DIY: Cutting My Own Hair Super Short with Updates

written 12/29/25, updated 4/12/26

What

DIY haircut. I am a female who likes super short hair

Why

Saving money and time, getting the cut I want not what the hair person thinks

Time & Effort

Time: 1-1.5 hours

Effort: Easy-Moderate

Directory

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Materials & Cost

Bought Supplies

Wahl Prof Magic Clip V9000 Corded

Philips Norelco 3000 Multi-Groom*

The 360 Mirror

Alligator Hair Clips

Total

$82.99

$29.99

$39.99

$5.99

$158.96

Highly Recommended: Hair Scissors

*Note: I don’t recommend this trimmer. The button is difficult to slide. Should’ve sprung for a more expensive one

Owned Supplies

Hair Cutting Cape

Comb (clippers come with one)

Water Spray Bottle

Broom and/or Vacuum Cleaner

Process

What follows is the original, very first haircut I did myself December 2025 where I was really nervous. Skip to the bottom for Notes and my subsequent cuts

Prepping

Gather supplies and clear any rugs or anything else in the cutting area. Little hairs will fly! Keep everything within easy reach

Secure the cape

Follow manufacturer’s instructions on oiling the clipper. The thing I read beforehand said to put one drop on either side of the blades and then back

Grab the spray bottle and comb, then mist the hair so that it’s mildly damp but not sopping wet

I couldn’t find a spray bottle, so I used a wet comb and that does not work very well

Then comb straight so that all the hair lays flat

Know the gameplan. Apparently, the rule of thumb for close cuts is to do the sides then the back first. Because I wanted to keep the top a bit longer, I needed to alligator clip the hair there out of the way so I could deal with it later

The problem with such large clips is that they get in the way of the clipper

Cutting!!

Starting time!! The recommendation is to use the clipper guards and to go more conservative first. You can take away hair but not put it back.

To start, I used a #4 guard to address the sides. The technique is cut straight into the air and to NOT follow the curve of the head just yet.

Deep Breath! LET’S DO THIS!

Right Side

Hmm… Didn’t wet the hair enough, so it was really difficult to cut the strands

Left Side

Wet it more this time and it was easier. The only hard part was using my left hand instead of my right

Now for the trimmer! Using the trimmer and/or the corner edge of the clipper (no guard), fold the ear and trim around the contour

This trimmer was TERRIBLE. The on/off switch was literally impossible to flip and for the number of times you need to do that, it was super obnoxious and hurt my fingers. That’s what happens when I decide to go cheap

Interestingly, my hair is different on both sides. In the end, I knew I’d need the help of scissors to polish it off

Now for the back. I stuck with the #4 guard to take the bulk off. Utilizing the side mirrors by turning either left or right to see more (you have to use the mirror in the mirror effect), I was able to take off the bulk of the length. The straight back, I used a two-handed motion similar to that dumbbell exercise

Now there are those little strands in the back. I decided to use the trimmer again. This part was super hard because I couldn’t see anything and no amount of phone or mirror could help me. In the end, I just used the comb as a straight edge. I knew I’d want another person to help me out later.

They sell these back of head guides that you can secure around your forehead

And for the riskiest part: Fine tuning. With the bulk gone, it was time to do detail work. If the length was good for a trim, I would’ve been fine, but I didn’t want that. I want shorter!

Stupidly, I went straight from the #4 to a #1 for whatever dumb reason. If I was seasoned, it’d be fine, but I was brand new to this!! So, of course, I made a mistake.

Whoops. Too much, too fast

After laughing nervously, I decided to fix it. Slowly this time. I went from a #3, to a #2, then a #1. Each guard number I went all over with until I got used to wielding the clipper.

I actually wasn’t intending to ever go back to the #1, but I did in the end because it was the only way to get the bottom of the back to hug the skin and look more natural.

Helpful: Just because you use a guard doesn’t mean you’re limited to it. On the side of the clipper is a lever that further controls the length. So, using a #3 plus the lever effectively gives you #3.1 – 3.9. This allows more control to fine tune and is how I ended up fixing the hair and feeling comfortable with the rest of the fine-tuning process. It ends up being a trial-and-error/practice thing.

After fixing everything, I felt much better and things were looking good as a whole. Now for the mid-tier! I swapped to the #6 to do the curve of my head, then the #4, and eventually #3 (only a little)

For the other side of my head, I removed the clips, combed, then added the clips the other way this time. Time to cut!

More fine tuning all the way around. This is where I finally figured out how to properly use the tri-fold mirror.

The female head has a much more pronounced dip/roundness in the back than a typical male head, so I had to take that into account

Happy with the sides and back, normally, this is where Hair Scissors come into play. Alas, I did NOT have any. I also knew better than to use regular scissors or the clippers. I would have thinned and layered the top using a 2-finger hold and cut method, then fine-tuned the contours of the ears.

And DONE!

Go clean up and take a shower!

Before and After Pictures

Notes:

1st Cut 12/27/25

Very freeing and so much easier than I thought it would be! A few hiccups in the learning process, but overall, I can see myself doing this for years to come. The tri-fold mirror was instrumental in all of this! I would highly recommend it! I’m already imagining other styles I can try in the future! It’s nice to not only save money, but do this at my own leisure, in my own house!

I needed someone else’s help for the scissor-work and contouring of the back and ears, so I have yet to try that myself. Shouldn’t be too hard. I’ll update whenever I do that in the future.
While the longer top style-wise wasn’t too bad looking, I can’t staaaaand hair in my face, so it just got annoying
If using the large hair clips, make sure to push them way up high or they’ll get in the way of the clipper
Definitely use a spray bottle
I didn’t realize the back of my head is so bumpy. If the pictures look like I chopped to much in some places, it’s actually because of my head structure

2nd Cut 2/21/2026

Cut in the kitchen this time which was much better and brighter than the bathroom. Mess up AGAIN in the same spot because I forgot to return the clipper lever to the lowest level which means that, yet again, I needed to use the #1 guard to smooth it out. It went much faster than the first time because I not only felt more comfortable as a whole, but I properly utilized the 360 Mirror. Vacuum cleaner is much easier than broom and dustpan. Shorter to start this time around and shorter to end with. Also did not have scissors and had help for the final touches yet again.

LEFT: Pre-cut; CENTER: Messed up in the lower corner, so had to cut on guard #1 to smooth it out; RIGHT: Post-cut

3rd Cut 4/12/2026

Hair was shorter to start with, but longer to end with than previous iterations (mostly because I didn’t mess up as badly). This time employed scissors to help, so it took a bit longer to complete. Still messed up when trying to use the comb + clipper method to detail towards the top. Looks bad, but not as bad as the bottom of the hairline. It’s really nice to be able to cut whenever I feel like on my own. This time, I’m going to add some more notes to the process now that it’s more streamlined.

Wet and comb throughout the process
Pin hair as desired
Choose a Guard – Used #3 with the clipper level on the shortest setting
Clip the sides and the back using the 360 mirror – Use the middle to start, then the mirror-in-the-mirror images (i.e. When cutting the right side, look to the left; When cutting the left side, look to the right). Use an underhand hold and cut upwards.

Ear and Back Detail – Wet, comb, then use scissors and/or mini clippers. BE CAREFUL!! This is the easiest place to mess up!
Shorten and Fade as desired. Used #2 guard ON THE LONGEST CLIPPER LENGTH first, then at half lever for the middle, and then the shortest on the lowest portion of the head. Use a scooping motion with the clipper to prevent sharp edges

Detail Time – I removed 2 hair clips and then went in small increments with the clipper level. Be careful if you’re trying to use the comb as a guard to help. That’s where I messed up this time… heh… heh… Sigh.

Scissor Work – First time using scissors. I read somewhere that the best way to cut bangs is to use the comb as a guide and do vertical snips to make it look more natural. I’m not going for bangs here, but I figured it worked similarly?

Final Touches – Look all around for evenness. I ran the guarded clipper around again to make sure all the areas were cut and found that I’d missed the upper back corners near the top of my head

Complete!

DIY: PVC and Hardware Cloth Garden Plant Enclosure + Winter Cover

written 8/5/2024, updated 9/6/2025

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Overview

What

Temporary/disassembly-possible enclosure for patio and deck plants using PVC pipe and hardware cloth, featuring doors

Why

Thieving squirrels, birds, and deer yet still allowing pollinators, air, sun, and rain through

Time and Effort

Time: Several hours to 1 day (maybe more)

Difficulty: Moderate (depends on your equipment and material situation)

This is what started it all. My beautiful cantaloupe brazenly stolen and eaten right in front of my eyes by a crafty yet cute squirrel

Materials and Cost

All materials bought from Amazon and Home Depot

Material

1″ 4ft PVC Pipe

1″ 6ft PVC Pipe

16-gauge 2′ x 50′ Hardware Cloth Roll

200′ 16-gauge Galvanized Steel Wire

1″ PVC Hinges

1″ 90 Degree Elbow Fitting

1″ 3-Way Fitting

1″ Tee Fitting

Cabinet Hardware Pulls

Quantity

12 pipes

5 pipes

31ft

0.5 Roll

4 Hinges

8 Fittings

2 Fittings

2 Pulls

TOTAL

Use Price

$80.40

$43.99

$24.80

$3.97

$36.68

$11.84

$26.00

$3.94

$4.38

$236.00

Owned Supplies:

Needle Nose Pliers

Linesman’s Pliers

Diagonal Cutting Pliers

Ratcheting PVC Cutter

Sharpie

Measuring Tape

Digital Calipers

Rubber Mallet

Bits/Driver

Screw Gauge

Planning and Schematics

Note: Drawings not to scale

Dimensions (L x W x H)

Outer Dimensions: 45″ x 22″ x 53″

Door Dimensions: 20.5″ x 49″

Fitting Dimensions

3-Way (Formufit brand – 8 qty)

1¼ ” + 1⅜” = 2⅝” length

1.25in + 1.375in = 2.625in

90 Degree (Charlotte Pipe brand – 8 qty)

1½” + 1⅛” = 2⅝”

1.5in + 1.125in = 2.625in

Tee (Charlotte Pipe brand – 2 qty)

⅞” + 1⅜” + ⅞” = 3⅛”

0.875in + 1.375in + 0.875in = 3.125in

Pipe Lengths

Remember that the ends of the pipes will fit into the fittings. All measurements are approximate. Actual item dimensions may vary

Outer Frame

42″ pipe (4 qty) – Length

19″ pipe (4 qty) – Width

50″ pipe (5 qty) – Height

Doors

17.5″pipe (4 qty) – Width

46.5″ pipe (4 qty) – Height

Overall Weight

1 in, 4 ft PVC pipe = 1.4lbs

Overall Weight of Enclosure: ~37lbs

Author’s Note

From start to finish, conception to assembly, this took a total of 3 days of time. Not counting waiting for parts, choosing parts, etc. The idea started way back in 2022 when I was having issues with squirrels stealing my tomatoes. I dreamed up and drew up plans, even going as far as to buying much of the materials to do it (originally out of wood and composite wood). However, the squirrels quit stealing my stuff until this year when my vegetables and fruit disappeared one by one. The final straw was the baby cantaloupe! WARTIME. Since it would be placed on the deck instead of the ground like the original plans intended, I needed a less weighty option and therefore chose PVC pipe. Armed with the original plans, I altered them. You can plan all you’d like, but doing is completely different! So started the 3 day-total-time journey (really, it took about a week waiting for all the pieces). Many, many calculations, miscalculations, frustrations, and even blood shedding later, I’ve – at this writing – mostly completed the project. Just a few minor tweaks and a test run before finalizing the hardware.

Overarching Question: Does it actually work???

As of August 2025: YES, IT WORKS successfully against thieving squirrels! They tried, hard with no success! (see Notes section for more)

Process

Gathering Supplies and Equipment

Needed: Handles, PVC pipe, Ratcheting pipe cutter, PVC fittings, hinges

Calculating, Measuring, Cutting, Assembling the Frame

Easily the most time-consuming part. Using the specialized PVC cutter and also a digital caliper saved a lot of time. Just setting up the frame is easy. The hard part is fitting the doors properly without creating too much of a gap (trying to prevent critter entry after all) around the door and frame while remembering that the fittings add more length to each side (calculations are done for you already in the schematics above). On top of that, there’s the consideration of hardware cloth size to make as the hardware cloth is best wrapping around the pipe. If this was wood, it would be easier to just create a removable frame around the outside of the cloth. Lots of re-measuring and re-cutting until I got it right (or close enough).

Use a rubber mallet to make sure the pieces are snug in the fittings

Hinges and Handles

This was more complicated than it needed to be. Hardware included with the (unthreaded) cheapo Handles are just too short to span the 1 in width of the PVC pipe. Without buying more or having to run out to a store, I delved into my giant box of random screws. Thankfully, I managed to find 4 that were both long enough and the right size (screw and thread gauges are useful). The Hinges snapped easily onto the PVC and mostly stay in place. And no wonder they stay in, because it gouges the plastic like no other if you remove and slide them around, so make sure you’ve measured where you want them first.

WARNING: Fasten any hinges before fastening handles so that the handles are oriented properly, or at least mark locations well. Because I waited a year, my handles are now in a wonky orientation

May 2025 – Hinge Permanence

Finally decided to screw in the hinges. I was way too lazy to take the entire cabinet apart for the winter, but it ended up enduring the winter just fine

Used an 11/64″ bit, lined up the hinges on the pipe, and went for it. Ended up using random screws that I happened to have, so they’re all mismatched and ended up rusting over the summer

Attaching the Hardware Cloth

This is 16-gauge hardware cloth which is hard to find in stores (at least where I am). It’s big enough to allow pollinators, water, and air into the enclosure, but small enough to thwart rodent and avian robbers. This was the limiting factor for size of the enclosure as the cloth I used was only 2ft wide (they sell them larger). And no, chicken wire is not recommended. Not only are the holes too large, but the wire is weak. Also, to note, because this enclosure sits on the deck, there is no need for bottom coverage. If I were to use the wooden schematics made to sit on the ground, then it would be fully enclosed by wood, or extra cloth would need to be sunk into the ground (1-2 ft deep) to deter diggers.

The exceedingly time-consuming and physically painful part of this was the issue of how to attach hardware cloth to PVC. Without spending a fortune, I decided on a roll of general-purpose galvanized steel wire and some pliers. However, given how long it took to secure everything (5 hours! In the baking sun and even through a short downpour), I’ve been thinking of a better attachment method (See NOTES section)

Twisty-ties from lettuce are nice and long

Temporary twisty ties to hold two vertical pieces of hardware cloth together

3rd layer of overlap (top, back, and side)

Twisting the Galvanized Steel Wire with Pliers

After much trial and error, I found that this was the fastest way (at least by hand) to tie off the 16-gauge steel wire (perhaps I should have used something smaller)

Keep twisting (be careful, though, twisting in the same spot too fast and hard will snap it)

Fun fact: If you feel the metal after twisting, it’ll feel really hot

Grab some needle nose pliers and bend it away from poking people

Keep Going Until Completion

What’s annoying is that tying off the hardware cloth with wire will cause random pockets where it bows out. Just keep on until everything is secure. Be aware that the ends of the hardware cloth and the steel wire are very sharp!

While the camera didn’t focus on it, cut out pieces to make room for the handles

Trimming ends to prevent scratching of feet or deck

Where doors meet. While doesn’t look ideal, it works because touching wire acts like a latch to hold them together

Hinges can still be manipulated since they’re not yet screwed in

Note the spacing between the hinge hardware. You can open or close the space just by twisting the hinge (hence why it hasn’t been secured until the end)

Complete!

Mostly. No locking hardware yet. Coming back to this 2 years after the fact, I’m still holding strong with just a ball bungee through the 2 handles.

3 total bungee cords to hold in place while in testing phase. Works really well

Given the space at the bottom where something can push its way in, all I did was place a spare paver brick and voila!

Winter Cover

The aim was to have it deconstructable, but I was too lazy, so I decided to use it as sort of a winterized greenhouseish thing. My region is Zone 7B USDA hardiness. Two options (so far) for winterization.

Plastic Sheeting

Suitable for mild winters with low duration freezing periods, about 20-40F.

Material

6 mil Greenhouse Plastic Sheeting 12′ x 25′ (much too large)

Zip Ties

Packing Tape (for corners)

Pictures!

Plastic Sheeting. I bought entirely too much. Probably needed half of that.

Zip tie securing and tape for the corners

Left openings around seams for ventilation and access

Poked a few drainage/vent holes in the top with a screwdriver

Plastic Sheeting Winterizing Results

2 months: hard freeze early December for 1-2 weeks, and it’s dipped as low as the teens. So far so good. The plants seem to be doing just fine in there. I have hard neck garlic, strawberry, my blueberry plant, and onions.

Post-Winter: For about 5ish years, the winter had been pretty mild. 2024-2025 winter was normal for this area which translates to periods of very cold and snow. Unfortunately, that meant that my plastic layers did NOT work well enough. If temperatures stay around 20-40F, then the plastic is fine. If there are hard freezes for extended periods of time, this is not good enough. All of my plants died except the strawberry which didn’t mind at all and looks amazing (in a 10-gallon fabric pot). The blueberry mostly died but finally started sprouting new shoots from the root late June 2025. I was disappointed and will update again this fall when I set up the new version of this using hard plastic walls instead of the sheeting. Stay tuned!

Twin-Wall Polycarbonate Sheet

4′ x 2′ x 0.24” Polycarbonate Green House Panels. They’re a rigid plastic sheeting that are shatterproof which supposedly allows them to withstand severe weather, and keeps the greenhouse both warm in the winter and cool in the summer. The working temperature range is: -42°F to 248°F (-44°C to 120°C)

Stay-tuned! I will attempt to attach this to the structure and report when I’m successful!

Notes

9/2025 – Added a snap-on door stop made with a 3D printer to prevent the doors from swinging too hard inward. Easy to drill and permanently attach to PVC pipe if desired. Throughout the growing season, had plants inside then enclosure that were able to be pollinated no problem. Doors made it easy to access plants. Ended up moving the corn plants inside after squirrel robbery. The enclosure was a tad too short for the corn, so tassels extended out, but successfully thwarted squirrels that tried hard to get into the corn (they obliterated the corn tassels trying to pull the entire plant out). Success!! Just bought the polycarbonate panels for a new attempt at creating a cold frame for the winter. Still have yet to attach actual door latches and am still using a ball

**Door stop** that just snaps onto the PVC. Can be permanently fastened. This is not at the moment

August 2024 – It’s been almost a month since test phase started, and squirrels have left it completely alone. No evidence of rotting, so good airflow, pollinators busily doing their thing, vines climbing the cloth like a trellis… altogether very happy with its function. Even the bungee cords perform well and are easy to remove. Still have not secured hinges or installed latches… and I’m not sure I want to. It would make for a refined product, but the bungee cords work well.

August 2025 – Squirrels robbed me of corn, so moved the pot into the enclosure. SUCCESS!!! First true test against the rodents. They desperately wanted the corn, but could not get in. They even tried to pull the corn up through the top by yanking on the tassels. All that did was rip the tassels off the plant. They never got inside! Yay!! It WORKS!!!

If I were to do it again, I would do several things:

Buy hardware cloth that’s wide enough to not need so much overlap. Like, one that can span from one side, to the back, and to the other side. The top can be separate.
If using the galvanized steel wire method of attachment, then buy a Wire Twister Tool for Drill. Not only would that save tons of time, but physical fatigue
Measure the placement of the hinges before snapping them on
Paint it green or brown. White is so stark in the garden! Or if you have expendable income, then buy Formufit’s colored PVC
Figure out a different way to attach the hardware cloth (Ideas are all expensive yet removeable: 2in Rubber Cable Clamps, 2 in Binder Rings, 6in Steel Wire Twist Barrel Keychains, etc.)

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