And we meet again! Welcome back to another year of Curly Q’s. Whether this is your first article or your 11th, I’m glad you’re here, and I hope you stick around!
You’ll come to find I’m a big believer in DIYs; why pay someone to do something I can most likely do myself? Now, of course, this doesn’t apply to everything, but I’ve managed to get pretty far on my own merit (also, I’m a control freak).
One of these areas is haircuts. I’ve cut my own hair for almost seven years, changing the technique each time until I landed on one that gave me the results I loved most.
When income is light and curly cuts run several hundred dollars, you make the most of what you can do yourself! Here are three methods I use to avoid salon prices.
- Video tutorials
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If the name Brad Mondo rings a bell — or invokes a deep-seated yet irrational fear of ending up in one of his reaction videos — you probably know where I’m going with this.
Before the era of TikTok tutorials, DIY thrived on YouTube. Personally, it was my Google for any craft I was cooking up, and the same goes for when I dipped into haircuts. I still find YouTube tutorials helpful today. Often, the longer format allows for more specificity than a 10-minute TikTok video, but both have their advantages.
It’s important to preface that a DIY cut doesn’t promise the results of a professional stylist, but tutorials are a great resource, and I use them a lot.
One channel I love is Manes by Mell. She’s a licensed hairstylist with an entire playlist of different ways to cut curls. She also has helpful guides on haircuts for different face shapes and reminders of things to consider, such as texture, density, and thickness, before making the cut.
The method that I like to follow is the butterfly cut. If you’re a fan of lots of layers like I am, this is the style I switched to after exclusively doing a unicorn or pigtail cut throughout high school. I like volume and a rounded shape, but if that’s not your style, any one of her other videos will help you out.
Remember, you can always cut more, but you can’t put anything back on, so take it slow if it’s your first time doing this. And, as painful as it sounds, it’s also better to cut curly hair dry because curl shape and texture vary. This ensures you don’t cut a really springy curl the same length as a looser curl while wet, only to have them dry to drastically different lengths— believe me, I’ve been there.
- Occasional maintenance
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If a full chop isn’t your thing or you don’t need to refresh your bangs and layers, I’d just opt for maintenance trims or dusting.
I cover this a little in my article “Hair Growth: What’s Taking So Long?” but there’s an underrated power in targeting and snipping split hairs you can physically see. Dusting is also an option if you don’t feel confident cutting your hair.
When I don’t need a full shape refresh, I do another ponytail trick to snip off a few centimeters. I just brush out my hair, look straight ahead, and make a ponytail at the base of my head. Then I smooth out the ponytail, grab a smaller clear elastic, tie it halfway down, and slide it down the length until it’s about an inch above the ends. Finally, I trim off any scraggly bits I want, and I’m done.
You can do this without all the elastics and ponytails if you’d like, but — back to that control freak thing — I try to make sure it’s as even around my head as possible.
Sometimes I’ll even just sit and spend an hour searching the rest of my hair, too. If one section is longer on one side than the other, I’ll just even them out. Or, if I see a lot of split ends at the crown of my head, I’ll focus on those to keep them from getting worse.
Slumber Cloud - Prevention & retention
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Last but not least, if chops or trims aren’t your main priority but you want to avoid the split ends that usually send you to the salon, preventive methods are my biggest tip.
Returning readers know what I’m about to say, but I’ll say it anyway: wear a quality bonnet or use a silk pillowcase while you sleep!
Split ends are literally our strands fraying from damage due to heat, chemicals, friction, dehydration, weather, etc. Keeping your hair properly moisturized with conditioners or hair masks and reducing physical friction (i.e., tossing and turning on a cotton pillowcase) are some of the best ways to help prevent split ends and avoid that trip to the salon chair.
I hope these methods either give you the inspiration or confidence to try something new, and maybe save a little money by doing so, because we college students know every penny counts.
Beauty doesn’t have to be pricey!
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