A Professional Barber’s Take on the Things You Must Do To Get an Awesome Home Haircut

Let’s face it. With the pandemic, social distancing, lockdowns, quarantines, and closures that happened last year, many were forced to do DIY haircuts. And even if that wasn’t the case for you, there’s probably that one time when you couldn’t visit a barber. Right?

Anyway, cutting your hair is easy and time-saving. Moreover, it saves cash. Meaning, no more haircut charges, tipping expenses, or costly trips to a barbershop. However, to get a neat self-cut, you need to have the skills and proper tools to get the job done.

Now, if you want to or have been trying to self-cut hair unsuccessfully, this post is for you. Here are a few awesome tips that’ll help improve your DIY haircuts:

1. Be Mindful Of the Tools You Use

I often say this – “a haircut will always be as good as the tools used.” There are no shortcuts here. A good haircutter not only helps to do a proper job but also makes the whole process fast, easy, and stress-free.

So, ensure that every tool is comfortable, usable, precise, and reliable. Take a hair clipper, for example. For home use, you need one that’s flexible, light, and easy to maneuver around the head. Right? Any suggestions?

Well, I’d recommend using a cordless hair clipper. But note that it also takes good features and the right accessories to have a completely functional haircutting kit. Don’t know where to find one? Check out these amazing home hair clippers.

2. Prepare Your Hair… Always

Hair preparation is always a critical aspect of trimming. Basically, your DIY cut’s success depends heavily on it. How? Well, get this. Preparation is all about cleaning and combing hair.

You have to clean it to remove any buildup, hair product residue, dirt, grease, or anything that isn’t a part of your natural hair structure. Plus, in doing so, this moistens/softens the hair to make it easy to cut without any snagging or pulling.

Combing, on the other hand, helps to straighten hair. Thus, allowing for a nice, even trim around the head. It’s also a great way to remove tangles and ease the cutting process. Get it?

3. Practice Trimming Against the Grain of Your Hair

Now, what does this mean and why is it important? Simply put, the grain of your hair is its natural direction of growth. When shaving, you can either do it with or against the grain. What’s the difference?

Well, cutting with the grain means doing it in the direction of growth. But, this often results in uneven hair sizes. Especially, for those with wavy or curly hair. And that’s what causes a patchy haircut; i.e. containing different regions of thick and thin hair. You don’t want that, do you?

If so, learn to trim against the grain (in the opposite direction). What this does is straighten the hair while cutting. Hence, ensuring each strand gets an evenly-sized trim. What’s more? This method is more efficient and requires fewer passes than trimming with the grain.

4. Ensure You’ve Got Ample Visibility

Take it from a professional barber, it’s impossible to ace a home haircut using one mirror; unless, you have someone else to trim it for you.

Visibility is important because it helps you to cut a uniform length and style with ease; even if you are doing something as simple as a Buzzcut.

Here, you have two options; either get a handheld mirror to compliment the one on the wall or invest in a 3-way mirror. Just make sure your mirror setup allows you to see every inch of the cutting area.