before and after

DIY: Cutting My Own Hair Super Short (with Pictures)

written 12/29/25, updated 12/29/25

What

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

Why

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

Time & Effort

Time: 1.5 hours

Effort: Easy-Moderate

Materials and 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 impossible to slide easily. Should’ve sprung for a more expensive one

Owned Supplies

Hair Cutting Cape

Comb (clippers come with one)

Water Spray Bottle

Broom/Dust Pan

Wet/Dry Vac

Process

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. 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.

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 natural, and 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:

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

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!

Poison Ivy, Poison Oak, Poison Sumac

written 6/1/2024, updated 6/17/2024

Table of Contents

Family Anacardiaceae

The Cashew/Sumac Family: Deciduous trees and shrubs that produce an oily or milky sap that can be highly poisonous. Resin canals that exist in stems, leaves, and roots are found in all plants in the family. Their fruits are called drupes (stone fruit) where the fleshy part of the fruit surrounds a single shell which houses a seed

Common Plants: Anacardium occidentale (Cashew); Mangifera indica (Mango); Pistacia vera (Pistachio); gen Cotinus (Smoke Tree); gen Rhus (Sumac); gen Toxicodendron (Lacquer Tree, Poison Ivy, Poison Oak, Poison Sumac)

Note: The Toxicodendron genus used to be lumped under Rhus. Toxico – dendron means toxic – tree.

Poison Ivy (Toxicodendron Radicans)

Native to most of the USA and southern Canada, it can be found in many types of environments from wet to dry, woodlands, valleys, clearings, roadsides, and backyards. Poison ivy can exist as either a shrub (trailing, erect, or bushy) or a woody climbing vine with aerial roots. It exhibits woody underground rhizomes. All aspects of the plant are poisonous, containing the persistent oily irritant, urushiol. It is said that the vine version can cause 10-100 worse symptoms than the shrub variety

Size: 6 ft shrub or 62-150 ft climbing vine

Location: Various areas from wet to dry, woodland to ditches to backyards

Uses: Food and shelter to animals, birds, and insects

Identification: Leaflets of 3 where the middle leaflet is longer than the other 2. Leaves can be smooth, serrated, or lobed. It has gray, reddish stems, and glossy green leaves that turn vibrant reddish yellow in autumn.

Flowers and Fruit: Flowers are many and clustered; Fruit look like waxy, greenish-white berries

Control: Do NOT burn. Fully cover the skin, protect face and eyes, wear a hat. Remove any gear and clothing that come into contact with the plant. Cut and remove roots of plant. Do NOT put in compost pile. Rather, place in trash bag. Use of herbicides on exposed roots/stumps.

Note how the middle leaf is set out longer than the other 2 leaves. This is characteristic of Poison Ivy

Here you can see the Poison Ivy interspersed amongst other plants and vines. The red are Poison Ivy, the purple is English Ivy, and the blue are Virginia Creeper

There’s a massive Poison Ivy problem at this house. Can you spot it amongst all the other plants here?

The vine variety

Poison Oak (Toxicodendron pubescens)

Low-growing shrub native to Central and Eastern USA, it is found in dry, sandy locations in woodlands and thickets. The word pubescens is latin for “covered in hair,” and the plant is named such owing to the fine hairs on stems and leaves. The plant roots are rhizomes and often form dense colonies. Yellowish-green flowers appear in the springtime, resulting in green-tannish white drupes (fruit) by late spring. All aspects of the plant are poisonous, containing the persistent oily irritant, urushiol.

Size: 2-4 ft shrub on average, can be as tall as 10ft

Location: Prefer dry, sunny areas. Woodlands, thickets.

Uses: Food and shelter to animals, birds, and insects

Identification: Alternating green, lobed leaflets of 3 that crowd towards the end of the stem. The leaves look similar to Oak tree leaves. Often, the middle leaf is fully lobed while the other 2 are irregularly lobed. Fine hairs cover the both the undersides and upper parts of leaves as well as the stems. Tend to grow in clumping colonies. Leaves turn vibrant reddish yellow in autumn.

Flowers and Fruit: Flowers are hanging yellow-green panicles (like rice or oats), and fruit are clusters of hairy green or tannish-white drupes that appear waxy

SOURCE. You can see how they grow in clumps. Notice how the 2 leaves are more irregularly lobed than the middle leaf which, like poison ivy is set out a little

Poison Sumac (Toxicodendron vernix)

Deciduous small tree or shrub, it is native to eastern and central-eastern USA, and eastern Canada. There are many look-alike plants. Typically, Poison Sumac will not grow in clumps and since it prefers wet areas, will not be found in dry locations, nor will it be commonly found along roadsides and fields. While it is the least likely of the big 3 to be exposed to, effects of the urushiol from Poison Sumac tend to be more severe than its Poison Oak and Ivy relatives.

Size: 5-25 ft tree with sparse, open form, or erect shrub

Location: Prefer marshy, boggy, wet locations like riverside thickets, acidic soil, and full to part sun

Uses: Food and shelter to animals, birds, and insects

Identification: Long, smooth, paired leaflets of 7-13, with a single leaflet at the end. Stems are reddish, bark is smooth, gray-brown in color, and contain lenticels (small holes or lines on trunks that facilitate gas exchange). Leaves turn reddish yellow in the autumn. Black sap

Flowers and Fruit: Greenish-yellow, 5-petal flowers hanging in panicles (think rice and oats). Fruits are yellowish-white drupes that hang loosely downwards in clusters

SOURCE

Reddish stem, leaflets ending in a single leaflet, grayish brown bark

Urushiol

Urushiol is an oleoresin (oil + resin) found in the sap of plants in the family Anacardiaceae. It has potent allergenic properties that affect most humans on contact, causing urushiol-induced contact dermatitis. The chemical is persistent and can last for months on clothing and gear unless cleaned thoroughly with soap + water or rubbing alcohol.

Its irritating effects are only applicable to humans and a few primates. Other animals like dogs, cats, deer, birds, etc. are not affected. In fact, birds, deer, cattle, goats, and other wildlife benefit and feed from the plants.

Sciency Stuff

ChemSpider 2D Image | Urushiol I | C21H36O2

Molecular Formula: C₂₁H₃₆O₂

Molecular Weight: 1584.4 g/mol

Average Mass: 320.509 Da

Monoisotopic Mass: 320.271515 Da

Source & Source

Toxicohedron Control – Before and After

Vinegar Solution

Pros: Natural ingredients, no harsh chemicals

Cons: Strong vinegar smell, easily washed off with water/rain, must use strong enough vinegar concentration, for best results use when sunny and hot, not substantive and needs reapplication

Regular white vinegar is only 5% acetic acid (and 95% water). You’re definitely going to want a higher concentration for this which can be found easily in hardware stores up to 30% (usually in the cleaning and/or garden sections), but you can get them even higher online. I ended up buying the 45% concentrated solution (there’s even 75% or 95%). The general formula is:

1 gallon Vinegar (read the label on the concentrated ones for dilution ratio)

1 Tbsp Dishsoap

1 cup Salt

Get yourself a nice pump sprayer like the one I use (can be any brand, I just happened to have this)

You can also buy pre-mixed weed killer solutions like this one that I tried for regular weeds. Notice that it’s 20% vinegar which I found to be good for most weeds, but not enough for some tougher ones like crab grass.

Results of Vinegar

1 week apart

2nd treatment

3rd treatment

RoundUp and similar products

Pros: Strong, substantive, 30-minute rain ready

Cons: Environmental persistence and downstream effects, possible health implications

I really dislike using RoundUp, but I really don’t want to mess with Poison Ivy especially given my terrible reaction to it. Ever since the issue with glycophosphates and cancer, RoundUp has changed their formulations away from glycophosphates. Also, RoundUp doesn’t care if it rains (30 minute rain ready) or if it’s sunny outside. It’s likely more substantive than vinegar, too. Just make sure you use eye protection and a mask

Active ingredients:

Triclopyr, triethylamine salt (0.122%) – selective herbicide for broadleaf and woody plants

Fluazifop-P-butyl (0.097%) – selective post-emergent herbicide

Diquat dibromide (0.073%) – non-selective algicide defoliant, dessicant, and herbicide

I chose the RoundUp specifically for poison ivy. The built-in wand is rather subpar. If you have one, it’s better to dump it into a pump sprayer and do it that way

Results of RoundUp

I was initially SHOCKED by how poorly RoundUp did, but now, looking at the image compare, I guess it did kind of work on specific plants. Didn’t even touch the English Ivy, but you can see wilting and drying of the actual poison ivy. Unfortunately, they’re still there, just wilted, so perhaps more treatments are in order.

Before

After

I drenched the holy heck out of this plant with the RoundUp. It did not work as well as I thought it would

Fun Facts

The name urushiol comes from the Japanese name for the lacquer tree, urushi.

In 2016 an international group of scientists discovered that a molecule found abundantly in human skin, CD1a, is responsible for the reaction of humans to urushiol contact. CD1a is expressed by Langerhans cells in the skin. Langerhans cells are part of the immune system, and the CD1a molecule it produces acts by presenting lipid antigens to T-cells. Since urushiol is an oleoresin, the now activated T-cell releases cytokines, causing both inflammation and itchiness. Interleukin-33 was isolated as a key cytokine in mouse studies, along with its receptor ST2 on the small to medium dorsal root ganglion neurons. By blocking the interleukin-33/ST2 (IL-33/ST2) signaling pathway, relief from the horrible itchiness of urushiol can be attained. Interestingly, IL-33 is also associated with eczema/atopic dermatitis and asthma. With this information, a vaccine is currently in the works to help desensitize the body to urushiol’s potent irritating effects.

Urushiol is found in some members of the Anacardiaceae family including poison ivy, oak, and sumac, as well as mango skins, cashews, and pistachios

Sources

NC State Extension

UF IFAS Extension

Wikipedia

American Academy of Dermatology Association

Maryland Biodiversity