Authors: Lorraine Massey,Michele Bender
B003YL4KS0 EBOK (25 page)
3
Take your first defined curl unit, and hold it between your thumb and your index and middle fingers so that the bottom of your fingers targets where you want to cut.
4
Then, hold the scissors in your other hand, and snip the end of the curl unit with the tip of the blades. Cut straight across. This kind of trimming will get rid of frayed, knotted ends.
5
Continue to do the same on each curl unit on that side of your head, trimming off about equal amounts of hair on each one. Avoid combing or running your fingers through your hair, which would disrupt your curl’s intrinsic shape.
Cut hair straight across.
6
Next, trim the hair on the other side of the head in the same manner.
7
Shake your curls, and then examine your newly trimmed hair. Note any uneven locks, and give those a snip in the same way.
CURL CONFESSIONNetta Rabin
children’s book designerMore times than I can count, my long curls were cut to an awkward shoulder length because the hairdresser cut my hair wet, making it shrink up when it dried. My first good haircut was at a curly hair salon, and it was a life-changing experience! For the first time, I felt blessed to have curly hair. I finally embraced having hair that changes every day and has a life of its own. I realized that my hair was an extension of my personality.
After being a dedicated curly girl for ten years, I started cutting my own hair, partly to save money and partly because my wedding was coming up and I was worried that even a professional curly stylist would cut my hair too short or mess up my bangs. My first self-trim looked pretty good. (The one thing I didn’t realize was how important it is to use high-quality shears. I made the mistake of using household scissors, which frayed my hair a bit.)
Then, I cut my own bangs. I’d always wished I could have bangs, but thought curly ones looked ridiculous. That was until I saw the most adorable curly-banged waitress in my neighborhood restaurant. There was no way I was going to wait for an appointment at the salon; I wanted bangs right away. That night, I started cutting, and it was so much fun that I kept going until I had the big, crazy hair I was always afraid to ask my hairdresser to do. It’s empowering to know I can trim my own hair to keep it healthy, and it’s also saved me a lot of money.
And I loved how my hair turned out on my wedding day. Kudos to my stylist—myself.
TOP LAYER OF HAIR ALL AROUND THE HEAD
1
Look in the mirror and imagine an invisible clock behind your head.
Raise hair upward so it’s in line with the 12 o’clock position on your imaginary clock.
2
Starting with a curl from the canopy that’s on the top of the crown, take the hair from the end of a curl unit and gently hold it between your thumb and your index and middle fingers.
3
Without putting any tension on the curl unit, raise it upward so it’s in line with the 12 o’clock position on your imaginary clock. Hold it up as far as its length allows, perpendicular to the scalp, without pulling on it, and place it between your index and middle fingers at the point where you plan to trim the ends. Pull hair forward.
4
Carefully snip off the end of the hair that is anchored between your fingers with the tip of the scissors.
5
Next, do the same on the neighboring curl unit—which would be at 1 o’clock on your imaginary clock—on the left side of your head, and snip the end of that. Continue with the rest of the curl units on the left side of your head (which would be at 2 and 3 o’clock).
6
Now go back to the center of the back of the head, and trim the curls on the canopy of the hair on the right side of the head (which would be at 11, 10, and 9 o’clock).
7
Occasionally, sway your hair back and forth to see how the trim looks in motion.
BENEATH THE CANOPY
1
Face away from the wall mirror, and, using the handheld mirror, position yourself so you see the back of your hair.
2
Sway your head back and forth to see how the back of your hair lies in relation to the sides. You may see a V shape where the sides are shorter than the hair in the back. If you like it, great. But if you want to trim the bottom end of the V to match the sides, you’ll need to trim off a little more hair than just the very ends.
3
With your index and middle fingers, pick up the chosen curl unit from the center of the back beneath the canopy, and bring it around to the front on your right shoulder.
