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- Hi, my name is Lianne and I've been a salon hairstylist
for almost 12 years, now.
Today I'll be giving you some home haircutting tips
for hair that's longer than a pixie
and either straight or slightly wavy.
we'll be going over a bang trims,
thinning out your hair and trimming the layers a little bit.
Some supplies, we'll definitely need
are hair cutting shears, a comb, some clips
and at least two mirrors, one big and one small.
It's also really helpful to have a water bottle, a cape
and if you're thinning your hair out,
perhaps, a haircutting razor like this.
Hairstylists usually spend $300 and up on their shears.
But if you're going to be doing this at home,
only once in a while, you could probably
find a decent pair for 50 to a $100.
But even if they're $25,
as long as they're called haircutting shears,
they're gonna to be way better than any home
or kitchen shears, which will definitely be too dull,
not cut through hairs properly,
and sometimes give you a split ends with every snip.
The best place to cut your hair is over a smooth floor
that you can sweep, the bathroom is usually best.
Putting down newspaper doesn't really work
'cause the hair falls between the papers
when you gather them up.
And if you use a plastic tarp, afterwards,
you have to clean it or empty it out.
So, I just cut hair over a smooth floor
and then sweep it several times afterwards,
to make sure I have all the hair.
Quick warning, be careful with sharp tools.
All hairstylists have cut their own fingers
with shears or razors and drawn blood.
So, take your time and pay attention
to your hands and tools at all times.
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To trim your bangs.
First, you want to make a nice clean
triangular or rounded section with a comb.
If you have nails, you can just use your nails.
If you part in the middle, you can do a triangle
and that way all the hairs
that want to fall forward will be cut.
If you flip your hair back and forth
or part on the side, you might want to do a rounded shape
or else you'll have an extra piece near the top that's short
and doesn't blend in with the hair next to it.
I always part my hair on the left, so,
I do a rounded shape like this
and clip the rest of the hair back.
And if it's not laying the way it normally does,
I wet it completely, including the roots,
so I can blow dry it into place.
Hair bounces up, so if you cut it while wet
it's more likely you will cut too much.
Always comb the hair straight,
so none of it is crisscrossing.
Hold the hair a bit away from your face.
If you're taking off more than a quarter inch,
always err on the long side
and cut less than you think you should.
Take little snips at an angle,
to make sure the ends aren't too blunt
and do a bit of a zigzag with longer and shorter pieces.
If your bangs aren't very thick, you can stop here
but if they are too thick for you,
you can add some texture by point cutting upward.
Try to keep the blades parallel to the hair
so it won't cut much and blend with every snip
to avoid hairs getting into my eyes.
If it's still too long, cut another quarter inch or so,
until it's the length you're going for.
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Now, I'm gonna to show you some thinning
or texturizing techniques.
If your hair is really thick and driving you crazy,
making your neck all sweaty and giving you a headache
when you have a ponytail, you don't have to deal with it.
You can thin it out.
Stylists, also, do this on thinner hair to give it movement
or soften the ends but in that situation,
I wouldn't try to do it myself.
The trick is not to thin too much overall,
too much in one spot or unevenly.
You can grab a test section in a place
where the hair is thick and not too visible,
like near the back to test out your shears or razor.
If it's not the top layer,
you could start at least two inches from the scalp.
If you're using shears gently close the shears, partially,
as you move a few inches down and then stop.
If you slide comb with shears, they need to be very smooth
and not clip the hair too much as you slide down
or you'll end up cutting more than you want.
If you feel the shears getting caught
or cutting too much, don't do anymore.
It's hard to slide cut your own hair
because you can only go in one direction,
that your dominant hand wants to go.
But depending on your shears and control of your hand,
it could be safer than using a razor
because it doesn't cut as much.
For the two inches of hair around the part, sometimes,
you don't cut it because then the shorter strands
will stick up and be obvious.
If you do want to thin it,
start at least four inches from the skull.
I usually use a haircutting razor for this,
for hair that's at least three inches long so I can grab it.
Because on myself, I can go in different directions.
Make sure you use a razor with a guard like this
and as long as it's on securely, you won't cut yourself.
I like the razor because it's more aggressive than shears.
So it's faster when you want to really feel a difference.
The hair should be wet to ensure a clean cut
and avoid split ends.
Comb the hair straight, no crisscrossing
and hold a section tight,
moving at a slight angle, slice the hair.
As you get used to it,
you can use more of an angle to cut more hairs.
When you run your fingers through the hair,
you can feel which sections are thicker than others
and thin out that section.
When you're done, all the cut hairs
should blend in with the rest with no visible blunt lines.
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Now, here's a quick tip on how to trim your layers.
Say your layers are too heavy
or you have a lot of split ends.
It's not easy to do this, but trimming a little bit
shouldn't be too dangerous.
sections are vertical, try to keep track of them.
And it's very important to come all the hair straight,
again, no crisscrossing. and hold each section tight.
If hair is falling through your fingers,
grab a smaller section.
Water can help you control the hair.
You don't want to cut the bottom of the section
because then it may not blend,
but you can more easily cut near the top
and create more layers.
Point cut and make the ends look nice and soft,
but not super thin, or it will look flighty.
Go around the perimeter of your head like this,
then crosscheck by combing up horizontal layers
and cut any ends that are longer than others.
I do not recommend trying to cut the back
of the bottom of your own hair, yourself.
Someone who is good at this should help you with it
or you should wait until a professional could do it.
It's just too hard to control the angle of your shears
when you're reaching behind your head,
especially if your other hand is holding a mirror.
Each stylist has their own techniques
that they've developed over the years.
These happen to be mine and they don't mean
that other people's techniques are wrong.
They come from years and years of messing with my own hair
and goofing up many times.
The more practice you get, the better the results.
So good luck and thanks for watching.
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