Assess Your Hair Type Before Cutting or Styling
In our hurried lifestyles, often times we don't get to our
stylist for that needed haircut. It's those mornings you
struggle with your "bad hair day" while getting ready for work
that you vow you either have to get to the salon soon or you're
going to whack it off yourself! Sound familiar?
Though I'm not going to go into step by step haircutting
instructions here, I will tell you that it is possible to trim
your hair yourself. Well, not "whack it off" per se. But you can
do a little snip here and there to get you by for another week
or so until you see your barber or cosmetologist. However,
before you say, 'that sounds simple enough,' or 'I'll just cut
off this piece here that seems too long or sticking off,' there
are things that really need going over. I cannot guide everyone
with the same specific advice, as there are so many different
hair types and growth flaws out there, yet these are just basics.
Growth flaws? Yes. In the business, a few of them are known as
whorls or cowlicks, the latter being something you perhaps
recognize. These must be addressed first. Some of you may be
saying that you aren't sure if you have either of them. Simply
ask yourself, if you have short hair now or ever have had it
short, did you have an area that would not lay down right, stick
up or out? Whorls generally occur in the crown area of your head
or anywhere along the hairline; in particular - the neck and
forehead area. If your hair is cut too short in either of these
spots, you are going to have to invest in lots of gel or pomade
to make your misbehaved locks tame down! You never want a
stylist to cut that area too close and you certainly don't want
to do that to yourself.
Whorls are recognized by growth patterns normally found in the
crown area. Ever been in an elevator, on the subway, or standing
in line and found yourself behind someone who had such short
hair you could see the way their hair was growing in a
whirlwind, tornado swirl? That's a whorl. It's hair that grows
out in every direction in a swirly pattern. Some crowns have a
part where hair grows up toward the front hairline, and on the
other side of the part it grows down towards the neck as it
should. They are like cowlicks, yet can curve off creating a
whorl of not so perfect proportions. There are varying degrees
of hair eccentricities that decide to grow in a different
direction than the rest of the area around it and anyone can
have one or several. Such are places you do not want a haircut
flawed or short, lest you will be fighting with your hairstyle
day in, day out until it grows out.
I once had a customer who had nothing but cowlicks all along
his front hairline. We had to keep his hair as long as possible
to combat it as he wasn't the type to go in the opposite
direction and keep a military cut. No wonder so many guys keep
long dos or shave their heads bald!
Now about those different hair types. This gets really involved
and I will do my best to condense it. It is crucial to address
this when considering even the simplest of tasks as trimming
your bangs. Since I cannot assess your hair type or even ask you
questions about it, I at least need to skim these different
circumstances.
Hair that is curly needs to be cut gingerly. When you pull it
completely straight to work with it, you cannot cut much off at
all as it will spring back up more than you think it will. Those
of you with tight corkscrews probably have already had your hair
cut way too short before. So take heed those of you who just had
a perm and are new to the curl world.
Coarse and/or super-straight hair should probably be left to
the professionals. This hair shows no mercy and be forewarned;
any mistake at all will be very noticeable. This type needs a
trained hand/eye, patience, very sharp scissors and is
definitely easier to be done by someone other than yourself
anyhow. In other words, it needs precision!
Wavy hair can be dealt with all right unless we are talking
really wavy, then treat it like curly hair. Never take but a
little section at a time; very little when it's curly or really
wavy, pulling it taut from the scalp as you would do any
haircut. You can always go back and take a little more, just
make sure you do the entire area before you make this decision.
I recommend that you dry your hair, styling it somewhat to
better decide. That little bit off may be all you needed.
I cannot emphasize enough the importance of making yourself at
least a little familiar with hair and the consequences one can
experience if they get too brave with their haircut. With that
said, I hope you have a better idea of what you are attempting
to do.