How To Cut Your Kid's Hair At Home | Guide, Steps & Tricks

It's no secret that kids grow out of their clothes and shoes at an alarming rate, but what about haircuts?

Many parents feel like they have to take their children to a professional salon in order to get a decent haircut.

This doesn't have to be the case! In this blog post, we will provide you with step-by-step instructions on how to cut your kid's hair at home.

We'll also provide some tips and tricks that will make the process easier for both you and your child. So don't wait any longer, read on and get started!

The basics around cutting children's hair

Keep in mind that you aren't trained and should not try to reinvent the wheel every chance you get. 

It is best to stick with the current cut of your child and not attempt something new or more complicated. You won't regret it if you keep the cuts simple.

A second tip is to make sure you have a good pair of scissors. We see parents making the most common mistake of using their kitchen scissors to cut their kids' hair. 

It doesn't end well, I promise! Shears for cutting children's hair are specially designed to give a clean, precise cut, so that is what you need.

Okay, now that you've got your scissors, here are some basic tips:

• Before you cut your child's hair, wash and dry it thoroughly. You should always wash and dry your hair before you cut it. This will allow you to see how long you want. You may find that your hair becomes shorter if you cut it wet.
• Dry your child's hair the same way you would normally. If your child has curly hair or wavy locks, let it dry naturally. It is not a good idea to blow dry hair you don't normally let dry naturally. Your hair can look very different every day.
• Before cutting, make sure you separate the hair into sections. To section the hair, you can use scissors or clips. This gives you more control and allows you to cut smaller sections at a time.
• Always have a towel on hand! To avoid making a mess, it helps to have a towel on hand. To make it easy to clean up, let the towel catch all hair.
• Slow down. Take your time when cutting hair for your child. You may get a bad cut if you hurry. Cut a small amount at a time. You can always get more but not what you have already taken off.
• Keep it simple! Even if you have watched hours of YouTube videos about home haircuts, it is not enough to be an expert. Keep it simple, and trim the ends that aren't cut or split to keep your hair healthy and beautiful.
• Remember that longer bangs are better. Don't cut too short or your child could end up with the horrible bowl cut that we all cringe about. Start slow and work your way up.

Cutting short hair for boys and girls

Cutting medium to long children's hair

Cutting children with medium or long hair can be the most challenging without any prior experience.

Depending on how you are trying to style the hair, often you will just be trimming your daughter's long hair.

Start Sectioning The Hair

Divide hair into top and back sections using a wide-toothed comb.

Part hair starting at the back of one ear and ending at the back of another ear. The top section is the hair in front.

Divide the remaining bottom section from ear to hear into additional 1-inch-thick horizontal pieces. All but the bottom section should be cut up.

Start from the back

To ensure that all hair moves in the same direction, run a fine-toothed comb through the bottom section. Divide into a left or right section.

First, trim the right section. Hold the hair between your index finger and the middle finger of your non-cutting hand—trim half of the desired length in a right-to-left motion.

For the left side, hold a section of hair that is already trimmed from the right side to guide your length.

Then, cut both ends, so they are equal.

Next section: Let it down

Run a fine-toothed comb through both layers. Then, cut the length to match the length of the bottom section.

Divide it into a right or a left section. You can do the same for all horizontal sections.

Children's curly hair can grow inches longer if it is straightened and wet. Make sure you use a different haircutting technique for curly hair than you do straight hair.

You can remove 1/4 inch of hair from wet hair by using very little tension.

Then cut the top

Let go of the top. To create side sections, part the top section. The hair should be about an inch above the ear.

All hair below this point must be included from temple to back. The rest of your hair should be cut, and the side sections left down.

First, cut the right side. As a guide, use already-cut hair from the back sections to cut from right side to left. Continue with the left side.

To determine if the side sections are even, look at them from the front. If they are, adjust accordingly.

As you did with the back, release the hair from the top in 1/2-inch sections. Cut to match the length of your first side sections.

The bottom line is that you can cut your child's hair at-home if you want. Take it slow, be patient, don't be afraid, and make sure you have a pair of good hair scissors. You can do it!