What are the pros and cons of cutting your own hair as opposed to going to the barber?

[Anonymous]

[OneViewpoint]

I've been cutting my own hair for decades. It started when I was in the military. We never knew where we'd be or when we'd be able to get a shower or shave or haircut. So we bought our own equipment and started cutting our own hair. That lasted about 15 years. I got pretty good at it. Men's haircuts are not that hard to master.

Fast forward a few years and I started going to barbers again when I was in private equity. Until one Friday I left work early to get a haircut because I was speaking at a conference in New York on Monday. I got to the barbershop and it was closed for a week for the 4th of July holiday.

Crap! I got pissed and went out and rebought clippers, trimmers, scissors and cut my own hair. Never been back to a professional. I can cut my hair and trim my beard any time in about 15 minutes. I cut it every week so it's really not hard to maintain.

Pro's

• The cost. The equipment paid for itself in 3 months. After that it's been free haircuts for years.
• Time. No more driving to a barbershop. Waiting for a chair to open up. Sitting through the haircut. Then driving home. A trim takes me 15 minutes vs more than an hour on a Saturday.
• Availability. I can cut my hair any day of the week and any time of the day. I'm never caught looking like I need a haircut.
• The learning curve. I don't do anything particularly exotic. I learned pretty fast. And learning is a one time thing. It really isn't that hard.

Cons

• None really unless you're looking for something truly stylish and edgy. I'm not at my age. Clean and sharp is good enough.

I've never had a negative comment on my hair. In fact I was making out with a woman I met last Friday and she told me she's a hair stylist and owns a salon. She asked who cuts my hair. I told her I do. For decades. The look of surprise on her face was hilarious. I didn't know if she thought my haircut was acceptable or appalling, LOL. She said she likes it. Seemed impressed. She may have been trying to be kind. Who knows. I ain't worrying about it.

[contentious]

Over the past 30 years I have spent about $90 total on haircuts. Generally I shave my head every 2 weeks. It takes me about 5 minutes. That works out to 11.5 cents per haircut. If I wake up in the morning and look in the mirror and say to myself I need a haircut, then I just reach in my medicine cabinet and and grab my Oster Fast Feed and cut my hair. If I have to clean up for a special occasion, it's the same thing. I don't have to make appointments. I don't have to remember appointments. I don't have to keep appointments. I don't have to drive to appointments and buy gas to get there. I don't have to sit in traffic to get a hair cut. I don't have to sit in waiting rooms flipping through magazines that I don't want to read waiting for appointments crammed next to a bunch of strangers with crazy kids. I don't have to have some gay guy run his fingers through my hair. I don't have to pay someone to cut my hair and I don't have to tip them. I just cut my hair and it's done. When I sweep up my hair from the bathroom floor I also pick up dog hair and dirt that is on the floor, so I multitask at cleaning my house. Then I rinse off and move on with my day. It's simple.

[jennifer_bloom]

I think there is more pride when you can do something alone and not lean on others for it. Like when I have debt or money issues, I get more pride from restricting my diet or sacrificing entertainment for two months to pay it off, then I do from borrowing money from my credit card or from my family to pay off the debt.

[Elliegirl]

My husband cuts his own hair. He says the pros are it’s about cheaper and saves time because he can do it at home in the bathroom or while he showers. The con is sometimes he needs me to clean the back of his neck up so it’s even

[AI Opinion]

Cutting your hair at home can save you money and time, giving you the ability to be creative and try new styles. It's quite fun if you're confident and enjoy a bit of a DIY challenge. However, on the downside, it could lead to uneven results or mistakes, particularly if you're not experienced, and fixing those mistakes might require a professional’s expertise, which could add to the cost. Going to the barber ensures a professional finish and reduces the risk of any hair disasters, plus it's a great way to relax and pamper yourself! 😊✂️

[Lliam]

Pros: You'll save a few bucks.
Cons: You'll wind up like this

[kavakava]

I had no choice but to cut my own hair during the ridiculous covid shutdowns.
I just watched about 25 YouTube videos and bought a trifold mirror that hangs on the door. After 3 years I wouldn't dream of going back to a barber or a stylist. The worst part about having someone else do it is they won't shut the fuck up. 😂
"Got your Christmas shopping done"
"Any plans for the weekend?"

I love the line from dumb and dumber.

Smoking hot redhead on the ski lift: "things haven't been going good lately but I don't want to bother you with my problems"

Harry: "Thanks.". 😭😭

[Joshydavid25]

Pros:

-You can do it whenever you feel like you need it.

-You can save money..

-You can learn to how give yourself the freshest hairline and cut.

-You can learn just in case someone else might want you to hook them up.

Cons:

-You'll probably mess yourself up..

-You'll probably spend more time and still have less quality of a haircut than a professional barber depending on your skill.

-It's a bit harder to hit all the spots by yourself..

-Clippers and haircut sets can be pretty expensive.

[EzraIsShy76028]

Pros: You save money.

Cons: It might not look very good.

Usually it's easier to cut your own hair either when you're getting a short buzz cut or you're a woman with really long hair who's just simply cutting the ends.

Anything in-between that though I have no idea how you'd do that on your own unless you're really flexible, or you have two mirrors so that way you can see the back of your head as well.

[TrimmedTip]

Pros of cutting your own hair:

Saves money
Convenient, no appointments
You control the style and timing
Cons:

Easy to mess up
Hard to reach certain spots
No pro advice or clean finish
Might end up at the barber anyway to fix it
If you're confident and it's a simple cut, go for it. Otherwise, a barber’s worth it.

[LiamJHayden]

For a man:

Pros: you can do it whenever you want, and if your hair is straight and you like it shorter, a razor with like a #6 attachment is perfect for 95% of it. The only ticky part is the back, but with the right mirrors even that is not difficult.

Cons: if your hair is curlier and you like it longer, it can be difficult to get right.

For women:

Unless you like bald or really short hair, go to a stylist.

[lorenzomichael]

First off if you’re going to cut your own hair remember it’s gonna come out fucked up so remember before you start cutting to have a hat that you like wearing. second if you go to the barber it’s gonna come out the way you want it, but you gotta pay for it Average paid 35 bucks with the tip

[RavVid]

Cheaper, quicker. I like a #0 cut all over. I don't even need to towel my head after showering or comb. It saves a lot of time.

If you want something fancy you need a girlfriend or barber.

[purplepoppy]

Pro. It's cheaper.
Con. You'll look ridiculous.

Barbers don't cut their own hair for a reason

[Tracy2025]

My bangs always grow very fast and it was a waste of money to go to the barber shop to cut them. So to save money I chose to cut them myself. At first they looked ugly, but after 5-6 times, I became very good at it.

[Bricealan]

When I wore my hair very short, I cut it myself with the proper attachments that you put on the clippers. The pros, it's cheaper, the con's, it does not look like a professional hair cut.

[TsundereMatrix]

Only if you have your own training or have gone to school for it. Otherwise you wind up on those “hair mishap” compilation videos on YouTube.

[4ngelic]

pros: free and you dont need to go anywhere

cons: easy to mess up and won't look as good

[Anonymous]

I've seen so many people attempt to do it themselves without a knowledge of hair cutting at all.. Usually ends up with them looking so bad they end up having to shave their head with a razor and have a shiny bald head for a while lol

[AviatorTom]

Pro: Cheap

Con: Ugly haircut

I stick with the trained barber / hair stylist. It's money well-spent.

[DishLady]

Going in blind (cutting what you don’t perfectly see) is kind of a big deal.

[Nikki1989]

My hair is too wild and crazy to do it myself. Not a good idea.

[jazzy34]

Pros: Saving money
Cons: Not know what you're doing and the haircut turning out bad.

[exitseven]

pro is that it saves money. Con is sometimes you cannot go out of the house without a hat

[Staximus]

I'm not going to pay some barber $20 or $30 to shave my head with clippers when I can do it at my house for free

[Anonymous]

Con: the finished product looks rather thistly and childish

Bet you can’t guess where that’s a quote from

[dragoblack]

You save money; if you use 2 mirrors, and you are careful, then you can do it properly; and you learn a new skill.

[Anonymous]

Bragging rights.

Film it or it didn't happen.

[KostasKouvalis]

I don't have to pay myself

[foxsquirrell]

It is much much cheaper!