Cut your own hair (Being Grad Students)

When I was little, my father cut my hair. Then I came to the states for grad school -- no one cut my hair anymore!

Going to a hair salon in the US can be so expensive. The costs add up really quickly. So I thought about doing it myself; I remembered my father saying "it's a piece of cake" cutting my hair. How bad could it be if I did it myself?

Very bad, when I first started, a few years back. I bought a cheap Wahl hair clipper (like this one),  and I hated it, even though it's a 5 star product.
1) It has a long cord, which often get in the way
2) It's really awkward holding it to cut the side or the back of my head -- just try using your right hand to scratch your left ear from behind your head, and you'll know what I mean.
3) It's a big hassle having to keep changing the "length guides" for different hair lengths.

Apparently, you need something different when you cut your own hair. I found this Philips hair clipper recently, which solved all the above problems!!
1) It's cordless.
2) It has a rotating head, so you can hold it sideway when you cut your hair on the side or the back of your head
3) It has a "zoom ring" that lets you change the cutting length from 30mm (about 1.18 in) down to super close shave. No need to fiddle with the millions of "length guides"! (Well, technically, there are still two guides, one for the longer lengths, one for shorter lengths.)

I love this clipper. Great for a quick fix.

For those of you (men) who haven't cut your own hair before. It's very easy (assuming you use this Philips clipper, and you just want to style your hair a little). Here's how:

1a) Pick the longest length you want your hair to be (e.g., 30mm), and run the clipper through your whole head.
1b) If you want to style the top part of your hair (e.g., for parting, or styling), leave that part longer (or don't cut that at all) for later.
2) Pick a shorter one (e.g., 25cm) and run it along the areas close to the ear, and the back of your neck.
3) Repeat step 2, with even shorter length if desired. The key is to "blend" different lengths of hairs.
4) To add "layers" to your hair (to make your hair more "choppy" and to fine tune it to frame your face), use a pair of scissors, and cut "into" your hair like this.

Of course, if you need a really clean cut, or fancy style, you'll have to go to a hair salon.