Hair Care

Trimming Your Own Hair

By Choya Randolph

With quarantine, a lot of us haven’t been able to go to the salon as often as we’d like or even at all. Even if your salon is open, you may be nervous at putting yourself at risk when there’s a third wave of Covid-19 pounding its way through the country. Though many of us have become our own stylist, we may still want to leave any cutting to the professionals. Yes, a professional trimming your hair is the better option but we’re living in an era where we may just have to do it ourselves. So get those scissors ready sis, it’s time to trim those ends.

Before we get into trimming, let’s talk about why we should trim in the first place. If length is important to you, you may be against cutting even a centimeter of your hair. Trimming your hair gets rid of split ends which reduces breakage. This leads to not only healthier hair but also hair that retains length. So if you’re nervous about the hair you’ll lose when getting a trim, remember that you may be stalling your hair growth by avoiding those scissors. 

When trimming kinky hair, it’s best to do it when the hair is stretched. Once your hair is stretched, start trimming your hair section by section like the professionals do. To do this, you have to take small sections of your hair and cut the part that looks thin. Put the hair section between your fingers as if your hair were a cigarette then run your fingers through your hair. Once you begin to see your finger between the strands, you know where to cut. These parts tend to be thinner than the rest of the section and you may even be able to see split ends and breakage. Cut it and keep it going. When doing this, keep in mind the way you want your hair to look. Oh, and don’t forget to be patient. This could take awhile. 

If cutting your hair this way still has you nervous, you can trim your hair in twists. Twists are a great way to curl your hair but it also can stretch your hair. Plan ahead of your trim. After you’ve gone through your wash day regimen, put your hair in twists. Don’t go for twists that are too large. The point is to stretch the hair and bigger twists simply don’t stretch the hair as well as smaller twists. Once your hair is dry, examine the twists in your hair. If you haven’t had a trim in awhile, you’ll notice that the end of your twist isn’t as juicy and thick as the rest of the twist. In fact, you may even notice straggly hair strands at the end of your twists. 

These thin parts are the parts that need to go. They’re simply holding you back from growth sis. Treat them like your ex and cut. them. off. To make sure you’re cutting precisely, run your index finger and thumb on each twist. You should be able to feel when the twist begins to thin out, if you can’t see it already. Once you feel that thinness, cut the hair. After doing this to all of your twists, undo them and examine your work. 

If you notice any split ends or breakage, you may need to retwist to cut again. If not, then you’ve trimmed your hair successfully. Not only that, but because you twisted your hair, you can now wear your freshly-trimmed hair in a twist out. You should be able to visually see the difference in your hair. 

If having an even haircut is important to you and the styles you wear frequently, it’s okay to snip a little less. What’s great about kinky hair is that an uneven trim is barely visible if visible at all. I know having an uneven haircut sounds bad but it happens more often than you think. How do you think layered haircuts work? Also, it’s nearly impossible to have every hair strand be the same length. The point of a trim is to promote healthier hair. So if you find yourself cutting off breakage that makes your hair look uneven, that’s okay. Once your hair is back in its natural coily state, you may not even notice.

Though cutting our own hair can be a little scary, we are capable of doing it. Not only will this save us money and a trip to the salon, this process will help us learn more about our own hair. The worst thing that could happen is that we cut too much of our hair. Remember: it’s just hair. Hair grows back but confidence in your hair, no matter what length it is, lasts forever. 

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