How I Have Saved Thousands of Dollars on Haircuts

Early in my journey to stop spending and start saving, I realized that the best savers were DIY experts.

Torn clothing? Sew it up. Worn-down furniture? Refinish it. Hair looking dull, dry, or dead? … Cut it yourself!

That’s right. I realized that I could save thousands of dollars, in my high-cost-of-living city, by cutting and styling my own hair—no exceptions. So I began experimenting.

You see, I’ve always been sort of vain about my hair. It was one of those features in which I took pride. It’s usually medium to long, and I like to keep it sort of healthy. You can imagine how the thought of leaving it to the amateurs—aka, myself—was a bit horrifying.

But then I thought about it. I’ve had some bad haircuts in the past. Despite my best efforts, even the best hairstylists were not always able to give me the exact haircut I had asked for. So I realized something:

If I cut my own hair, not only would I save money, but I would always get the haircut I want!

Now, I know what you’re thinking. “There is no way I am taking scissors to my gorgeous locks!” But trust me when I tell you: You are way more capable than you think.

My Favorite DIY Haircut Tutorial

I’ve used this particular tutorial dozens of times since 2013. Yes, I’ve been cutting my own hair successfully for SEVEN years—and even receive compliments every time I do it!

I’ve done it when my hair has been super long, and even when I’ve cut it shoulder-length, when I got more comfortable cutting my own hair.

I have some modifications from Farah’s tutorial, but please go slowly and use your own discretion—you know your hair best:

• I let my hair air dry after a shower.
• Then, I cut my hair dry, not wet, using the above tutorial’s method.
• Note: I only started doing this after I had cut it wet the first few times. I realized dry was better for my hair texture. (For context, my hair is medium-to-long, wavy, and fine.)
• For Farah’s first step—cutting the “main” length before tying it back—I actually leave that last, but tie back the hair regardless.
• I do this just in case the layers I cut end up longer than the length itself. By saving the true length for last, I can cut it based on where the layers end.
• I use regular hair-cutting shears, not the specialty ones Farah uses.
• When it comes time to the second “triangle” shape, I sort of freestyle—my hair isn’t as thick as Farah’s, so I don’t need to split it into as many sections.
• If you have thick hair, use more sections.
• I don’t cut bangs.
• I don’t cut front angles after the layers.
• Then, I wet my hair and let it air dry again to see exactly how it falls.

At this point, my haircut usually looks fine and I have absolutely no edits. Again, I’ve been doing this a while! But sometimes I make some quick adjustments to my liking.

So there you have it. The one trick that has saved me thousands of dollars—and hours of time—in haircuts and styling over the past several years: cutting my own hair.

Trust me, it’s not as hard as you think. And you may like your results even more than the salon’s!

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