Should You Cut Your Own Hair Wet or Dry?

Cutting the hair wet or dry during a trip to the salon is an example of those nuances in hairdressing that you never seem to notice until you get asked by your stylist.

There are a few things to consider when deciding if you should you cut your own hair wet or dry, since having it, either way, will affect different qualities of your hair, such as its length, body, and shape.

This matter mostly comes down to the natural qualities of your hair and your styling preferences. Do you like your hair well-kept and polished, or do you opt for a more natural look?

Let’s take a look at which one will suit your tastes better.

Cutting Dry Hair

Dry-cutting preserves texture and accentuates hair, especially if it’s coarse, curly, or wavy.

It works and adds definition to your hair’s natural attitude. Indeed, one of the best advantages of a dry cut is personalisation.

Wet hair usually becomes a pliant and indistinct mass, but when barbers cut hair dry, they can flex their own skills to design your hair in a way that’s uniquely good-looking.

You might also like how straightforward it is to get your hair cut dry. See, dry-cutting boils down to a simple philosophy of “what you see is what you get.”

How your hair looks at the end of your cut is how it’ll stay until it’s time to cut it again. Stylists will know which parts of your hair has the most weight and how the shape changes after cutting.

This is great if you’re the type that’s frustrated that the sleek, wet look at the salon disappears when you style it the next morning. To cap it all off, since strands don’t stick together like with wet or damp hair, split ends become easier to spot with a dry cut.

Cutting Wet (Damp) Hair

Wet-cutting, on the other hand, synergises best with straight and layered hair.

A wet cut does wonders for a clean, calculated look, so it’s your best bet if you want your hair done as a bob or pixie cut.

Getting hair wet also stretches the strands, strengthening the overall shape of the hair once it dries. And it’s generally easier to cut wet hair because the strands bunch up.

Usually, wet cutting is the standard for many salons, and stylists have a lot of practice with it.

If you’re not really itching to spend time on developing a unique new look, wet cutting is convenient and efficient. However, it would be best if you watched out in case your hair gets cut too short while it’s wet since the strands change the length and the stylist might take out more of it.

Your stylist also needs to be careful if you have coloured hair, as wet hair makes it difficult to check out the highlights. Some dyes might fade if you get too many wet cuts.

So which one is better for you? It can be hard to decide between wet or dry hair. After all, part of the salon experience is the sensation of getting your hair soaked, shampooed and dried a bit before you’re whisked away to your seat. However, many barbershops offer dry cutting services by default as well, touting that it’s healthier for your hair.

You can achieve the best hairstyles using either method. When it comes to wet or dry haircutting, you need to have the right hair scissors and an understanding of how to cut dry or damp hair.

A part of being a hairdresser or barber is trying new techniques to improve your skills, and that has made dry hair cutting more popular.