ON CUTTING MY OWN HAIR (YEP, I DID IT!)

Sooo.. you know how I've been mentioning here and here that I really wanted to cut my hair? As in literally cut my own hair? I finally did it! Well, as you'll find out below, sorta. I am happy to report that I am now split-ends free! It's the best feeling in the worrrrld! :) Here's a run down of the events that transpired and what I learned from it. 

Here's the before, aka: my super duper long hair. To be honest, I loooove having long hair. The only problem is - SPLIT ENDS. I can never win against it so I figured I'll start anew by chopping the ends off. 

Among the many tutorials and videos on the net, I decided to follow Cosmo UK's video tutorial. I admit I was blinded by it being from Cosmo that even if it didn't really show the before and after and the girl wasn't really over the moon with the big reveal, I pushed through with this particular video. Below are pictures of the steps, and further down is an explanation.

1) Start by smoothing and untangling your hair. Make sure there's no product in it. 2) Gather your hair into a ponytail on the center of your forehead. 3) Make sure it's in the middle. (I'm a unicorrrrrn! Hehe) 4) Measure the distance between your hairline and where you want your first layer to hit your face and use it as a reference for where to cut from your ponytail (watch the video if you're confused)  5) I used another hair tie to line where I wanted to cut, putting it slightly lower so that I can cut above it and keep things less messy (this wasn't in the original video). 6) Texturize your ends by cutting vertically for the edges to soften. Do this until you lose your hard line (unless that's your thing).

Hey Reg, how come your hair is still so long after cutting a chunk of it? I actually have no idea. Hahaha I'm guessing it's just the angle, and the sides are actually much thinner than the before. I should've took a photo of the back - next time!

The layer (it wasn't even layers, huhu!) was too sharp so I tried to soften it a bit and add more tiers. I had so much hair on the sink (don't worry, there was a layer of plastic to keep it from clogging the drain) that I started to worry that I'm doing it wrong and that I'm well above my "buffer". I decided to put down the shears and just call my go-to hair stylist, Nick (who really deserves a separate blog entry, hehe!).

Well, in fairness, he said it wasn't so bad and that I had "potential". Upon seeing him style my hair and work those scissors, I told him that potential or not, I'd leave it to professionals from now on. Sure, I'd most likely still trim my hair from time to time (but I'm really hoping I don't get anymore split ends!), but a full fledged haircut? Na-uh. The above iPhone photos do not do Nick's hair magic (and my new layers!) any justice.

Here are some take-away tips and learnings on cutting your own hair: 

1) If you're just going to trim your ends, go for it! For proper re-styling though, it might be better to head to the nearest salon or ensure that the person who'll do it (you or someone else) has done it before.

2) Make sure you use proper scissors. If not hair shears, make sure it's really, really, really sharp. Paper scissors do not cut it (pun intended). You'll end up with more split-ends if you use any ordinary pair. *shudders*

3) Cutting (as in styling) hair is NOT easy. It may seem like it, but it's a lot more trickier than you think. As my boyfriend says, there's a reason people charge for it. For peace of mind, leave it to the pros.

4) Don't worry, it'll grow back. Just keep telling yourself that if things are not looking too good.

5) PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT!!! BWAHAHAHA >:) I have a funny feeling there'll be a part two to this!

What about you?? Have you ever cut your own hair? Is it something you'll consider doing? Let me know and maybe give me a tip or two!