Leah LOVES hair. So much so, she dedicated an entire website to it! One of the founders of Hair Everyday and Chief Editor, Leah enjoys reviewing all the hair products and showcasing the best. She believes her most underrated articles are her hair care tips!
If you want to learn how to cut your own hair for men, check out my easy guide to learn how to trim your hair and use clippers to give yourself fades, lineups, and other stylish hairdos!
Want to check if a person has been social distancing? Check their hairdo! If you find their locks perfectly cut, it means they’ve been to a barber.
Or does it? Can you achieve a stylish hairdo like fades or lineups and such without visiting your favorite barber?
Yes, you can! You only need to learn how to cut your own hair for men.
Related: How To Dye Your Beard At Home
Related: Best Hair Clippers For Fades
Related: How To Train Your Hair To Go Back
If you’re thinking cutting your own hair as a man would be easier compared to a woman’s long locks, you’re mistaken.
You need to trim your hair the right way, use the right clippers to give you the perfect fade, etc., etc.
But don’t be scared just yet. I’ve got this easy guide on how to cut your own hair for men that will make things so much easier.
All you’ll need are a pair of scissors, well-oiled hair clippers, a comb, and a lot of patience! Read on to know more.
How To Cut Your Own Hair For Men
Preparing Your Hair
Before you start cutting your own hair, make sure you’ve prepped it well.
Give yourself a shampoo and condition your hair to make it more manageable.
Towel dry your hair slightly to get rid of the excess dampness.
If you’re planning to cut your hair with scissors, you should leave it wet as this gives you a cleaner trim.
However, I suggest using a blow dryer and thoroughly drying your locks if you’re going to use hair clippers.
Give Yourself A Buzzcut With Clippers
The easiest haircut you can give yourself at home is a buzzcut.
It’s simple to do, you don’t need any fancy equipment or styling products for instance, and it is super low maintenance.
Here’s how you can give yourself a buzzcut at home.
Trim your entire head with a larger guard number
The first thing you do is get a pair of high-quality trimmers like Wahl hair clippers that come with several hair comb lengths.
The higher guard numbers trim your hair only by an inch or two. So you can use the guard number 4 or 5 on your entire head.
This will help trim your hair but still leave enough length for you to play with.
Trim the top of your head
Next, use a smaller guard number (this depends on the length of hair you want) and run it across the top of your head.
Make sure to move the clippers in the direction opposite to that of hair growth.
Cover the area at the top, leaving the parietal ridge (the widest part between your forehead and beginning of your hairline) alone.
Use a smaller guard for sideburns and back
Before you get started, you need to determine what hair length you’d prefer. It’s always best to use a number 1 or 2 guard on your sides and back to give your hair some contour if you’re using a guard 5 on your entire head.
If you’re shaving your parietal ridge and crown area with a 1 or 2 guard for a military-style look, use a ½ on your sideburns (basically one guard number lower).
Imagine a line connecting the ends of your earlobes and follow this line to to shave the back of your head. This will give you a simple fade hairstyle.
Trimming With Scissors
If you’re not into the whole buzzcut look and want to simply trim your locks a bit, you can use scissors.
Using scissors also helps add volume and texture to your locks and gives you more precise cuts.
Just remember not to use household scissors to cut your hair as these are not sharp enough.
To cut your hair with scissors, here are the steps you need to follow:
- Wet your hair with water from a spray bottle
- Comb your hair backward using a fine-toothed comb or your fingers
- Start at the top of your head and hold the hair there in your finger or comb perpendicular to your scalp
- Start trimming the hair by cutting 1/4th of the inch of your hair
- Avoid trimming longer sections as this can cause you a lot of regrets if your hair gets shorter in certain areas
- Make sure all the hair sections you are trimming are of the same length.
- If you want to trim bangs, do them at the very end.
- Also, try using styling scissors for bangs if possible
After you’ve trimmed your check your head back and front using a hand-held mirror.
If you find any uneven lengths, especially at the sides, make sure to trim the excess.
Getting An Undercut
I think it’s best to experiment with new styles when you’re staying at home. And the undercut is the perfect hairstyle that isn’t too difficult to create at home either.
To start off, you’ll first need to determine the length of hair you want at the top. So I suggest going over with a larger guard clipper.
Keep the clipper with the guard comb right underneath the top of your head. Once you’ve figured out the right length of hair, start cutting the rest of your hair with a smaller guard.
Start at the edge of the widest section of your head (the parietal ridge) and work downwards from there.
Be careful to cut down the hair on both sides of your head evenly.
Support Your Barber
With salons closing a lot of hairdressers and barbers are out of work. So even if you’re cutting your hair at home, you can do your bit to support them.
Please donate to their gofundme page if possible.
Also, you can do a facetime or zoom consultation with them to help you determine the right cut for your hair.
FAQs about Cutting Your Own Hair for Men
Is it better to cut men’s hair wet or dry?
If you’re trimming your hair with help of scissors, it’s best to cut hair when it’s wet. The hair strands group together when they are wet making them more manageable and easier to cut
However, when you’re trimming your hair with clippers, it’s best to keep your locks dry. Wet hair can actually damage the blades on certain trimmers.
If you want to use hair clippers on wet hair, make sure the device is built for wet hair styling.
Is it better to get a haircut with clean or dirty hair?
It’s better to get give yourself a haircut when your hair is clean. I advise you to wash your hair with a mild shampoo and condition it before trimming.
You can also use dry shampoo if washing your hair isn’t an option.
Dirty, greasy hair can get weighed down and won’t give you the right haircut.
If you’re confused about why your barber asked you to come with unwashed hair all these times, it’s because they like getting a feel of your tresses in their natural state.
This helps select the best cut for your hair. As your cutting your own hair at home, this is hardly necessary.
How many days after a haircut does it look best?
If you’ve cut your hair and are not feeling satisfied with the results don’t panic just yet!
It usually takes hair 3-5 days to settle down after you get a haircut.
So if you’re inviting someone over dinner, I suggest don’t cut your hair in the morning.
How can I make a bad haircut look better?
Look, we get that you’re not a pro at hairstyling. And to err is human right?
So what happens when you give yourself an awful haircut by accident? Here are a few things you can do to make a bad haircut look better:
Give it a few days: As I’ve explained earlier, it takes a few days for your hairstyle to settle down. So wait 3-5 days to see if your haircut looks good then.
Hats – If you’re at home with no one to look then what’s the issue right? But if you’re going outdoors, I’d say stock up on hats to hide your shame.
Fix the issue: If it’s just a part of your haircut that’s gone wrong, see if you can fix it by evening hair out, or snipping the offending strands, etc.
Shave it off – If you can’t fix it, I’d say go nuclear and shave it all off. Your hair will grow back.
Wait it out: If shaving it off isn’t an option, you have nothing else to do except wait until you can get to your hairdresser to fix it.
If you don’t want to look like Tom Hanks from Castaway during your quarantine, you’ll need to learn how to cut your own hair for men.
And it doesn’t really require as much effort as you think, especially if you’re going for the classic styles like a buzzcut or a crew cut.
Trimming your hair regularly will not just motivate you in these trying times, but it also helps control split ends and hair damage.
Also, people working at the frontlines like doctors or restaurant workers will have no choice but to cut their hair.
So it’s important to get the basics of hair styling right for men.
Also Read:
How to get silky hair as a man
