How to Trim Sideburns

Sideburns are a groovy way to express your individuality, but are a pain to keep neat and tidy. Many people opt to have their sideburns trimmed at a local barbershop or salon, but these maintenance fees can really add up! So read on to discover how a family member can trim your 'burns and save you a bit of money.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Facial hair or mustache trimming scissors
• Miniature comb
• Mirror
• Person with steady hands

1. Purchase a hair or mustache trimmer, along with a facial hair taming comb, from a drugstore or salon.

2. Find a trustworthy family member or friend with steady hands and good vision.

3. Find a steady, level place to sit down that places your sideburns at the eye level of the person trimming.

4. Ask your trimmer to run the comb through your sideburns a couple of times in the direction that your hair grows, root to tip. This will help the person get a feel for what is too long, what is uneven and what the proper trim length should be.

5. Have your friend begin by running the comb to the very end of your sideburns right where your sideburns end and your bare face begins. Trim where the unevenness begins.

6. Work up the sideburn from there. Starting from the bottom, or end, of your sideburns will allow the person to use what's under their hands as a marker for how much they should cut off the next section.

7. Trim all the way up to where the hair meets the sideburn. Trim this section with care to ensure that the sideburn blends in nicely with the hairline. Try to avoid trimming any hair within the hairline.

8. Evaluate the trim and whether any area needs more attention.

9. Check for evenness between the two sideburns. Wipe off any remaining hair residue.

Tips & Warnings

• Err on the side of caution when you are trimming. It may be a good idea to do a short once-over, in which you trim a very, very minimal amount of hair from the sideburn. Once you get a feel for how much hair even these small trims may remove from the sideburn, you should have a better sense of how to proceed with the trimming.