Going to get a haircut is an inefficient time-waster.
- You have to drive to the salon
- you have to sign in to reception
- you have to wait for a stylist
- you have to explain what you want (and they never truly understand)
- you have to get your hair washed (the only enjoyable part)
- you have to put up with small talk about whatever nonsense is happening in pop-culture
- you have to put up with them not doing it right the first time “no, it needs to be shorter so I don't have to come back for a while“
- you have to look at it in two mirrors, then style it, then finally give it the A-OK
- you have to pay and then you have to pay extra (a tip) for them doing their jobs
- you have to drive back home with an itchy neck and an itchy back
- you have to take a shower and change clothes
All in all you've wasted at minimum an hour.
Now let's look at the Spartan way to cut your own hair:
- buy some clippers for the price of one haircut
- cut your hair in the bathroom
- sweep up the mess
- take a shower
- go kick some ass
How to Cut Your Own Hair
Step 1: Buy Some Hair Clippers Here. All hair clipper sets will come with different length hair guards that can cut your hair at any length you so desire. Most of them come with facial hair trimmer attachments as well, so you can rest assured knowing you can trim your beard and your hair with one apparatus.
I picked up my clippers at Walmart several years ago for about $25 and have been using them ever since. Of course, I have lost most of the guards so I only cut my hair in two lengths: short and really short.
Step 2: Dive right in and cut your hair. One of three things will happen:
1) You will like the haircut.
- If you like the D.I.Y. haircut you can skip the stylist forever.
2) You will do a poor job, panic, and drive to a stylist to fix it.
- Better luck next time. Try again until you get it right.
3) You will have to shave it all off.
- If you decide to shave it off you don't have to worry about doing anything to your hair for months. Keeping a shaved head saves time on styling and saves money on shampoo and hair gel. With a shaved head you're ready to walk out the door at any time of the day or night without doing anything to your hair. Win win.
Step 3: Clean up the mess, sweep the floor, take a shower. I usually put a stopper in the sink and cut my hair into the sink, when I'm done I can just scoop the hair out of the sink and throw it away.
Some home haircut tips to remember:
- Cut against the grain.
- Keep pressure on the clippers, if you hold them delicately they will not cut your hair even.
- If you don't want to do it yourself you can have your girlfriend, your mom, your sister, your best buddy, your wife, or your brother cut it for you.
- It's just hair, it will grow back in no time. If you make a mistake you won't even notice it in a week's time.
- Dry hair is easier to cut with clippers, wet hair is easier to cut with scissors.
Recap:
- Home haircuts save money.
- Home haircuts save time.
- Paid haircuts cost money.
- Paid haircuts are a waste of time.
- Cutting your own hair makes you look cool 112% of the time.
- Self-sufficiency, DIY, no BS.
- Save that money, save that time.
Simplifying your life makes things so much easier.
Dammit! I just got a haircut this afternoon!
hahaha, that actually made me laugh out loud.
That must be you in the pic with the short, back and front hairdo.
I plan to visit China this year. Looking forward to standing on the Great Wall. I’ve heard it is equally nice if not better in the winter when it’s dusted with snow.
Pete,
Don’t know where you’re from but it’s very cold in Beijing in the winter. The secret to staying warm outside is long underwear, be sure and bring some with you. Coming from the Southern United States I did not know this secret until recently.
Just want to say that I was cutting my own hair every other time, maybe now I will cut it myself every time! In addition, speaking of hair, (and being a female who colors her hair), I do my major hair coloring in the winter, that way if I do botch it up, I can wear a hat, until I can get to the drug store to buy more products to fix it. That is the only thing I like about winter!
I’ve been cutting my own hair with a decent clipper for almost a year now and am never looking back. I have actually become quite good and am as happy/ scratch that/ much happier with how my hair looks now than when I got it “professionally” done because I still look good and I saved alot of time and money.
P.S.- “Professional Hairstylist” where I come from means lazy, slob of a 20 something girl who failed out of nursing school and so cuts hair now.
Hey, but haircuts in my part of the world only cost $2 to $3, so I have them every 3 weeks or every month. I do plan on getting a straight razor or even one of those safety razors you mentioned.
Dabs, I looked at your IP and see where you are from. I went to a high end barber shop there and had the best straight razor shave of my entire life. My skin felt like a childs, it was so smooth I just couldn’t believe it.
Hehe, glad you liked it. The cheapest haircuts here cost about $1. I do it while the wife and kids are shopping at the mall, so the trip is actually part of our routine.
I still want my own straight razor tho.
Errr, which barber shop? I know of three: Bruno’s, Tabb’s and Mickey’s. but those are all in the south where I live. Most expensive haircut is about $5 so occassionally I get a hot oil treatment too.
I’ve been to the United States several times,i was honestly shocked at the $10 haircuts and $40 hot oil treatments.
Then I realized, life is relative.
Maybe I haven’t seen the one you went to so I might try it.
It was at Greenbelt in Makati city.
Ahhh, okay. Right. Greenbelt has all the high end shops. I don’t go there for my haircuts. Gotta try it once though. (And it’s an hour away from where I live.)
Haircuts for men here cost around $15-$30. I also think straight razors are great.
Nice website! What do you think about not cutting hair at all? I got a medium hair already and need to cut it but not gonna pay ridiculous money to barber (I am in another country now) and I am not going to cut them myself, cause short hair looks quite bad on me. Do you think it’s good idea to just buy some hair styling product and do some stuff with hair, or maybe just leave it as it is?
Cut my own since I was 16 girls go to hairdressers
Never a truer word spoken!
Thanks to you Vic, I’ve saved money, time and pointless conversations.
I cut my hair today and I’ve been at it since November of last year.
When I do decide to get it cut professionally in the future, I’ll make sure to go to a barber rather than a “stylist.”
Just did it. Looks better than most hair cut I paid 25$ for.
I know it’s an old post but I came back and read it again because this is the article that very literally changed my life forever. I googled how to cut my own hair and opened a door to a whole world of brilliance. I was a pussy. I was broke. I was weak.
No longer. I’m not where I wanna be but to stop growing is to die.
I just wanted to say a firm thank you to the man who opened my eyes and over the past 2 years has been a father figure of sorts.
I greatly appreciate you and your work.
give Karmin a try.
Just cut my own hair. Turned out better than I expected. Thanks Victor.
Just cut my own hair after reading this. For my first time, I actually really like it! Exactly what I wanted, no hassle and all it cost was my time. Definitely a must-have skill for men.
Thanks Vic!