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Home • Haircuts

How I Trim My Own Curly Hair

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How I Trim My Own Curly Hair
By Nina Sultan · Updated June 28, 2017

Hello curly folks, Nina Sultan here! Today I am going to show you a very easy method in managing your curls.

It’s important to do curl maintenance every couple of months to ensure your curls always look on point. I like to trim my hair about every 6 weeks. Trimming your hair is pretty easy to do yourself and if you aren’t afraid of clippers, can end up saving you money in the long run! Here is how I trim my curls.

Some tips before snipping…

  • Make sure you have a good pair of hair clippers. Using just regular scissors or the wrong kind of scissors — especially if the blade is dull — can often do more harm to your curls than good. Having a pair of scissors that are sharp and are specifically made for cutting hair will ensure you get a clean smooth cut when you are trimming your hair.
  • Keep in mind is to trim your hair while it’s dry. It makes your life a whole lot easier in that, it’s easier to see and manage the frayed ends. It’s hard to tell what your curls will do when it’s wet because it could look quite different when your hair is dry.

The way I trim my hair is simple

The first thing I do is take each curl and look at the end. If the end is frayed, I snip it off. It’s very much like trimming split ends except you are snipping off more hair. You only need to cut the ends that are frayed and when you cut it, make sure you are cutting the end straight across.

Article continues after video.

I like to trim my hair in sections. I will trim each and every curl on the right side of my hair, then move to the left side and do the same thing, and finally, trim the back of my hair. I shake my hair throughout the process to make sure there are no curls that I am missing. After trimming your hair when it’s dry, you can always shower and do a touch up while your curls are wet. Trimming the back can be tricky since you can’t really see back there unless you have a mirror. An easy way to trim the back of your hair is to take each curl and lift it up above your head so you can see it clearly. Like the other curls, trim it the same way by snipping straight across.

One thing to know before you trim

Trimming your hair can be time consuming since you are going through each and every curl.

However, it is nice to not have to spend money for someone else to do it. It is also perfectly okay to see a professional stylist to trim your hair if you aren’t comfortable doing it yourself. I think something to keep in mind is that you aren’t cutting that much of your hair off. It’s only the ends of your curls that are getting snipped. I love trimming my own hair, and I never go to the stylist unless I want to do something drastically different. This method of trimming may not be for everyone but it certainly works for me and I love it! I honestly can’t tell the difference between when I trim vs. when a stylist does it. That’s all there is to my method of trimming!

Have you tried to cut your own hair?

Did it go well, or was it a disaster? Let me know in the comment section below!

Read 4 Signs It’s time to Cut Your Transitioning Hair

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