182 - The First Cut is the Deepest

So in another effort to be frugal, and because I'm tired of wasting money on bad haircuts that make me want to shave my head... I ordered my own shears and thinning shears. I watched a few YouTube videos on how to cut your own hair, gathered up my courage, and dove in.

I learned phrases like point cut, overdirecting hair, and base cut. By the time I finished watching the videos I felt like I could do it. No sweat!

Until I actually had these in my possession... and then my confidence dropped to my toes along with most of the blood in my body.

What am I about to do?...

So this is what my hair looked like when I started. It had been a few months since I'd had a hair cut and almost a year since I'd had a good one (or whenever Missy cut it last). I was living in ponytails pretty much all the time. This is not the best example of my hairstyle because it had been in a ponytail all day and I mowed the lawn so it was kind of dirty, but I wasn't going to wash and dry my hair twice just to show you what it normally looked like. There were a couple of spots where my cut was asymmetrical or heavy. Not intentionally, but because the people who cut my hair cut it that way. Grrrr...

I'm just stalling here. But I'm doing it like they do in the salon... wash, condition, leave it pretty wet for the basecut.

And here I am... wet hair, combed out... still procrastinating. Can you see the fear in my eyes?

Now I've sectioned my hair into quandrants and clipped up the front so that I can concentrate on the back part of my hair. Oh yeah... this is really happening...

First cut... no going back now...

So the basecut is pretty much done. That's just cutting the ends to get a general shape. Or that's how I understand it. I haven't been to school for this.

Now I'm starting to cut the layers. If you pull the hair straight up the layers are more noticeable. Pulling it to the side makes them more gradual. These are all things I've seen my stylists do, but seeing the videos sort of brought it home for me. I started to (kind of) understand the principals behind it. Bringing up both sides at once ensures that the two sides are even... for the first time in a year...

So now they're even.

So the layers are all cut and I'm not crying yet. Time to dry and flat iron the hair so I can start taking the weight out. See? I've been paying attention during my cuts.

Okay, so it's not bad so far... but it's kind of blah. I'm just happy that I don't look like a freak.

Now the fun begins...

Or not. I accidentally slit my finger open with the flat side of the thinning shears. No bueno. Must pay attention...

Yipes that's a lot of hair, but honestly it's been about a year since anyone thinned my hair out which is another gripe I had. I don't care what the philosophy is behind it, it's my hair and it's how I've had it cut forever, so I got frustrated that no one out here would do what I asked. Thus my desperation and the situation we find ourselves in now...

And here we are. Not bad if I say so myself. It has shape, it looks healthy, it's better than it was... and it's not horrible... I so did this!

Same cut, just tucked behind my ears.

Guess the true test is what it looks like next time I wash and dry it. But guess what? If I don't like it... I can try to fix it. Muahahaha!