The Internet's Best Advice For Giving Yourself A Layered Haircut At Home

Deprogramming the part of yourself that learned to never ever cut your own hair can be tough. Since childhood, we've been instructed not to take scissors to our own locks. Since then, we've all been terrified of making a mess out of our hair. But summoning up the courage to get past this fear might actually be a game changer. Per one survey by GoBankingRates, it's estimated that American women spend more than $200 on haircuts every year. 

Skipping the professional salon can save you time — not to mention hundreds of dollars. It also gives you a little more control over your look, sparing you from the drama of ever having to breakup with your hairdresser because you didn't like your haircut. Thanks to the internet, it's easier than ever to learn.  From Reddit to YouTube, plenty of creators have shared their best hacks for trimming your own hair. 

Of course, cutting your hair at home is still riskier, especially if you're a first timer. It's an undertaking that requires a little bit of a gambler's heart. But if you feel like rolling the dice, the internet has some great advice for how to give yourself a great, layered haircut from the comfort of your own home. You could even give yourself bouncy, '90s layers — a trendy haircut that we expect will be huge in 2025.

You can get the visual depth and complexity of plenty of layers without lots of trouble. Stephanie Hopewell, the creator behind Hopewell Heights, has a simple trick for subtly layered long hair, perfect for anyone who wants a polished style without the $100 price tag. "I don't keep up with the latest hairstyles, never spend more than a few minutes doing my hair, and don't use any color," wrote Hopewell in her tutorial blog post, "How to Cut Long Hair in Layers – The Ponytail Method."

This trick works whether your hair is dry or wet, curly or straight—as long as your hair is medium-length or longer. That said, if you have wavy or curly hair, wetting your hair will help make sure your cut is even. You'll need sharp scissors, a hair tie, and a little courage. Beyond that, it's simple. Secure hair into a ponytail and pull the tail forward over your forehead. Make a straight horizontal cut across the ponytail. If you're not sure how much to take off, snip just an inch or two then look at the results, before deciding if you should take off more length. The results is a simple layered style to help keep hair looking healthy and polished.

The ponytail method works if your hair is dry, particularly if you have straight hair. But if you're looking to try a cut that's even a little more complicated, then wetting your hair is non-negotiable. It can be tempting it to skip wetting your hair, especially if you're eager to get going with the shears. "If you wet your hair, it's going to help make the haircut more precise," explains YouTube hair stylist Brad Mondo in his video "Pro Hairdresser Guide To Doing A 'Butterfly Cut' At Home." "It's going to be easier for you, you're going to actually be able to cut through your hair." So whatever DIY approach you go with, starting with wet hair is going to give you the best chance of success.

The easiest way to do this is probably washing your hair first. But, alternatively, you can also just rinse your hair, or hit it with spritz from a spray bottle.  You don't want your hair to be sopping wet and dripping, so if you've washed your hair, you'll want to towel dry it first. Ideally, hair should be damped and combed out. And there's no need to add product—save that for styling your hair after you're done cutting.

Layers are, essentially, different sections of hair cut to different lengths. Some portions of hair will be shorter, which offers the volume, bounce, and visual interest. When you're cutting your own hair, the key to achieving this is segmenting your hair so you can be precise about cutting to different lengths. "That's going to help you to see that this is the front and this is the back," explains YouTube hair stylist Stephen Marinaro of TheSalonGuy. Segmenting your hair is also important because it makes your hair easier to manage. Particularly if you have thick hair, it will be easier to cut through a segmented ponytail than all of your hair at once.

From butterfly cuts to wolf cuts, the biggest essential difference between each style is how you segment your hair before you cut. While the ponytail method relies on making one snug ponytail before you reach for the scissors, more complicated cuts will require you to make additional ponytails. For the shaggy layers of a wolf cut, wet your hair and comb it out thoroughly. Then you'll separate hair across the top of your scalp, brushing hair forward—or backward—from the apex, or highest point, on your scalp. Secure the back section into a high ponytail, and the forward section into a ponytail high on your forward. You'll cut straight across each of these sectioned ponytails to get pretty layers.

Once you've taken the care to section your hair — especially if you've followed tutorial instructions for where to segment your hair—then it's time to grab the scissors.

The key to an even style is ensuring you cut the hair in the correct direction. When you clip, make sure that you're holding the hair taut, and that you're holding the hair so that it natural continues the angle at which you've secured it.

For example, if you have a ponytail in your forehead, make sure that sure your hair natural follows the line at which its pulled forward from your scalp. "We did put this at an angle on purpose," explains Brad Mondo, in "How to Cut Long Hair in Layers – The Ponytail Method." "We want to cut at that same angle, continuing that line." The placement of the ponytail will influence the length of your layers—and help give you face framing pieces—so its essential that you cut accordingly.

After you've made your initial cut, point cutting can help the layers blend into each other. Point cutting is holding the scissors vertically and making small snips to the ends of your hair with the tips of your scissors. Keep in mind the goal here isn't to remove length, so use a light hand to make very small snips. Go slowly to avoid taking off too much at once. Point cutting will soften the appearance of the horizontal cuts you've already made, and help you achieve give hair a softer, more feathered look of layered styles.

"On these edges, we don't want it to be super blunt cut so I'm going to point cut," explains Jen Chae, the content creator behind the YouTube channel From Head to Toe. "Aim the scissors up perpendicularly toward the hair and snip along the edges." You can point cut immediately after you cut but you'll probably also want to include this as your final, finishing step. Once you've cut your layers and dried you hair, look over your hair and point cut to blend layers into each other and to ensure you cut looks even.