Would you do it?

I've had the vision of this perfect choppy hair style that I've wanted to do to my (right now) blond, shoulder length hair for a while now. I've tried three different hair stylist and they never get it right. Even my mom, who use to be a stylist herself can't understand what I want to do.
So... I'm thinking of doing it myself? any exsperience? horror stories? :o)

i used to cut my own hair all the time, and the best advice i can give you is make sure you buy a good pair of hair scissors, and it helps to have a friend around. they can help you hold mirrors behind you, so you can see the back etc.

also, remember it's best to take off a little at a time. you can always cut off more, but it's takes a bit longer to grow it back! i found that it was an on-going experience as well, i would cut a little here one day, the next i'd cut a little over there, you know.

good luck! and remember it's ONLY hair, it'll grow back and hair masters can always straighten it up if you don't like the results:-)

I used to cut my own hair - sometimes it turned out great, sometimes it turned out...er, a little different than I expected. :o)

The really hard part is seeing what you're doing on all parts of your head - like mentioned in the post above, getting friends to hold mirrors for you might help.

for choppy cuts I recommend razoring.. you can ether by a nifty little razoring tool at Sally's or just use a plain old fashion razor blade (like a straight edge. not a daisy leg razor! *L*) If your just using a razor blade you'll want to pratice taking small peices of hair and slowly and gently run the razor at an angle down the peice of hair. where ever you run the razor WILL cut the hair, so make sure your not cutting it too short. I cut my own hair just like that and it makes for a very cute chunk spiky cut. I love it. Just pratice and take your time!

Coleenie

i have longish boring hair but with a cute little crooked fringe that i cut myself all the time - i cut my friends' hair too.

just one golden piece of advice - spend as much as you can afford on a decent pair of hairdressing scissors, and then never ever use them for anything other than hair. poor quality or blunted scissors will just hack at your hair, making it impossible to control the shape you're getting and giving you split ends.

ps - the choppy short look you describe sounds just like the way i had my hair cut a while back. as the stylist was chopping away she commented that the cut required her to forget EVERYTHING she'd ever been taught in cutting techniques....so i cut it myself the next time & spent the £25 i saved on a new top. worry not, you're eminently qualified so just have fun & experiment! good luck...

I've cut my own hair before, aand similar to what someone else said - sometimes it turns out, and sometimes it doesn't.

I second the advice to do a little each day. Also, for choppier cuts, I like to cut upwards instead of across, if that makes sense (take a chunk of hair a chop upwards at the ends instead of cutting straight across)

good luck, and remember it'll always grow back!
--punky

All right :o)
I did it and it looks SO cool :o) Thanks guys for giving me advice, and thanks Coleenie for the razor idea. Maybe that's why it never turned out... not to just choose a hair color. Maybe I'll have that professionally with the money I saved on this hair cut

i have been cutting my own hair for around 6 months now, after grad school made me too broke to pay $40/month to maintain my pixie cut. now i have this sort of mod/emo girly cut with bangs and the best way i have found to make choppy layers is to always always hold the scissors vertically so that you make long layers (this thins your hair too) instead of cutting off big chunks of hair that stick out all weird.
i think i am going to grow it out some tho...does anyone have any suggestions how to grow out bangs when you have a big fat cowlick on the front of your head??

Dexie---
i have that stupid cowlick too. i have never been able to have bangs because of it. it made 2nd grade particularty tough. and my mom couldn't french braid. sigh. i feel your pain. :)
--jamie

my mom couldn't french braid either! i think that + cowlick made me the least fashionable brownie in my troop. sigh.

i am thinking that keeping bangs thinned and choppy just might be the secret weapon against cowlicks - if the hairs are not all the same length, then they won't clump together and stick up so bad. i have tiny tiny short bangs now (for the first time in my life) and this strategy is actually working!

Hey Dexie..when I was growing out my bangs (I've got a little cowlick) I used a stick wax pomade to smack em where I wanted 'em. Felt gross, but worked.
Try Sally's beauty supply to find a cheap one (around 6 bucks, I think)

a great way to deal is to use bobby pins (you can paint them or wrap beads around them and pull the bangs to the side. i know it sounds lame but check out the movie trailer online to "legally blonde" - in one scene reese witherspoon has her hair exactly like that and it looks so cute.

i cut my own hair in high school. it was highly addicting and eventually turned into a big mess. my parents were nice enough not to harrass me about it, but looking back i wonder why they didn't! it was a ton of fun though, and allowed me to really not care too much about my appearances.
bobby pins are some of my best friends. i am in the final stages of growing out my bangs (they're just getting long enough to tuck behind my ears) and bobby pins and snap barrettes (like you had when you were a kid) have gotten me through the past few months brilliantly.