Cutting your own long hair may seem difficult, but with the right guide and tools, you can save time and money by maintaining hairstyle at home.
The goal of this article is to give you the simplest and quickest way to cut your own long hair with layers (sections) at home. Maintaining long hair is generally done every 4 to 8 weeks, and it is a important skill to have.
If you are looking for a quick and easy way to trim your own long hair at home, we have a ponytail guide to cutting long hair at the bottom of this article.
First, we will talk about what you need, then we will walk you through our 6-step guide.
What do I need to cut my own long hair at home?
Before we get started cutting any long hair, we need to make sure we are prepared. The ingredients required for a good self-haircut are:
- A pair of hair scissors
- A fine-tooth comb
- Shampoo and conditioner
- Hair clips
- Spray bottle (optional)
Once you have prepared these, make sure you have a good 30 to 60 minutes, depending on your experience, to sit down and calmly cut your long hair.
A quick tip: avoid using regular kitchen, fabric or craft scissors at home as these can cause serious damage to your hair. You can buy a reliable pair of hair scissors for less than $100 that you can keep using for years to come.
Step 1. Prepare your hair
Long hair is much easier to cut after its clean and wet, so the first step will be to shampoo then condition your long hair before we start cutting.
- shampoo and condition your hair in the shower
- while still wet, run a fine-toothed comb through your hair to get rid of any tangles, knots and so on. It is easier to cut straight, sleek and tangle free hair.
- if you have frizzy or fly-away hair, add a leave-in condition.
- If your hair starts to dry early, get a spray bottle to keep spraying your hair while you cut. You can add in a small amount of condition to the water to keep it damp for longer.
Step 2. Prepare sections of hair
Most long hair becomes quite thick, so we will need to prepare different sections to cut. We will start cutting from the bottom layer and keep moving up.
- Use a clip or hair ties to create different layers of hair. Each section is a secured, so we can start on the bottom layer and move up.
- You should have a portion of hair secured at the top, and a bottom layer free to cut.
Step 3. Locate any damaged hair or split ends
As you go through each layer of long hair, take the time to spot any split ends or damaged hair. Understanding how much hair is damaged will help decide how much you will need to cut.
- Starting from the bottom layer, split your hair down the middle and bring each side over your shoulders so you can easily inspect the ends.
- Look closely at the hair ends to see if there is any damage or split ends. Pro tip: split ends or damaged hair looks dry, dead, and easily stands out from the rest of your hair.
- You can fix split ends or damaged hair by cutting a quarter each (5-8 mm) above where the problem area. Analysing where the damaged hair stops, helps you figure out how much hair to cut.
Step 4: How much hair should you cut?
After analysing how much damage there is to your long hair, you should now understand roughly how much hair you should cut.
- With your bottom layer of hair still on each side of your shoulders, take your index and middle finger from your non-dominant hand and grab a section of hair above wherever you intend to cut.
- Slowly moving your fingers downwards until you find a spot above any damaged hair where you intend to cut. Your hand should be straight and flat, ready to cut the section of hair under your fingers.
- To measure where to cut your own long hair, you will use your middle and index finger from your non-dominant hand.
- Your hair should be flat without any knots or tangled areas before you perform this step. If you have knots or tangled areas, quickly run a comb through your long hair.
- Your hair often looks shorter when it's dry and longer when it's wet, so be conservative when choosing how much to cut.
- Cutting less always allows you to fix any mistakes you make.
Step 5: Start cutting your excess hair
With your non-dominant hand holding the area of hair you intend to cut, its time to start trimming away at your long hair.
- With your dominant hand, grab your pair of hair scissors.
- Open and try to cut the whole section of hair in one smooth closing motion.
- Don’t let go of your hair until any excess or missed hair has been cut.
- Repeat the same process on other sections of hair coming across each shoulder. Grab a section with your index and middle finger, run it down until you locate the cutting length, then trim your excess hair away.
- Double check that you have the same length on both sides. Refer to the pro tips below.
- The result should be an even length cut on both sides, all damaged hair has been cut away and you are ready to move onto the next layer.
Pro-tips
- Make sure that each side in the layer of hair you are cutting is even. After trimming both sides in the layer, check for an even length by
- Grabbing the middle of each section with your thumb and fingers.
- Bring your hair to your chest, lightly pulling it to the front of your body. This way you get a general idea of the length on each side.
- Move both hands down slowly and watch to see if which side runs out first. If one side is a lot longer, you will know.
- If your hair is longer on one side, trim the excess length.
- If you are still not feeling confident about the even length on each side, have someone pull your hair back a check the length on each side as it lays flat over your back.
Step 6. Check your hair after drying
As we talked about before, your hair appears longer while wet, and shorter while dry. The ultimate test to see if your own long haircut was a success is to dry your hair, run a comb through it and check the length in the mirror.
Look out for any inconsistencies in the length of your hair, and also for any remaining damaged or split ends.
If there is a lot to fix, then it's best to dampen your hair, separate into layers and try again. However, if it’s a simple fix, take your scissors and make some slight trimming adjustments by yourself.
Tips and advice when cutting your own long hair
Here are some tips and advice from everyday hair professionals. The best information from experienced hair cutting professionals on how they would cut long hair at home.
- For long hair, always divide your hair into sections with clips. You have a lot of hair to cut, so cutting separate layers reduces the chance of making any simple mistakes.
- Always make sure to use hair scissors to avoid causing any damage while cutting.
- Have someone else there to review and check your progress as you cut your long hair.
- Cutting wet or damp hair is easier while cutting layers or sections of hair.
The easy ponytail method to cut long hair
What is the easiest way to cut long hair? The quickest and simplest way is by making a ponytail and trimming the ends. Follow these quick steps.
- Grab a scrunchie or hair band, a pair of scissors, a hairbrush and a handheld mirror
- Wash your hair then dry it. Run a brush or comb through your hair so it's straight.
- Put a hair band or scrunchie at the top of the ponytail.
- Put a section hair band or scrunchie at the middle of the ponytail.
- Pull the second band or scrunchie down until it is just above the point where you want to cut.
- Take your hair scissors and trim away. Make sure there is no excess hair just below the scrunchie or hair band.
- Undo the ponytail and check on the length of your long hair. This method is great for quickly removing any split ends.
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