Tips For Cutting Your Own Hair With Clippers (For Women)

Cutting your own hair with clippers is the true definition of freedom. You can do it whenever you want from the comfort of your home, and for less than 5 minutes. Yet many women are so scared about cutting their own hair using clippers. It’s expected anyway.

A clipper is a new tool and an unfamiliar one for a person who’s been visiting the salon all their life. So, when you’re all alone, wondering how the hell you’ll start cutting your own hair with clippers…it gets damn scary. Most women think that clippers are for men’s hair, so why to bother anyway, right?

But, luckily, we humans have a natural talent. We quickly learn new things, and we pick up so fast! As you can guess, the case with nailing a haircut follows the same pattern. You just need a little practice, and you’ll eventually nail it down.

Before you start cutting

Begin with basic preparation, take a quick survey of the tools you will need. Keep everything ready and clean including your hair. If your hair is prone to tangles, use a detangling product before you comb it.

Now, if you’ll be working on straight hair, you’ll need to wet it a little (but not too much) every once in a while. Wet hair tends to clump together, and will be easier to cut. If you’ll be dealing with curly hair, just make it a little damp. Curls tend to lie flat hiding their curly pattern and ending up in an uneven texture.

General tips you should know

Get familiar with your clippers, turn it on and off, change blades, adjust speeds, etc. Also, get acquainted with the numbering system for the blades. The numbers in the blade guards determine the length of your cut.

Generally, the larger the number, the longer the cut. For instance, an “8” will give you longer hair, while a “0” will give you very short hair. In between, the blades have a difference of an eighth of an inch (approximately 3 mm) for every number.

It’s always a good idea to cut against the direction of your hair growth. Usually, hair grows down the sides and back. When using your clippers, try to go in the opposite direction, so you’ll move up the sides and the back. Similarly, at the top of your head, you’ll move from front to back.

Finally, cover your shoulders to catch any falling hair. If you’re not going to shower immediately after the haircut, it’s helpful to find a drape to put around your shoulders and pull it tight around your neck. Additionally, you should cut outdoors or in an easy-to-clean area such as a bathroom to cut back on the mess.

Beginning the cut

If your hair is pretty long, you need to start with the longest length setting of the cut. That way, you can just buzz the clipper over the entire head, and then go back to cut the hair shorter after you’re done. This method works best if you need to remove a lot of hair. So, for instance, if you want no 4 on top and no 2 on the sides, you can begin by buzzing the entire head with no 4.

Once you get the whole head buzzed down, change the blade to a shorter setting. Move to the sides of your head to shorten the hair to your desired length. Make sure to maintain a clean line at the top of the head if you want longer hair at the top.

Now, blend in the two lengths between the sides and the top. To do that, you need to use a blade setting between the other blades you chose before. For instance, if you used no 2 on the sides and no 4 at the top, blend with no 3. Just move along the line to smooth the border between the two lengths.

Next, switch to a lower number for the area near your ears. Even if you want your hair to be of the same length, it’s still advisable to switch to a lower blade setting when trimming around your ears. This will give you a cleaner overall look.

Now, take a final look at your cut and even out any uneven hair. And there you go; you’ve just cut your own hair and saved yourself tonnes of money. Yaay!

Need some inspiration? Watch how to cut your own hair with clippers female from the video below:

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