I’m autistic, I’ve had one haircut since covid because I hate the sensory aspect of haircuts. I’ve been searching online of how to cut hair and it doesn’t look that hard, but a lot of people seem to advise against it. I think that if I fuck it up it’s not the end of the world, I can just go to a professional. But I have very long hair so I have a lot of opportunity for trial and error. I think that if I get some practice, it’s something I can continue to do going forward. I also don’t particularly care how it looks, I just want it to be shorter.
I’m doing it since Covid. No ideas about long hair but for me it’s simple:
With a hair clipper 9mm on the sides and back
12mm on the top (with the natural hair direction, not against)
Now the lower back is the hardest and it will never be amazing but gets better over time. I bought a hand mirror and use it to find where to create the border. I hold my comb in a roughly 20 degrees angle over that line and cut everything below with 3mm. This way I can’t overshoot and the angle creates a decent transition. If I want to improve it, I start another line below for a 0mm cut.
I would personally like to make an even shorter cut but my hair is pretty thin in some areas and then it looks spotty. At some point I might go full Heisenberg but there is still time.
I use a Remington QuickCut for most of my head and a Phillips 7000 series for details, beard and down under.
The only time I went to a professional since covid was for my brothers wedding.
Damn, are you me? I haven’t bothered with fading out the back yet, but I also cut 12mm on top, 9mm for the rest.
Personally, I found that when I lean my head back, then there’s a pretty noticeable bend where my neck starts. And when my hair crosses that line, it looks bad. So, that’s where I create the border.
And I just basically grab the back of my skull and move my hand down until it meets that bend to the neck, then I cut along the index finger.
I feel like I’d probably create the fade above that, too, but your mileage may vary, of course.
I’ve also been using my hand to create the border in the past, it’s an even simpler solution that creates good results. It also has the benefit that you can feel where you are, while the comb is a bit more technical.
I never thought I would continue this after Covid but I like working on improving my cut and it’s good enough now that I don’t feel I need someone else. Always found interactions with hair dressers a bit awkward so I’ll gladly leave this behind me.