DIY Haircuts: To the rescue

Almost a year into lockdown and the reality of barbers and hairdressers still not being open is starting to take its toll. We’ve all seen examples on social media of people becoming impatient with their grown-out locks and taking to DIY their own ‘do.

We’ve also seen many in our industry offer online tutorials and videos for customers that can’t bear to grow their hair out any longer. While we understand the importance of feeling good about your hair, we don’t think it’s worth the risk of a DIY cut. We’re not seeing anyone anyway, so what’s the harm in longer locks for a while?

Also, spare a thought for the professionals who will have to tidy up any mistakes when the restrictions are eventually lifted. If you do brave cutting your own hair, it probably won’t be exactly how you want it. If you need to go and get a ‘corrective cut’ as soon as your barber reopens, you might end up spending more money than if you’d just let it grow out.

All that said, if you absolutely have to cut your own hair during lockdown, here are our essential tips:

• Use small scissors – the smaller the blade, the smaller the mistake!
• Cut hair when it’s dry – it’s easier to envisage the final look.
• Wherever possible, get someone to assist you.
• Don’t pull on the hair when you cut it – you’ll be surprised how much it pings up when you let go and you’ll have cut off much more hair than you originally wanted to!
• If it goes wrong, don’t panic. There’s no rush and it’s not the end of the world if you make a mistake.
• If you follow these tips and it still goes wrong, now might be the moment to experiment with headbands, scarves and hats!

Good luck!