DIY Haircuts: How I save €60 a month and improve my skills

The whole story started with a friend who told me that he was going to get a serious haircut next Saturday. Without giving it much thought, I simply took note of the fact that his hairdresser was probably free for him at the weekend. The following week I complimented him on his new haircut and got a breathtaking reply: "I cut it myself." Whaaaat?!!!

For as long as I can remember, I have been to different hairdressers, sometimes more, sometimes less satisfied with the results. Finding the perfect barber is not an easy task, as most of you know. The ambience, personality, topics to talk about… There are a lot of indicators that make a barber shop fitting your needs or not. Even if the person is the best in town, the chemical romance must be given, right? So, whether in my hometown as a teenager or in Düsseldorf, I have, finally, always found someone who cuts my hair really well. However, I never paid attention to the price. After all, you want to look good and fresh, don't you.

So I started thinking...

Have you ever calculated how much you spend on haircuts every month? I did the math and was surprised to find out that I was shelling out a whopping €30 per haircut at the barber shop. Considering my thick hair grows faster than I can count, I'd need to hit the barber's chair twice a month just to keep things fresh. That's €60 down the drain! So, I decided to take matters into my own hands, literally. It might not sound like a fortune, but over a year, it adds up to a tidy sum. That's a weekend getaway, a fancy dinner, or heck, even a new gadget! But beyond the financial aspect, I craved a bit of self-sufficiency. So armed with determination and a pair of scissors, I embarked on my journey to DIY hair mastery.

Now, obviously, I'm no professional hairstylist. In fact, I didn't want to end up like something out of a horror movie on my first attempt. Thus, I started my online research and watched quite some funny and informative YouTube tutorials of women cutting their boyfriend's hair while explaining how, or dudes who use multiple mirrors in different angles to have this 360 view of their had. I didn’t end up buying some mirrors … yet. I must say that for my preferred haircut it wasn't too complex to get started to be honest. Even if I had to make up some mistakes here and there over the next view days after the initial cutting session, I honed my skills. I slowly but surely began to see improvement. Sure, my DIY haircuts may not be salon-grade perfection, but they're pretty darn decent. And hey, practice makes perfect, right?

Why DIY, you ask? Well, aside from the obvious cost savings, I wanted to challenge myself. Learning how to cut my own hair wasn't just about aesthetics; it was about adding another skill to my repertoire. Plus, there's something incredibly satisfying about mastering a task that once seemed daunting.

So there you have it. DIY haircuts may not be for everyone, but for me, they've been a game-changer. Not only am I saving euros left and right, but I'm also expanding my skillset in the process. And who knows, maybe one day I'll be so experienced that I almost don't have to think about it anymore. But until then, you'll find me in front of the mirror, scissors in hand, ready to tackle whatever unruly locks come my way.

Tutorials I used to teach myself:

Tools I use to cut my hair:

This picture is from July 2016 during a video shoot for a cinema commercial. At this point, I hadn't been to the barber for several months because I was curious about what I looked like with long hair.