DIY 1987 Style: How To Trim Your Own Hair

Ah...yes...that is me in 1987, growing my first mohawk out into an a-symmetrical bob. This my friends is as cheap and DIY as it gets - my friend Kim Wilson helped me along with the transition with a surgical array of scissors and razors at the vanity in her grandmother's upstairs bathroom. We were both 15 years old.

Later that year I discovered a secret - how to properly dust off your own ends, via Taxi Magazine (I believe). Simply twist a lock of nearly dry hair as tightly as possible (think nervous habit twisting here), grab your good scissors and trim about 1/8 to 1/4 inch of the split ends that you see poking out of your twist. Continue on like this until you are satisfied. and there you have it - the life of your haircut has just been extended by 6 - 8 weeks.

I do this from time to time now because I am about 300 miles from a good hairdresser, but in my youth I did it just because I knew that I could do it myself.

FYI, shortly after this photo was taken (photo credit Matt Riley) I became an emancipated youth - because I knew that I could do it myself. The rest, as they say, is history.