When You Should and Shouldn’t Cut or Color Your Own Hair

Learning how to cut and color your own hair can be a tempting way to save a lot of money, and can also be a good option if you hate going to the salon. However, there are some times when you really shouldn’t try things at home, whether for the health or your hair or because they are very tricky to do if you are not experienced.

Here are the times when you can normally safely try cutting or coloring at home:

Trims and Bangs

If you have bangs, you will probably find they grow too long more regularly than you want to visit a hairdresser. This is certainly something you can learn to maintain yourself, and there are lots of tutorials on the web that can help you do a good job of it.

For trimming hair in general to keep it in good condition, you can also (depending on your style) often do this yourself using tutorials from the web, as you are not altering the style or cutting away much length.

Temporary Colors

Temporary hair colors tend to be gentle to the hair, and do not contain things like peroxide and ammonia like many permanent or hair lightening dyes do. If you want to try something new, such as some of the great styles at mynewhairstyles.net, without too much commitment or any hair damage, it is normally safe to do this at home. However, do ensure you do the allergy tests recommended by the manufacturer. You can develop allergies suddenly, so this is important even if you have used the same dye before.

Darker Permanent Colors and Root Touch Ups

Darker colors are kinder to your hair than lighter ones, so as long as you follow the instructions you can generally do these effectively by yourself. Be sure to wear the gloves as these will stain your hands and also use an old towel rather than one you wouldn’t want to get stained! This can be a cheap and easy way to cover grey hair or to get a subtly different look.

Of course, while there are products available to do just about anything to your hair at home, here are some things you shouldn’t try unless you are experienced and willing to take some risks with your hair:

Bleaching and Highlighting

Any kind of lightening product will cause damage to your hair, so this process is best overseen by a professional. A professional will also be able to use the right sort of toner to stop your lightened hair looking brassy.

Perms

Perming your hair is not only damaging, it is also very hard to do to yourself, so always go to a salon for this.

Significant Changes in Length

Cutting your hair in a significantly different way is hard to do on yourself, even for professional hair stylists. This is because it is difficult to see and access the hair at the back, so you can end up with a very uneven cut.

If you are tempted to go for a change you have never tried on yourself before, it is always better to go to a salon. For maintenance and temporary changes, however, it can be a good money saver to learn how to do it yourself.