By now you’ve probably seen the horror story videos on social media.
People are performing DIY haircuts on themselves while stuck at home, only for their hair to turn out… different than expected.
While the temptation to give yourself a fresh ‘do may be real with the temporary closure of salons during the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s important to recognize why this is not the best idea.
Below Gainesville hairdressers weigh in and give tips to get you (and your hair!) through quarantine.
“Just don’t do it,” said Shannon Cross, hairdresser at Sola Salon Studios Gainesville. “There’s other ways to feel like you’re in control. If you think it looks bad now, it’s not gonna look better after your quarantine DIY cut.”
Jen Byce, hairstylist at Cosmo Hair and Nail Bar, dove into the technical side of haircuts: “Us hairstylists have lots of practical as well as theory training. Along with having to take a state board [test] and provide 1,200 service hours to get a license, we make it look easy. However, it’s not. Even a straight-across blunt haircut requires zero-degree elevation, proper body posture and proper tension holding the hair – or you will look as though you have a thousand tiny layers in your head.”
To cut hair properly, you need to have the right knowledge, practice, skill, body posture, sectioning and tension. If you don’t have these things, it could ruin your hair, she said.
There’s a reason cosmetology schools require practice on mannequins, she continued.
Not only this, but it’s likely you don’t have the right equipment to give yourself a decent trim at home.
A good pair of scissors can cost up to several hundred dollars, she said.
“Instead of trying to attempt the feat of trying to do something you have no idea how to do, look at pictures for when it’s all over to bring to your stylist,” Byce said.
If your hair has got you down, you still have options to style it at home until a hairdresser can work on your tresses.
“My clients tell me all the time they just can’t curl their hair the way I do it,” Cross said. “Now is the time to practice. Just remember to never do this without some kind of heat protectant.”
Cross’s product recommendation? Hold Me Three-Way Hairspray by Design Me Hair.
“It’ll protect from the heat and also provide a little memory to extend the life of the style,” she said.
She also recommends Puff Me by Design Me, an oil-absorbing, volumizing styling powder. Both products retail for $22.
“If you’re really itching for a new look, change up your part,” Cross said. “Watch a tutorial and learn a new braid or invest in a new hot tool. Beach wavers are all over Instagram right now.”
Or are your split ends driving you crazy?
“If damage is the issue, then take advantage of the opportunity to self-preserve,” she said. “Lather your locks in treatments.”
Her favorites are Olaplex (try the No. 6 Bond Smoother Reparative Styling Crème; $28) or the Verb Hydrating Hair Treatment Mask ($18).
“The less you can do to your hair in quarantine the better in the long run,” Cross said.
So, you should probably leave your hair to the professionals.
This is a good time to give your hair a break – after all, over-processing and over-styling warrant a vacay for your locks.
What better time than when you don’t have to see anybody?