My hair had reached that stage where it was technically long, but it wasn’t doing anything.
I’m not especially diligent about scheduling haircuts, partly because I’ve never found a stylist I love. I usually end up running into Great Clips, which can be a little hit or miss. This time, my hair had grown heavy and shapeless, and I was putting it up nearly every day because I didn’t know what else to do with it.
Then I started seeing the Brad Mondo butterfly cut everywhere.
My Instagram and Facebook feeds were full of people trying the DIY haircut, along with Brad’s reaction videos. The method promised lots of layers and movement without sacrificing all the length—and that was exactly what I wanted.
So I watched Brad Mondo’s butterfly cut tutorial, grabbed two hair elastics, my Wet Brush and a pair of regular scissors, and cut about five inches off my own hair.
And honestly? I love how it turned out.
My hair before the butterfly cut
My hair strands are on the fine side, but I have a lot of hair. In other words, it’s fine but dense rather than thin or sparse.
I love layers, but I didn’t have many left before this cut. My hair was long, heavy and basically one shape. Instead of feeling intentionally long, it just felt a little blah.
I wanted to keep enough length to put it up while adding face-framing pieces, layers and movement. That’s what convinced me to try the butterfly cut rather than simply chopping several inches from the bottom.
What I used
This was not a highly professional setup. I used:
- Two hair elastics
- My Wet Brush
- A pair of regular scissors
- An eye cream bottle as an improvised measuring tool
Yes, an eye cream bottle.
Brad recommends cutting the same amount from both ponytails. I wanted a simple way to compare them, and the bottle happened to be the right size. It worked, although next time I would make two upgrades: actual hair-cutting scissors and a fine-tooth comb for more precise sectioning.
How I did the Brad Mondo butterfly cut
I followed Brad’s tutorial as closely as possible.
First, I got my hair very wet and brushed it out thoroughly. Then I divided it into two sections and created two ponytails:
- The front ponytail sat at the front of my head, centered between my eyebrows.
- The second sat high on top of my head—very Ariana Grande.
Once the ponytails were smooth and secure, I cut approximately five inches from each one. That was more than I initially thought I would remove, but I wanted the layers to make a noticeable difference.
I used the eye cream bottle to check that I had cut roughly the same amount from both ponytails. Then I took the elastics out, brushed through my wet hair and inspected the results.
The haircut itself took less than 10 minutes. Even with drying it afterward to see the finished shape, the whole experiment took about 15 minutes.
Was I nervous about cutting my own hair?
Surprisingly, not really.
My hair grows quickly, so my attitude was that if the cut turned out terribly, I could keep wearing it up for a while. I was already putting it up most days anyway, so the stakes didn’t feel especially high.
That said, cutting five inches from two ponytails is definitely a moment. If you are very attached to your length—or know that a bad haircut would genuinely upset you—I would approach this more cautiously than I did.
What it looked like immediately afterward
As soon as I removed the elastics and brushed out my wet hair, I could see the face-framing layers. That was reassuring because it was exactly what I had hoped the cut would create.
For the final result, I didn’t use any styling products. I simply dried my hair with a blow-dryer and a regular paddle brush.
Even with that very basic styling, my hair looked bouncy and full of movement. There were so many layers! It still had the length I wanted, and I could still pull it up, but it felt dramatically lighter and much more intentional.
I immediately sent photos and videos to a few friends, and they were all obsessed with the result. I also ran over to show my mom, who couldn’t believe I had done it myself.
What I would do differently next time
I’m thrilled with the outcome, but I would make two changes if I did it again.
First, I would use actual hair-cutting scissors. Regular household scissors got the job done, but proper shears should produce a cleaner cut and make the process easier.
Second, I would use a fine-tooth comb when creating the sections. My Wet Brush was fine for detangling and smoothing, but a comb would have helped me make the dividing lines more precise.
I also want to try styling the layers with a round brush. If this much shape appeared with just a blow-dryer and paddle brush, I think a round-brush blowout could make the layers even better.
Who might like this DIY haircut?
Based on my experience, the butterfly cut makes the most sense for someone who:
- Has hair past the shoulders
- Wants lots of layers and face framing
- Wants to remove weight while preserving length
- Has enough hair density to support substantial layering
- Is comfortable accepting the risks of a DIY haircut
Although my individual strands are fine, my hair is dense—I have a lot of it. I would be more cautious about this technique on low-density or sparse hair because removing so much weight through the layers could make the ends look thinner.
It also may not be the right choice if you want extremely precise layers, have a complicated existing cut, or would be devastated by an imperfect result. When in doubt, a trusted professional is the safer option.
Was the DIY butterfly cut worth it?
For me, absolutely.
A typical Great Clips visit costs me around $25 with the tip. This cut cost me nothing because I already owned everything I used, and the actual cutting took less than 10 minutes.
More importantly, it gave me what I wanted: lighter hair, face-framing pieces, lots of movement and layers—without losing the ability to wear it up.
I went into this thinking, “If it’s awful, my hair grows fast.”
I came out of it wondering why I hadn’t tried it sooner.
Would you ever cut your own hair using a ponytail tutorial, or does the thought of it terrify you? Let me know in the comments.
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