While cutting your own hair is surely no easy feat, becoming someone else’s hairdresser is a little more high stakes—especially if your little one is a bit fidgety to begin with. No fear: To help rid your child of stringy ends and too-long bangs, we chatted with stylists about how to cut kids’ hair the most efficient way possible. Prepare to impress with your impromptu barbershop skills. Grab the bottom section of hair, clipping off the rest on the top of the head. Make sure all the hairs around the nape of the neck are combed out, then cut in a straight line, explains celebrity colorist George Papanikolas. Use that first section of hair as a guide, taking the next section out of the clip and laying it over the first before cutting. “Working with smaller sections makes it easier and reduces the chances for choppiness,” Papanikolas says. Keep going until you get to the last section at the top. For a more textured cut, try twisting the pieces of hair before trimming them. “This gives a softer and more forgiving finish to the ends,” Brook mentions. An important tip, especially if this is your first go at a DIY trim: Any mistakes can easily hide within a tousled mane of hair, whereas an uneven edge can be rather glaring on a blunt cut. To trim those short bobs, either cut in a straight line or point cut the ends vertically (again, for a more tousled look). For the top, feel free to grab the scissors. Papanikolas recommends lifting the hair at 90-degree angles for a softer cut. He also mentions that boys’ hair is typically longer in the front than it is in the back, so keep that in mind when you’re snipping away. Just be sure to go slowly; with bangs, one foul snip can run the risk of the aforementioned traumatic trim. If you’re facing any apprehension, just keep them long: “Longer is always better when doing it at home,” says Nelson Vercher, senior stylist at Rita Hazan.
