How to cut your own Covid hair

We know your hair is getting long and shaggy and you’re bored of ponytails. It is so tempting to break out the scissors and give cutting your own hair a try, so we’re giving you some at-home hair-cutting options. 

Below, we teach you how to cut your own bangs. Desperate for a full hair cut? Contact us to book a Zoom tutorial with Manzer owner and senior stylist Nicole. Nicole will talk you through a haircut and will watch as you cut and give tips along the way. The cost is $60+HST per hour.

We recently ran a contest asking our clients to share photos of their COVID haircuts and lockdown hair. The winner will get a complimentary haircut with one of our trained stylists the first week we're open. Check out the winning coif! [link to social media post]

How to trim your bangs or someone else’s bangs

Watch Nicole Manzer’s tips for cutting bangs.

If you haven't trimmed your own bangs during the COVID-19 pandemic, your fringe is likely very long so work slowly and cut small amounts at a time. Even if you have been trimming your bangs, you might not be getting the results you're after. So follow the tips in the video above or read these tips below for a more professional look.

• First, buy hair cutting scissors. Avoid using kitchen or crafting scissors—anything that’s been used to cut paper, as they’ll be dull and will bend the hair rather than cut it straight. Also, make sure you have a fine tooth comb. Hair clips, called duck clips, are also good tools to have.
  
  

• It’s a good idea to wet your hair so the hair lies flat. But be mindful that hair shrinks as it dries, so it will be shorter than you expect. When cutting wet hair, don’t cut hair any shorter than the bridge of your nose. If you’d prefer to cut dry, consider straightening your bangs with a flat iron before you start so the hair lies flat.
  
  

• Next, pull your bangs forward and pull the rest of your hair away from your face. Secure with a clip or hair elastic.
  
  
• Separate one section of your bangs on either side of your face (so two sections, in total) and pull them aside.
  
  
• If your bangs are thick, separate them into two sections horizontally, meaning make two thin layers and pull the top one up and pin it back using a hair or duck clip.
  
  

• Gather the centre section of your bangs into your fingers and twist twice.
  
  
• Fan out the ends of the hair at the bottom of the twist.
  
  
• Instead of cutting straight across, cut into the hair at a 45-degree angle so you’re cutting tiny triangles out of the hair. This ensures that your bangs don’t look too straight.
  
  
• If you’ve separated your hair into two horizontal sections, you can pull down the top layer and cut it to match the bottom layer, using the same technique of cutting upwards.
  
  
• Finally, incorporate the two small sections at the side of your bangs and part your bangs in the middle. Take one side and hold it in your fingers on an angle so that the highest point is in the middle and trim the longer pieces closest to your face so they’re just a bit longer than the hair in the middle. Do the same on the other side.

Related: How to clean up a hairline

Remember that it takes 10,000 hours to become an expert at something. Don’t worry about being perfect. You will be able to return to the salon one day. A bang trim or Zoom cutting lesson is just to tide you over until then.