by
Black Girl With Long Hair
By Shan of HippieBrownGirl.com
I still can’t believe I did this.  I gave myself a haircut.  Not a trim. I was attempting to cut my hair into a style.  I wanted layers and curly bangs. I think that’s kind of ambitious considering that I’ve only ever trimmed my own hair once. And I would consider it more a dusting than a real trim.  All of this is to say that I am not an expert.  But I am cheap.  And I was not trying to pay these NYC prices for a curly cut.
I started on dry, end of the day, raggedy hair. Â The logic behind that was that if I could make it look good when my hair looked busted, it would have to look good all styled up. Â First, I put the hair in 4 large braids to stretch it a bit so I could see what I was doing better.
Then I took my hair down and did some finger detangling.
I decided to cut the bang first. I didn’t part it out perfectly.  No one ever sees my parts anyway.
I got a little woozy here. Really wasn’t sure what I was doing at all
I tried to err on the long side because you know, you can always cut more, but once you’ve cut it, it’s gone. I ended up cutting the middle of the bangs a little more than the sides in hopes that would help the bang blend a little better with the rest of the hair.
Then I pinned up the bangs so I could get started on the layers.
Look how nervous I am on the right
At this point, I was basically done. Â I touched up the bangs one more time just to see what it MIGHT look like the next day. To cut the layers, I cut in a downward motion while holding the hair gently away from me.
Even though it was dry and crusty, I think it looked okay.  I couldn’t wait to wash it and style it!
I would have felt better if I knew what the hell I was doing
To go to bed, I gave it a quick cowash, I put in 4 twists and made a loose bantu knot with the bangs and pinned it. I put on my satin scarf and hoped for the best.
Good night! Here’s hoping!
I woke up in the morning quite nervous. Â It was humid and rainy and I was totally ready to rock a bun.
But I like it!
After it shrunk a little more, I still liked it!
Follow me on Instagram @shangoody to see how I’m styling it!
I thought the layers were going to be the difficult part but I actually found that easier than the bangs. Â I think curly bangs are super tricky but cutting them a little shorter in the middle and a little longer on the sides was definitely the right move.
As for cutting the layers, I don’t really have good instructions for that.  The only things I can recommend are cutting downward on a slight angle and work with only half the hair at a time.  Just cut where it feels right, then fluff, take a step back and look at it.  If you take a good look in the mirror after every snip, you’ll know what to do.  Be sure to cut a little less than you think you’ll need.  If you need to cut more, you always can.  And cutting dry is the only way to do this. The good thing about natural hair is that it’s pretty easy to disguise mistakes.
What do you think? Â Would you attempt to cut your own hair?
Shan is the author of Hippie Brown Girl.
33 Responses
I wanted to cut my hair really badly, but you inspired me to actually do it!
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It came out really nice!!!
you did a great job for an amateur!
themanecaptain.blogspot.ca
Your hair cut turn out really good! Good job! You have some skills there!
Ahh! Just visited her instagram and she’s cut it more and colored it. Looks Fab girl!!
You did a great job on the hair cut!
I would cut my hair myself. I just wouldn’t do it now — I’m going for length.
I’m gonna start following your blog ’cause I’m a fellow hippie brown girl.
I cracked up at that face you made with the before and after LOLL…ooohwee you got me thinking about cutting mine tonight….. :O LOLLL your hair looks good though. Good job!
Came back to say…now that you have done a post about cutting your hair…you need to do one on your skin care regimen!! *flawless*
Yeah, her skin is RIDICULOUSLY FLAWLESS. And the cut didn’t turn out bad at all! Just gotta be confident! 😀
Good job! It looks nice. Some time the salons can get too scissor happy!
It looks awesome!!!!!!! I think it looks even better when it is shrunken! I would love to try this cut as I have a long face and think it would be flattering, but it looks like you have a much looser curl pattern than I do… I have very right corkscrew curls and I don’t even think you would see the style of the cut in fully shrunken form. I used to cut my hair all the time when I was relaxed… Bangs, layers, whatever… Now that I’m curly, not sure I have the nerve!
I meant *tight corkscrews
Cool, you did a great job. I cut and trim my hair whenever I need or want to, and no stylist has touched a pair of scissors to my head! I know some pretty artsy folks who cut their own hair too and do a good job.
vertmoot.blogspot.com
A new look for free is always nice! I’m a DIY hair cutter too. I’ve trimmed and cut my own hair since I went natural but about a month ago I decided to get fancy and try layering it. I worked with clean, stretched hair and just cut it at angles as you described. After I finished I used naptural85’s “best twist out ever” method. Turned out a little boxy but I was pretty content with my results! 🙂
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It all looked beautiful in the end, love it!
WHY DIDN’T YOU JUST WATCH A YOUTUBE VIDEO
I did this to my daughter and my hair about two weeks ago. Extremely nervous, I tried to remember all that I learned at a workshop at the Houston Natural Hair Expo. I knew I had to rid our hair of all of the damage and split ends. I couldn’t get a confirmed appointment with a stylist that met my budget (I really didn’t have the money for it anyway, but I knew I wanted our hair to grow healthily, so I went for it. Mine was supposed to be a bob style, and my daughter’s was just shorter. Apparently it was good enough to get both of us modeling and acting jobs. I prefer not to trim or cut our own hair again, but if I find myself in the same situation within the next four weeks guess what, it’s up for me to “save the day” again. Thanks for sharing your story; it encouraged me!
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You did good!
I agree, NY salon prices will have you opening your own salon. I now have the same dryer they sit me under for a deep conditioning, or drying process. I don’t use it much, but yea…I style my own hair. Have cut my own before too…gave myself an asymmetrical bob. Wasn’t what I was going for, but hey! it worked out in my favor lol
I love it! I cut mine the same way that you did, using the same technique, back in April. I like your cut, it looks great on you!
This made me nervous when I saw your eyes! Yet it turned out really cute in the end! Next time, don’t braid and cut. Loraine Massey has excellent instructions on how to target and cut your hair in specific areas to achieve the shape you want. I believe you can find the instruction on Youtube. Check it out!
It was really cute after you wash and styled it. These bangs keep tempting me! I have hair that forms into a hanging afro with curls in it and it is annoying to have long pieces around my face. Hmmmm….
Great job! I have actually cut (not just trimmed) my hair on a couple of occasions and you know what? If you don’t like it, you can have a stylist fix it or you can wait for it to grow out. I know some of us still get all worked up over this statement, but it really is JUST HAIR and it does GROW BACK. Congratulations!
It came out really cute! I don’t think I’d be brave enough to cut my own hair into a style.
The end result turned out great! The cut is very flattering to your face. You took a risk and it was worth it—I wish I was that brave!
Good job! Looks lovely. I couldn’t do that, the best I can manage is a trim.
I just visited your blog. You are such an awesome person. seriously. and the hair cut looks good. I used to trim my hair when it was relaxed. not sure if I would be brave enough to do with my natural hair.
It turned out great! I’ve only trimmed my own hair.
wow i think you did a good job considering your inexperience! you made this an enjoyable read. i’ve been cutting my own hair ever since i was in high school so it’s easy to forget that for others it’s like embarking into whole new, exhilarating territory. are you planning to trim/cut your hair from now on or was this a one-time thing, do you think?
you only get better with practice!
Your hair looks so cute! Just don’t do like I used to do and get over confident-ended up in a salon with a very short cut once because of that. Keep your current frame of mind and you will be fine. I always cut my own hair-as a kid I was never taken to a salon and never really got into it growing up. Ironically a visit to a salon before participating in a fashion show inspired me to go to cosmetology school; the stylist said I did such a good job cutting and styling my hair. Only two tips, one in reference to your bangs shorter in the middle, and one in reference to your layers. To make your bangs slightly shorter in the middle, comb/smooth them all down in front of your face, then give them one twist, so the hair from the left side is now on the right and the hair from the right is on the left, then cut straight across; by giving it that twist, the hair will be longer toward the sides than in the middle when you release the hair. Easiest way to make a gentle curve that follows the natural head shape. As for the layers, for more precise layers either hold your hair straight up as you cut even or bend at the waist, comb it all straight then cut it even; when the hair is released it will be in layers. If you want perfectly precise layers they have to be cut like this a little at a time; for a more natural free look comb it all up at the same time and cut it that way, so there are slight variations in the length throughout. Hope that all makes sense to you; if you get your hands on a mannequin, a friend with long-ish hair, or something similar and hold the hair as I described it will make it easier to understand even without cutting. PS truest words ever spoken-cut less rather than more!
What a great job! I actually got nervous for you while I was reading it. It looks wonderful! And thanks to MsKat for the helpful suggestions.
Such a helpful article.I big chopped myslef but have yet to do anything like this.
I will cut some bangs very soon as well as get some color with some help at home.
I feel so empowered to be able to do these things myself or at home
with help of a trusted friend.
Good info.!
Congrats! You did a good job! Yes these salons tend to go a lil crazy with the prices, and I’ve seen vids where NYC prices are off the chain! I got a tapered cut in a salon, but I trim it & keep it up myself…