Hair clippers are a great thing for those looking to save a little money. They might be expensive in the beginning, but less than the price of a few good haircuts. The only problem involves cutting long hair, since clippers were devised to do short and sensible dos. However as long as you have a steady hand and a good eye, you can still cut long hair with clippers. Follow these steps.
Place the longest attachment onto the clippers. Most clippers come with different sized attachments that indicate the length. The attachment sits against the head and keeps the hair all cut at the same length. Using a longer attachment reduces the chances of cutting your hair too short.
Wash the hair first with shampoo and towel dry or allow it to air dry. Wrap a towel around the neck to keep the hair on the towel and off the floor and clothing. This also helps with cleanup since you can just empty the hair clippings right into the trashcan.
Take a piece of hair between the first two fingers and decide on the length. Once you have decided on a length, snip the hair at that spot with a pair of sharp scissors. It doesn't have to be a large section of hair, but it should give you a general guideline to follow.
Pull a longer section of hair towards you and following the guideline you setup earlier, run the clippers along that piece of hair to gently trim off the ends. Run the comb through the hair to pick up any pieces left behind as you are cutting.
Continue cutting the hair using the clippers and the guide you established earlier. Once the hair is cut, run the comb through to remove any pieces and style in anyway you like.
Tips
If you are cutting long hair very short, skip the guideline step and go right into cutting. Add a shorter or smaller attachment to the clippers and run it through small sections of the head at one time. The guide on the end of the attachment shows how short it will cut the hair.