Even before all that pandemic business, I was looking into how to how feasible it is to sort out a dad haircut you can do yourself. I’ve hated going to the hairdressers since I was a kid (our neighbours thought my parents were childless dog owners), so if I could do it myself, I would definitely give it a bash.
Problem is that nowadays I like to have a short back and sides that fades up into a short, styled head of hair. Surely that’s a bit too tricky to do, isn’t it?
Turns out it isn’t!
Dad Haircut You can do Yourself
Yup, that’s right. Turns out you can save yourself a wad of cash by doing it yourself. Who knew? Now, I’m so good at it that even my friend John Kowalske asks me to do his hair for him.
If the national lockdown was good for one thing, it was forcing us to cut our own hair (and saving lives, of course).
I originally tried cutting my son’s hair with my beard trimmer. It promptly started to smell of smoke, groaned a bit and stopped working. So my first port of call was finding a decent set of hair clippers.
I struck gold in the end by finding some hair clippers that also doubled up as a beard trimmer (or vice versa). The Braun 9-in-1 trimmer is a solid pick and set me back about £40. Some fellas pay that for one haircut!
Not me! I can still get my hair shorn for less than a tenner around my parts, but as I needed a beard trimmer anyway it’s already kinda paid for itself.
Here’s my mega-easy dad haircut you can do yourself method.
1. Shave Back and Sides on a High Number First
Something around a 15 if you’ve got it. I’ve found that diving straight in with the short settings doesn’t work that well. Shave up to the point where you want the longer hair on top of your head. This really should cover anything that could constitute as a side. You don’t want the long bit to creep down from the top of your head: it looks ridiculous, and less professional.
2. Keep Shaving on Gradually Lower Numbers
Repeat but with a slightly lower number finishing just underneath the point that you finished last time. Don’t be afraid to jump a few lengths. If I started on a 15, I’d be happy for my next to be 11. The points where each size shave stops should be fairly tightly compacted to one another. Your shortest shave will take up the majority of the back and sides.
Be careful choosing your shortest size. While I normally ask for a number 1 at the hairdressers, my Braun clippers surprised me with 5 being plenty short enough.
When you’ve chosen that, make sure to shave the whole of your back and sides up to the point where your last shave stopped. For me, my 5 reached up to the point that I finished with my 7.
You’ll find a small mirror of some use here, so you can have your back to your main mirror and still see what’s going on.
3. Cut the Top
Decision to be made here. If you like your hair very short, you might find that your clippers’ top setting may be long enough for you. In this case, you can feel free to just glide those clippers over your head.
I like a little bit of length up top though, it makes it easier to style afterwards. If you have curly hair, check out some curly hairstyles for men as these tend to involve a bit more consideration. If it’s straight, running some gel through or leaving it as it is will usually do the trick. I wet my hair to make it easier to cut, you’ll see strands of hair clump together. As shown in the video, it’s really just a case of snipping anything that looks too long. Doesn’t matter if they’re all different sizes. As long as they’re roughly along the same length, you’ll be fine.
4. Trim the Neck and Around the Ears
Nothing screams ‘home haircut’ like stray long hairs dangling over your ears. If you’ve got something like the Braun kit I mentioned, this is where the precision trimmer comes into its own. A beard trimmer with the guard off will have to do the job if not.
Once done, it’s time to tackle that hairy neck with a wet shaver. You never get as close as this at the hairdressers (who often underestimate how far down neck hair can grow too. Get rid of that, jump in the shower, and you’re golden!
There you have it. A perfect (and easy to execute) dad haircut you can do yourself, at home. As you can see, there’s very little that you wouldn’t expect in this method. The main issue is just getting past the initial worry of ballsing it up. If you can live with a shaved head for a week or two though, there’s really nothing to fear as that’s the absolute worst that can happen.
Hass your new DIY hairdo changed your identity somehow? You’ll still be able to figure out what type of dad you are by checking the 7 types of dad you’ll find on the school run.
If you’re only cutting your own hair because you’re stuck at home, you might also need some easy school teddy bear ideas.
If the thought of saving all that money on haircuts is what gets you going, why not check out some Chinese watches that are better than their price tags suggest.