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Don't want to go to the barber's? Let’s learn how to get a haircut at home!

The trips to barber’s can be cumbersome. Not to mention expensive! Especially for men, according to the American Academy of Dermatologists, men’s hair grows at a faster rate than women’s does, at half an inch per month, getting cuts regularly really add up. No wonder Learn how to cut your own hair is a wise choice!

Cutting your own hair can be a challenge for most people. Above everything else, know what you want to do for the haircut is the most important thing. If this is your first time, don’t make things hard on yourself — pick something easy, such as buzz cut or fade haircut.

Fade haircuts have been very popular among men for many years, and this trend is likely to continue for a long time. If you want a super clean and stylish men’s haircut then you will want to get a cool fade. Outside of the area of your hair that gets faded, you can go with short hair on top or a medium to long length of hair that will create more contrast. A longer length of hair will also give you more options on how to style your look. You can slick back your hair, keep it more natural and dry looking, mess it up, or style it neatly with a comb over.

The following guide will help you learn how to cut your own hair short at home.

⦁ Things you need

For your short hair, you’ll definitely need hair clippers, hair scissors, and a handheld mirror. Also, a hair cutting cape, hair thinning scissors, and any hair products like gel are optional, but helpful.

⦁ Clippers

For short hair, especially if you want to taper fade the sides and back or give yourself a buzz cut, you’ll absolutely need a top-rated clipper. Clippers are one of the most important tools for styling, so try to choose the best quality possible.

⦁ Scissors

While most of the trimming involved will be done with clippers, scissors can help cut the hair on the top of your head and fix small areas. Designed with an ergonomic hold and built with stainless steel to stay super sharp, these are the best hair cutting shears around.

⦁ Mirror

If it’s the first time cutting your own hair, you may be able to get away with using the mirror in your bathroom and holding up a hand-held mirror. But if you want a complete self hair cutting system, a sturdy mirror with a versatile design will ensure you see every angle when trimming the sides, back and neckline. A three-way mirror will be helpful.

⦁ Prepare your workplace

Cutting your hair can take up to several hours, especially if you've never done it before. Find a place that is easy to clean., also with good lighting and plenty of mirrors.I recommend the bathroom, but your backyard can also work. Prepare your vacuum cleaner close by so you don’t make a mess in your house walking to it covered in stray hairs.

Prepare everything you will need and get familiar with your hair tools. Turn the clippers on the off, change speeds, clip guards on and off to ensure they remain in place, change blades, etc.

⦁ Wash your hair before cutting

Before cutting, you should wash your hair with shampoo and conditioner, just like you usually do. Clean hair will make it easier to cut and work with. Some styling products, such as hair gel, can make it harder to comb and feed your hair into clippers, and it will distort the lengths across your head, influence your judgment.

After washing, make sure to properly dry your hair, dry the hair with a towel and comb it out if needed to remove any tangles. Clipper work is almost always performed best in dry hair. Dry hair is also good for blending. When the hair is wet, it seems longer than it is, and this may cause you to cut more than you expected, it can also be difficult to see the lines.

⦁ Start cutting the sides and back with clippers

The most popular haircuts for men have short sides. To accomplish this, barbers always start haircuts by cutting the sides and back with clippers. For one who want to cut the fade, you will need to determine where the fading will begin and how short the faded sides will be.

First of all, choose a suitable guard size, clip on the comb, and run the clippers up the side of your head. Cut your hair against the direction of your hair growth, starting from the bottom and moving the clippers upwards to the top, gradually work your way from the sideburns to the back. Repeat several times to make sure that you got all hairs.

Usually, you'll get attachments numbered from #1 to #8. Here's what length they cut to (inches shown are equal to the amount of hair left on your head):

  • #1 – 1/8″ or 3 mm
  • #2 – 1/4″ or 6 mm
  • #3 – 3/8″ or 10 mm
  • #4 – 1/2″ or 13 mm
  • #5 – 5/8″ or 16 mm
  • #6 – 3/4″ or 19 mm
  • #7 – 7/8″ or 22 mm
  • #8 – 1″ or 25 mm

Generally size increments are around 1/8″ or 3 mm.

Blending a skin fade will be hard for one who first cut the hairstyle by themselves, we recommend starting with #2 or #3 low fade and working up. Then gradually blending the hair smoothly by changing combs, going from #2 to #5 or #6. The line should be symmetrical on both sides and even all around the head. Like anything else, practice makes perfect and a keen eye is necessary. Keep the machine steady, slightly tilted forward, and flush with your scalp to scoop up as many hairs as possible. Even with good clippers, it’s important to do a few passes to make sure all the hairs are the same length.

⦁ Clean up the hairline with clippers

Before going to the top, the most important thing is to clean up around the ears and neck. You can let your father, mother or girl friend to do this for you. You can not see it, and it will be very difficult for you to do this by yourself, unless you're very skilled. Using a trimmer or edger, clean up your sideburns as well as the hair around the ears. The goal is to have the hairline curve around your ear nicely.

Next, you’ll want to follow the hairline down behind the ears and into your neckline.
Finally, the neck can be trimmed in a few different ways. Choose between a tapered, rounded, and blocked neckline haircut.

Using styling scissors instead of clippers will help you make more precise cuts and give your hair more texture.

The hair is dried out now, you need to make sure that you get it sort of damp again, because it is easier to cut.

You are just going to knock the little bit of ends off depending on how much you want to take off, and grab the section right next to it and take your scissors cut on top of your fingers. All you are doing is moving section by section from front to the back of your head.

Tips:

  • Do not use household scissors to cut your hair, as they aren't sharp enough to properly cut hair so you're more likely to make mistakes.
  • Cut the hair on the top of your head will be more noticeable that cut to the hair on the sides of your head, so please be conservative.
  • When finished with the top, run a comb through your hair to look for irregularities or long strands. If so, trim it to make sure it stays the same length.
  • Finally, style you hair

After haircut, wash your hair again. And then dry it, part it with a comb and style it as you usually would. At this point, you can make adjustments to your work. If you notice any mistakes or uneven areas while styling, trim these areas again as needed. Many of these minor mistakes will hardly be noticeable in a few days as your hair grows out.

Cutting men’s hair is a useful skill to have no matter what your motives. Whether you are going to cut your hair year-round or just touching up on your haircut to extend its lifetime, you will save a ton of money with these tips.

If you're bored at home right now, you don't want to go to the barber's or you're restricted to going to the barber's, why not try your own haircut? This is a great opportunity!