There are definitely a few things one can do themselves at home in isolation to keep their hair looking as fresh as possible. While I highly urge everyone to try to resist the temptation of going at your own hair in this time, there are certain things you can do yourself at home.
While it will never be the same as a professional, here are a few tips for you to consider when attacking your own hair in isolation.
The number one thing we can do for those of us who have grey hair and that root line starts to show up is a temporary root touch up.
Colour wow is a mineral powder to help touch up highlights for blonde hair! Reach out to your stylist for where to get it.
If you must touch up your colour yourself here are a few tips to remember:
- Make sure you use some kind of vaseline around your hairline
- Use dark towels and pillow cases
- Only touch up your hairline and parting
- DM your hairstylist! Perhaps they’re willing to give you help on which color to choose
- Often times there’s a tendency for at home color to go darker than anticipated. This can end up becoming a colour corrective nightmare once everything goes back to normal. Better for things to be a shade lighter than darker.
How to trim your ends of your hair:
Brush your wet hair forward into a ponytail in front of your head and trim ends which will give a bit of a layered look.
You can also pull your hair back dry and into low ponytail and trim.
If you must do cut your hair, be sure to only take off the bare minimum. It looks a lot easier than it is. If you must trim, just take little nail scissors or order some cutting shears and one at a time go over any split ends.
How to trim your bangs (refer to video above for instructional):
Before picking up your scissors, I would suggest trying to style your bangs differently as a starting point. Try wearing your hair to the side or completely off of your face as a change of pace.
Pro tip: DON’T use kitchen scissors. A sharper type of cutting scissor works best; they’re available at your local drug store.
Do’s and don’ts:
- Section out your bangs area. Don’t cut anything longer than what your hair stylist has already created for you.
- Use minimal tension when cutting your bangs, by not pulling on them too hard!
- Wait until your hair is dry, otherwise your bangs may bounce back up once they’re cut.
- Cut below your fingers rather than above them, and don’t pull your bangs outwards from your face as that will create layers.
- Make sure you’re using the point cutting technique (refer to image above), by utilizing the tip of the scissors and directing the cut downwards.
- Don’t cut too far on the sides of the bangs, stick to the centre.
- If you have a 4c type-curl, you’ll already know that pulling the bangs down while cutting can lead to them bouncing back. I wouldn’t recommend doing this regardless of any hair texture, though.
How to cut short hair using clippers:
As soon as you pick up clippers, you run the risk of seeing visible mistakes. When I first started cutting hair I would practice on my brother – one time the guard popped off and I shaved what we call a parking lot in the back of his head (AKA, he was basically bald) and never told him! So, the moral of the story is to make sure the guard stays on.
To start, it’s important to note that clippers come with different sized guards. For the most part, the lower the number, the shorter the hair will be. For example: a 0 is what I did on my poor brother which is basically shaved bald. A 4 results in longer hair.
Steps:
1. Section out the hair. I’d take a ‘U’ shape section from temple to temple. I like using masking tape, which you can do on someone who has shorter hair as a way to see show how high up you’re going to go with the clipper. It’ll be a guide. For those who have longer hair up top, you will want to section this out and clip the hair out of the way.
2. I’d use a 3 1/2 guard to start and work my way up with the clippers. Make sure not to go too high up on the sides. Flick your wrist outwards as you’re cutting the lower half of the hair.
3. Go back in with shorter guards (i’d recommend 1) to get a tighter blend, and only go halfway up.
4. Remove the tape or clipped away section and try to blend the sides using scissors and a comb. Try using texturizing shears if you have straight or wavy hair to blend them together.
5. Trim the hair up top using your scissors and comb until they blend.
Take a step away and look at what you’re doing. There’s no rush!
6. Use a little edger, or 0 clipper, to clean up around the neckline and the ears and sideburns.
The most important approach to cutting very short hair for the first time is to keep things sectioned out – and you can always cut more off as you go. Don’t be too aggressive, and step back to see how things look before you continue. If possible, stick to simply cleaning up the sides so that once you’re able to get an appointment, a pro can do all of the heavy lifting.