HOW TO cut your kid's fringe

Cutting your kid’s fringe may seem easy, but it just seems that way. Before reaching for the scissors, read this.

Sure a fringe on your little kid’s face generally looks absolutely adorable. There are just two small problems: Scheduling an annoying (and pricey!) monthly trip to the salon for a trim, or dealing with the sloppy peek-a-boo look when you skip it (since hair can grow up to half an inch a month).

The easiest solution? Learn to do it yourself. Seriously, you don’t have to be a hair-cutting pro – or anything close to it – to give your kid a totally acceptable (and affordable) trim. “Fringe trims are a great start to taking hair care into your own hands,” says Rebecca Braith, education specialist for Great Clips. To do the job right, follow this advice:

1. Sorry, but you’ve got to buy some scissors

Kitchen or crafting shears just won’t, well, cut it. A reliable pair of hair-cutting scissors will give you a much cleaner look. You should be able find a reliable pair at a beauty supply store or the pharmacy section the drug store for less than $20. But regardless of how much you spend, the key to cutting hair at home is to have a dedicated pair to use only on hair, Braith says. You’ll also want to have both a fine-tooth and wide-tooth comb and a spray bottle on hand, as well as clips or a ponytail holder is your child’s hair is long.

2. Clip back all the hair you don’t want to trim

If your child already has fringe, this step is covered, but if you’re starting from scratch, you’ll need to decide where you want your child’s fringe to begin. Start with dry hair and clip back the hair you don’t want to trim.

3. Squirt hair to get damp, not wet

Dampen hair with the spray bottle, and place the comb about half an inch above where you want to cut to help you visualize your straight line and to hold the hair in place.

4. Make the cut

Cut the wet hair from the center of the forehead toward either temple, completing one side before beginning the other. Hold the hair loosely with your fingers (pulling hair taut could leave your kid with too-short fringe) and cut it straight across, just below your fingers. Repeat with the other side.

“When in doubt, leave the hair a little longer to start until you become more confident in your skill,” Braith says. In fact, it’s always a good idea to err on the longer side – despite the fact that you’re giving your kid a trim for a reason. Young kids often have strong cowlicks at the front hairline that naturally split the hair or push it up and away from the forehead, Braith says – a problem that’s exacerbated by a super-short fringe. Her advice: “A fringe should be at least 1 ½- to 2- inches long so the hair has more weight and is more likely to lay straight.”

Plus, that gives you a little wiggle room to fix mistakes. Not that you’ll make any.

Do you cut your kids’hair? Any tips to add to this?