How to: Quick and easy hair layering

Hey Strangekittens,

I mentioned in the Winter Hair Woes post that i’d tell you how I layer my hair at home. I’m not really fussy about my hairstyle, I just keep it long and layered. Because honestly, I’m lazy!

Anyway, I did a quick picture tutorial, hopefully it explains the process easily enough.

First up, what you’ll need:

- Flat iron/Hair straightener. This isn’t compulsory, but having straight hair before you cut it will help greatly to it being even!

- Brush. Duh.

- Clips. Trust me.

- Scissors. I have a pair of Tweezerman Professional shears. In Canada, you can find them at London Drugs (It was in the cosmetics section at my one with the other Tweezerman products.  There’s a picture of them further below, they were $30. You want to use actual hair cutting shears, not just normal scissors! You could give yourself nasty split ends by using normal scissors.  There are cheaper ones around too, and some much, much more expensive ones! For this, the cheap ones are fine. But you do get what you pay for.

Ok, so if your hair is anything but straight, straighten it. Before I start though, this tutorial is not for really tightly curly hair, If you normally wear you hair very curly, i can’t gurantee how this would turn out. I personally have loosely curly hair, though.

It doesn’t need to be perfectly straight, just manageable. I’m using a Metropolis flat iron. It’s salon quality, I bought mine from one of the local ones.

Make sure you brush it through so there’s no tangles or knots after you straighten it.

Next. get your scissors out! Be careful, these ones are sharp. It’s a good idea to have somewhere to put them down within reach too, and not shove them in your belt, like I did while i was making this

Yes, I know a picture of the scissors wasn’t necessary, but it might help when you’re trying to find them in the store!

Next, we’re getting ready to snip! Make sure you’re wearing something you don’t mind having hair all over. And perhaps put down a drop sheet underneath where you’re cutting, or lean over the bathroom sink like I usually do. (But put a towel or something lining the sink. You don’t want all you hair going down the drain and clogging it)

To make things easier, center part your hair and tie off one side like this:

Gather a 1inch piece of hair (not too thick) between your fingers like the picture above. We’re gonna be cutting pieces about this size.

Now here’s the tricky part. We’re gonna be cutting it on a downward angle, towards the middle (as in, towards the face). You want to start on the outside, and carefully snipping in with little movements, not one big cut. Why? Because it’ll blend in better.  And only cut off less than an inch to start! Don’t go hog wild with it. I know how much to cut with mine as I do this every six weeks. If it’s your first time, err on the side of less. Picture below to show.

It looks awkward because I’m trying to show it to the camera clearly. I swear it’s not that weird in real life. I actually tend to look at the hair, and not the mirror while cutting. It’s a good idea to clip the cut bits out of the way as you go. I twist them over and clip them on my forehead.

It’s pretty much this technique, all around. Use small pieces and go as slowly as you need to.  One you’re starting on the other side, make sure you flip the cutting angle so it’s opposite. You always want the longest bits on the inside! Once you’ve got it down, it’ll take you like 20mins to do when you need to.

Mine turned out like this:

Some general tips:

- Straight hair makes it easier. Day old hair is also easier as it sits down better.

- Do NOT do this with wet hair. You hair is longer when wet, and contracts up shorter when dry. You might end up cutting off more that you intended!

- Little snips! Not big slashes.

- Brush out beforehand, and as you go. This will help keep things tidy and even.

- I am not a hairdresser. But this method is pretty much foolproof if you follow the instructions.

That’s all I can think of for now If i’ve missed anything or you have questions, ask below!

- Dannielle

#strangekittyca

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