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Me too and so I bought some clippers for $50 to cut my own hair. Having been at it for a few years I can say it's worth the investment. It's simple to cut sever

Me too and so I bought some clippers for $50 to cut my own hair. Having been at it for a few years I can say it's worth the investment. It's simple to cut several styles of hair by yourself in the mirror. I often get compliments for how my hair is styled. I don't have any appointments and I spend less time in total on my hair. If you do your own color, this is where the economy really becomes multiplicative because hair salons generally don't like spending hours processing people's hair since you are sitting in one of their chairs. Where multiple colors may run you $250-400 in a salon, you can DIY for $40 and it looks just as good (often better after you have experience).

riantogo 7y ago
$40 for DIY? You are paying an order of magnitude higher. You are welcome: https://www.safeway.com/shop/product-details.152150005.html https://www.safeway.com/shop/product-details.152150005.html
- birdyrooster 7y ago
  The price is an overestimation. It assumes multiple semi-permanent colours, developer, bleach, gloves, and other stuff as it wears with use or gets lost.
mythrwy 7y ago
Seconded. I've been cutting my own hair for like 4 years and at this point get _much_ better haircuts then I was getting at barbers. I started by watching some youtube videos but now just do it. It's really not that hard. I started not to save money but because $20 haircuts were really bad half the time or more it seemed. Disclaimer: There were a few accidents early on that left me looking like a Marine boot-camp recruit for a few weeks. But over time I got it down. This haircut robot is cool though. I'd certainly try it out at least once.
- awayfromhomenow 7y ago
  meh, my hair was thinning anyway, so buzzed it. Then, as my kids reached the age of 4 or 5, I 'let' them cut my hair for me.
ddsea 7y ago
Same here. My final straws were 1) my regular local barbershop suddenly disappearing on me, while I was still holding a few of their discount haircut coupons I had stupidity to buy in advance (let this be a lesson to you folks), and 2) tried another shop and saw in horror how dirty their tools/accessories were. So being a DYI guy, I watched a few YT videos, bought $20 electric clippers, made my share of beginner's mistakes, but now I really enjoy getting better at it and won't go back at any price.
- allovernow 7y ago
  How do you finish the top of your neck, above your back?
  - ddsea 7y ago
    Yes, the back of the head is the hardest part. When I don't ask for someone else's help, I try to choreograph the movement I saw in a video: put my other hand horizontally to limit the range and move the clipper in a precise fade-out manner, bottom-to-top. I like it short. Use 2 mirrors and don't hurry.
    - allovernow 7y ago
      Ah thanks. Was hoping for an easier hack but it sounds as bad as I expected.
      - ddsea 7y ago
        True, hacky, but with time it does get easier because you know what to expect and develop muscle memory.
  - birdyrooster 7y ago
    You can use a comb or a stencil to make a line and carefully follow it. If you have good dexterity and flexible mirrors, you can do it by eye. Or if you fade to 0 length you may not need to cut a sharp line depending on your style.
JustSomeNobody 7y ago
Same. Takes just a few moments to run a #2 all over my head.
Thorentis 7y ago
How would you cut the top part of your hair if you want to do a short back and sides? The back and sides seems fairly straight forward with clippers, but trimming the top to a length you like seems difficult.
- hanniabu 7y ago
  This is what I struggle with. I'm able to get it right only about a third of the time.
- mythrwy 7y ago
  I do it the same way I've observed barbers doing it when I got haircuts. Grab a swath of hair between middle and index fingers, pull fingers up until desired length to cut off is sticking out, cut using fingers as a guide. I have really fine hair though so slightly uneven or layered cuts look better and give my hair more body and it's actually better if it's not exactly perfect.

riantogo 7y ago

$40 for DIY? You are paying an order of magnitude higher. You are welcome: https://www.safeway.com/shop/product-details.152150005.html https://www.safeway.com/shop/product-details.152150005.html

birdyrooster 7y ago
The price is an overestimation. It assumes multiple semi-permanent colours, developer, bleach, gloves, and other stuff as it wears with use or gets lost.

mythrwy 7y ago

Seconded. I've been cutting my own hair for like 4 years and at this point get _much_ better haircuts then I was getting at barbers. I started by watching some youtube videos but now just do it. It's really not that hard. I started not to save money but because $20 haircuts were really bad half the time or more it seemed. Disclaimer: There were a few accidents early on that left me looking like a Marine boot-camp recruit for a few weeks. But over time I got it down. This haircut robot is cool though. I'd certainly try it out at least once.

awayfromhomenow 7y ago
meh, my hair was thinning anyway, so buzzed it. Then, as my kids reached the age of 4 or 5, I 'let' them cut my hair for me.

ddsea 7y ago

Same here. My final straws were 1) my regular local barbershop suddenly disappearing on me, while I was still holding a few of their discount haircut coupons I had stupidity to buy in advance (let this be a lesson to you folks), and 2) tried another shop and saw in horror how dirty their tools/accessories were. So being a DYI guy, I watched a few YT videos, bought $20 electric clippers, made my share of beginner's mistakes, but now I really enjoy getting better at it and won't go back at any price.

allovernow 7y ago
How do you finish the top of your neck, above your back?
- ddsea 7y ago
  Yes, the back of the head is the hardest part. When I don't ask for someone else's help, I try to choreograph the movement I saw in a video: put my other hand horizontally to limit the range and move the clipper in a precise fade-out manner, bottom-to-top. I like it short. Use 2 mirrors and don't hurry.
  - allovernow 7y ago
    Ah thanks. Was hoping for an easier hack but it sounds as bad as I expected.
    - ddsea 7y ago
      True, hacky, but with time it does get easier because you know what to expect and develop muscle memory.
- birdyrooster 7y ago
  You can use a comb or a stencil to make a line and carefully follow it. If you have good dexterity and flexible mirrors, you can do it by eye. Or if you fade to 0 length you may not need to cut a sharp line depending on your style.

JustSomeNobody 7y ago

Same. Takes just a few moments to run a #2 all over my head.

Thorentis 7y ago

How would you cut the top part of your hair if you want to do a short back and sides? The back and sides seems fairly straight forward with clippers, but trimming the top to a length you like seems difficult.

hanniabu 7y ago
This is what I struggle with. I'm able to get it right only about a third of the time.
mythrwy 7y ago
I do it the same way I've observed barbers doing it when I got haircuts. Grab a swath of hair between middle and index fingers, pull fingers up until desired length to cut off is sticking out, cut using fingers as a guide. I have really fine hair though so slightly uneven or layered cuts look better and give my hair more body and it's actually better if it's not exactly perfect.