. I dunno. Just buzz the stuff and who cares eh? Not like anyone's gonna see it ya know.

 

[scrabbler1]

I used the Hoffritz hair trimmer a few days ago and it worked okay. My ladyfriend later evened out my attempt and trimmed in some hard-to-get areas such as around the ears and near the back of my neck. Looks pretty good. At least I bought myself a month or so for the barbershops to reopen, or we can repeat this primitive trimming process.

 

[IMATERP]

I think I’ll pull out my Flobee, tomorrow. I haven’t been to the barber since January.

I

 

[FIREd]

My barber re-opens on Monday, but I am not satisfied with the currently proposed safety measures. So, after much hesitation, I cut my own hair today using my Wahl clipper. It was a first for me. I am pretty happy with the result, though I'll get back to the barber when it is safe to do so.

 

[Ready]

My Andis cordless clippers arrived last week. Number 2 all over and I’m looking like brand new again. The only challenge is trimming the neckline since I can’t see it. So I’m down to 2 options:

1) Let DH trim the neckline, which is a little scary since he’s never been able to cut a straight line with a pair of scissors

2) Use a combination of my IPhone camera combined with my Apple Watch app. I keep the IPhone behind me on the back of my head and then use my Watch to view what the IPhone is watching. It’s a little tricky but with some masking tape to guide me it seems to work OK.

I used to get a haircut every 3-4 weeks since it was such a hassle but now that I’m doing it myself I just trim it once a week so that it always looks neat and trim. It’s been so much more convenient than going to the barber that I may never go back.

 

[samm]

Watch YouTube Videos and Cut Away!

After reading this thread and watching several YouTube videos I cut my own hair ...after it had grown for 3 months.

I started with #8 (longest guard) to get a feel for the clippers then went shorter on sides with #4.

Excellent results in 5 minutes.

I will never waste time and $$ going to barber again.

Here is what I bought from Amazon: "Remington HC5850 Virtually Indestructible Haircut Kit & Beard Trimmer, Hair Clippers for Men" ($32)

 

[samm]

You need a handheld mirror to cut back

I got this mirror to see the back. Only $4.22 at Walmart.

 

[Ready]

I got this mirror to see the back. Only $4.22 at Walmart.

How do you hold the mirror and trimmer while reaching behind your head to trim the neck? That’s the only part I’ve struggled with so far. It’s pretty hard to see back there and keep the line straight.

Also, does that trimmer remove all the hair on the neck or does it leave a little stubble? My clipper is not a “zero gap” clipper so it leaves stubble on the back of my neck.