DIY: Do It Yourself - Are you a DIY'er? Do you want to be? Prefer not to be?

As far as being a Do It Yourselfer (DIY) goes....

  • I'm currently a DIY'er, I do pretty much all for my hair needs

    Votes: 98 66.2%

  • I'm close to being a DIY'er, still working on one or two things

    Votes: 35 23.6%

  • I aspire to being a DIY'er, still need to learn some things, so I still frequent the salon

    Votes: 12 8.1%

  • I am not a DIY'er, I prefer to go to the salon

    Votes: 3 2.0%
  • Total voters
    148
  • Poll closed .
I'm a DIYer. I really didn't have a choice. I wanted to practice frugality, and I thought I could depend on myself before anyone else. So, I just started trying to style and care for my own tresses.
 
I do most of it myself. I don't do my own extension because it just to much work but I could if I realy wanted to. I did my first succesful self relaxer earlier this month so now I'm set!
 
:wave:
ME! I am a DIY'er and I have been for all my life. When I started high school, I knew that my mom couldn't afford to send me to the hairdressers every other week or weekly as most of the other girls were going. So I started by teaching myself to fingerwave on my own hair (80's) from there, I did rollersets, spirals, buns and other things. Once I left high school, I went to cosmetology school and the rest is history. I haven't been to a stylist (except for braids and the Dominican salon earlier this year) in almost 4 years!
I don't plan on going anytime soon either!:grin:
 
I've been a DIY'er every since I was 14! Relaxers, braids, rollersets...you name it! It gives me a sense of pride that I don't have to depend on anyone to do my hair. It saves me time and money as well. :grin: I've even given myself lopsided trims every now and then. Once I get to a certain length though, I'll let someone else I can trust handle that.
 
I am an aspiring DIY'er. The problem is I am style-challenged :ohwell:
I don't know how to do cornrows or braids, and my roller sets are a joke :lol:
So I end up wearing the same ole boring buns day after day :look:.....but my hair is thriving without stylists trying to rip a rat tail comb through my hair. I just need to practice. I am determined to become a complete DIY'er in 08.

*sips tea*
 
CandiceC said:
I'd love to do my own relaxers, but I would get so nervous when I tried a few times. :ohwell:
Click to expand...


It was mentioned on here to start out practicing with hair conditioner so you can learn to figure out application, timing.

That's what I did and I transitioned from stylist, to my cousin doing it and now, I'm a self-relaxer.

Adding, wow....look at all the DIY'ers!!

*stylists are gonna start wondering soon...wth is going on?*
 
I wish I were. I am too afraid to do my own relaxers but dammit by next year I will be a pro at rollersetting. I will keep screwing them up until I get it right.:grin:
 
I'm glad I read this before I started posting. When I saw DIY that's my favorite tv show about doing work on your home yourself, and I was just about to tell you all all about my walls I've painted etc. etc.

Anyway I do all my hair care myself and other than a cut (style) I think I can do just as well. I do have issues with color but other than that
I'm straight.

I will start going to a salon for a wash and set just for the pampering of it. I love it when someone else washes and massage my scap.:yep:
 
I am a DIY'er, however I do have to get someone else to braid my hair which isn't often but I can do everything else myself. I've been like this since I was younger (11 or so) and only saw going to the salon as giving myself a break from having to do it myself once or twice a yr.
 
Another DIYer checking in. I think that since I started doing my own hair, it has thrived. When I was going to the salon every two weeks, sure my hair looked good, but it was always damaged at the crown and nape and just wouldn't grow. I have to say that I do miss the luxury of having someone else doing my hair every now and then, but it's just not worth it in the long run for me because I'm just too picky about the treatment that my hair receives now, I just know that no one else will live up to my standards. So I'm stuck doing it all by myself :ohwell:
 
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I was doing all my haircare except for self-relaxing this year.
I have decide to go back to self-relaxing, tired of paying for underprocessed hair and incovienced by slack stylist.
My hair has Thanked me.
 
mochamadness said:
Another DIYer checking in. I think that since I started doing my own hair, it has thrived. When I was going to the salon every two weeks, sure my hair looked good, but it was always damaged at the crown and nape and just wouldn't grow. I have to say that I do miss the luxury of having someone else doing my hair every now and then, but it's just not worth it in the long run for me because I'm just too picky about the treatment that my hair receives now, I just know that no one else will live up to my standards. So I'm stuck doing it all by myself :ohwell:
Click to expand...

I know we briefly chatted about this and I agree completely.

I do regret not adopting this mindset sooner - going to the Dominican salon (the stylist more accurately:nono:) actually regressed my progress for years - was at a seeming standstill for the longest time while on the board.

I'm glad I realized it last summer - my hair completely turned around for the better when I stopped going as frequently.

Better late than never...
 
I only go to the salon for retouches, so that's approx. three times a year. I do all my treatments, DC and styling myself. I think this is how it'll be for a long time because:

-It's a whole lot cheaper,
-I get to take care of my hair my way and I know it well
-I don't have to wait in line or set appointments.
-My hair thrives this way.
 
I'm a DIY'er all the way!! I went to a salon 1 time and walked out like :rolleyes: because the results were not even on the same level as when I do my own hair. Added to that, I had to argue the stylist down about hacking, I mean trimming my hair.
I love doing everything myself and being completely in charge of my progress. :yep:
 
i use to be a BIG slave to the hairdressers. i did whtever they told me too, you need a trim..ok,...u need a treatment...sure. u need to come every 6 weeks..ok. they made MAD $$$ off of this sistah here.

Now that i took matters into my own hands...my hairdresser be hatin'!! G, look like u got some split ends...blah blah..when i see him out.


I love being a DIY'er, more control. I baby my hair to death!! I mastered touch ups and trims.

Working on: Rollersets and the doobies. I'll get there with practice.:drunk::drunk:
 
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I am a complete DIY'er now. Over the past 3 or so years I decreased my salon visits a lot but now I have stopped them completely.

It's time consuming doing everything myself but that's ok. :)
 
I am close to being a DIY'erI never go to the salon and most of the time my mom or sister do stuff I can't do my self, like relaxer properly, braid etc.
 
I just love being able to diagnose and treat my hair when it is having issues...like my most recent cone problem. I jumped on here, laid it all out, had sistas tell me .....silicone buildup, and then I knew what to do. Clarified, deep conditioned, moisturized and my hair feels so soft now.

BEFORE, I would have went to the Dominicans (again) for them to just overwash my hair some more, add MORE Silicon mix to my strands, and then blow fire to my scalp, and charge me $20. THEN it would have still felt like crap.

Gone are those days! Praise the Lord that a sista has been delivered out of that bondage.
 
Another DIY'er checking in although I am considering going back for touch-ups only.

Now that I think about (1) the price, (2) explaining why I stretch and, (3) defending my decision not to let her trim makes me reeeeeally nauseous....:perplexed

Maybe I'll give this self relaxing thing another try. :yep:
 
I'm close to total DIY save trimming and relaxing. Learning to care for my hair myself has been such a liberating process! One of the most important things that I learned to do throughout college was learn to take care of my hair. I learned how to curl, flat iron, press and do braids!! I love not feeling tied to some person to do my hair. It can be so stressful to try to set up appointments for events, etc. My mother is like that- she can't do anything without a stylist. I love the salon finish from time to time and my boyfriend wants to pamper me with trips to the salon but I don't trust them heffas as far as I can throw them! I think a lot of them can be closed-minded haters.

Plus in the end it's HELLA CHEAPER YO!!! :yawn:
 
I'm a hardcore DIY'er - if I can't do it myself, it doesn't get done. I can't afford the money, time, or hair wasted trying out folx to find one that satisfies me. :ohwell: What can I say, I'm picky as hell about who touches my hair. :lachen:

I want yarn twists, and I've been dragging my feet for about 6 months because I don't feel like praticing to get them done right....:look: I'm such a procrastinator.
 
Im a wanna-be diyer. My old stylist used a lot of heat, wanted to rip through my hair with a fine tooth comb, and always wanted to straighten my natural hair so I stopped going there. I found a good stylist but shes in Philly which is an hour away. I finally found another stylist this Tuesday that does natural hair in a small salon and she seems pretty cool with letting me bring my own products.

I can do my own rollersets, twist outs and two strand twists but Im a mess when it comes to braiding or flat twisting.
 
I am a DIYer. Have never been dependent on salons or stylists, primarily because my mother wouldn't let me go because she thought they would mess up my hair:perplexed. So it's always been me & my hair. I have gone to salons & stylists, but they cannot take care of my hair the way I can. I was thinking of going to get highlights, but ended up doing them myself...
 
I've always been a DIY-er.

Yes, I've caused a couple of my own setbacks (using too much heat, over processing with color), but I've learned since coming to this board.

My mom used to relax my hair from roots to tips when she would put it in. When I got to college and found out about hair boards, that's when I took relaxing into my own hands and applied them myself (roots only). It's not really hard to me. Relaxing is a breeze (even though I no longer do it).

I remember when I first tried to do a wet-wrap in 10th grade. That next morning at school, my hair was a HAM, but I learned from that. I eventually got better at it.

I'd been rollersetting my hair since 11th grade. No problems there. Rollersetting can be a breeze sometimes too (except when the arms may get tired). I had rollerset my hair so much that I could do my whole head (1 inch rollers) in about 15 minutes, 20 minutes for the next size smaller rollers.

Now that I'm natural and sporting a TWA, I haven't really many styles that I can try since my hair is short, but I will learn those as I go along with my hair growing bigger/longer.

When it comes to trimming, I've gone to the salon a few times within the past 5 years to get a trim. The last time I went was summer 2006, I believe. Since then, I've been doing my trims on my own. I can pretty much handle that on my own.

I guess if there was a style that I just HAD to have but couldn't do myself, then I would *maybe* go to a salon (if I trust the stylist). But there really isn't a style out there that I just HAVE to have that definitely requires a stylist. If I were still relaxed, I would stick to rollersets, buns, and doobie wraps. I would have had no desire to venture elsewhere.

I love being a DIY-er.
 
I do EVERYTHING for my own hair except trims. I visit the salon for that every six months. I would like to learn how to trim my own hair, but I really like my stylist and she always does a great job! :grin:
 
Complete DIYer here, including touchups and braids. It is most liberating and much much cheaper. I save lots of time cuz I can do so many other things at home while I wait for hair to air dry:yep:
 
Hi, I'm a newbie on the block. This is an excellent thread. I am a DIY-er also save relaxing and trimming with some decent results. I want to become a total DIY-er because I feel more in control of my hair's progress. I am pretty familiar with relaxing and trimming but haven't had the belly to actually try it, but I'm going to though. Any tips from those who are total DIY-ers?

Safie
 
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