DIY trim

Posted in DIY, hair journey, hair practices, hair update by

My people, how far?

You know how I keep saying “oh my ends are shitty, I need a trim”? Guess who finally got one? 

I’m not even joking when I say my ends were horrendous. 

I had so many single strand knots and my ends looked so rough and frizzy. On one strand alone I could find as many as 3 knots and I was in the habit of pulling them off with my fingers. 

Detangling had become a serious chore no matter the conditioner because of all the tangles. Even separating twists for a twist out became harder because all my ends wanted to do was stay together.

When people talk about split ends they seem like such a modern myth to me but I kid you not when I say I used my two eyes to see several split ends in my hair! At this point I knew something had to be done fast. 

I knew I needed a trim for a long time, trust me. I mean, I haven’t had one since I went natural; that’s 2 years! 

The thing is, I wanted to get it professionally done so I kept postponing and postponing till I could go to a salon that knew what they were doing. 

One day, I thought to myself “wait oh, but people do this thing themselves e.g. Nafisat. How can I, self proclaimed cheapskate mama and DIY queen, not be able to do it myself”. 

So I googled how to do it myself, bought 70 Naira scissors, sat in front of the mirror and trimmed.

 

Not a good picture but peep those ends!

  

I’d take a small section, twist up to where I wanted to trim and then cut

  
  
 

All done!

  

My twists were so blunt by the end

    

Ends look and feel waaaay better!

   
 

My “OMG, my hair is shorter” face 😦

All the hair I cut off

  
In my two year nappiversary post, one of my goals was to get a trim and I’m glad I got one.

 I know I could have gotten better results because some parts aren’t even and I think I might have taken too much hair off but I think I did okay for a first attempt.

My experience with trimming:

Pros:

  • My hair is easier to detangle
  • Crappy ends are gone
  • Styles turn out better

Cons:

  • You might become scissor-happy 
  • Shorter hair (but it will grow back)

Lessons learnt: 

  • Eventhough a decision seems scary, take the leap if you know the pros will outweigh the cons.
  • Don’t delay a decision that will benefit you because of excuses that are surmountable. (See grammar! My English teachers must be proud of me.)

I did a bantu knot out for NITC 12(post coming soon) after trimming and it was so easy to take down and separate the bantu knots afterwards! I was pleasantly surprised!

    
Have you ever trimmed your hair yourself? Would you ever DIY trim or would you rather get it professionally done? Share with me.

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27 thoughts on “DIY trim”

  2. I trimmed my hair last month all by myself.. i did almost the same thing you did although i didn’t have so much scraggly ends and as a result i didn’t cut off so much hair.. i’m yet to do a post about that tho!
    i love the way your hair looks after the trim..its bouncy 😀

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    • I will take a page out of your book and trim when needed instead of leaving my ends to become horrible; that way I won’t have to cut off so much hair.
      My hair does look so much better after the trim; I’m glad I did it.
      Thank you! 😀

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      Reply

  5. Thanks for the pingback! Lorrd. Thanks for another DIY post, we naturals need to realize that we can actually do some basic things ourselves. You really trimmed quite a lot. But that’s okay, your ends didn’t look too happy but trust me it’s worth it. It would thank you later during detangling and styling. And I couldn’t agree with you more on the pros and cons. I was actually beginning to get a liiituule scissors happy at first, it’s not cool at all. I just kept reminding myself how far I have come and I can’t afford to be cutting them anyhow, just because one piece of hair is always sticking out of my twists!
    Coily Head of Hair

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    • Very true; there are so many things we can do ourselves without parting with bucketloads of cash.
      My ends definitely were unhappy before. I’ll make a conscious effort to only trim as needed before I will go and give myself another big chop.

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  6. I have heard of trims but its really like that distant cousin who you have never met to me and since am not even a year nappy yet…oh well!
    Your hair is super beaut and ur face as fresh!!

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  7. LMAO this post is too funny, especially the grammar part.
    Ehn Jen for two years you never trimmed?
    Even after trimming my hair when it clocked one, I trimmed again some months later and I’d trim again in December because these coils love to knot and make love, so annoying.
    I love the feel of trimmed hair, your twists out look better and healthier.

    Floral and Fro

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    • I know, 2 years! Not like I didn’t need it oh; I desperately needed it but never trimmed. 😥
      Make love? Lmao!
      I love the feel of trimmed hair too! I hope I don’t become addicted and start trimming like a maniac.

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    • Aww, hang in there.
      Are you taking care of it consistently?
      Try to ensure it is always moisturized because dry hair breaks. Moisturize often and deep condition.
      Sleep in a satin bonnet/scarf.
      Try massaging your scalp especially your hairline with castor oil. Put your hair in protective styles and ensure they aren’t tight.(still take care of your hair in the protective styles as well)

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