Im on my sixth self haircut or so. I try aim for a mid fade or a taper fade idk what I'm doing wrong because I cannot blend any lines and got lower guards e.g. no guard or 0.5 it's like nothing is cutting 😂

I have a lot of equipment thinning shears scissors etc. clipper I use vgr 003 and kemei trimmer also got a foil shaver I might just go barbers every 2 weeks and just keep doing line ups instead because this whole fade and blending game isn't working for me especially when I set the initial guidelines with my trimmer I can't get rid of it.

I been testing out different styling products I have straight hair not perfectly straight. I used different products gel, wax, clay etc. I recently started texture powder and it looks so good give me some volume and styles nicely is it bad to use this daily or 2 days a week compared to a clay (my current styling products) I love the look the powder gives.

Also is there any powder people recommend the one I used was by nish man.

Hiring: Graphic Designer for Islamic Minimalist Content ($4 per approved post)

Please read the full post before messaging.
Preferably Muslim applicants.

As‑salāmu ‘alaykum wa raḥmatullāhi wa barakātuh,

I’m looking for a graphic designer + content creator to help produce Islamic, minimal, spiritually grounded content for a growing digital brand. If this sounds like something you’d enjoy, please take a moment to read the details below before reaching out.

💰 Payment

• $4 USD per approved post
• Each post must also be resized for YouTube Shorts (included in the $4 rate)
• Paid monthly
• Potential for long‑term work if we work well together

📅 Weekly Content Requirements

You will create 3 pieces of content per week:

• Wednesday: Static post or carousel
• Friday: Whichever was not done on Wednesday
• Sunday: Reel

📝 Weekly Workflow

• Monday: Submit all drafts for approval
• Wednesday: Apply revisions if needed
• Final versions must be ready before posting days

🎨 Design Style

The brand aesthetic is:

• Islamic
• Minimal
• Clean
• Elegant
• Emotionally impactful
• Spiritually grounded

Please note:

• No faces
• No bright colours
• No clutter
• No heavy AI use (light assistance only)
• All final designs must be created in Canva Pro

If this matches your style, you’ll fit in well.

📞 Monthly Review

Once a month, we’ll have a short review call to discuss:

• performance
• improvements
• upcoming content
• any support you need

Hiring: Graphic Designer for Islamic Minimalist Content ($4 per approved post)

Please read the full post before messaging.
Preferably Muslim applicants.

As‑salāmu ‘alaykum wa raḥmatullāhi wa barakātuh,

I’m looking for a graphic designer + content creator to help produce Islamic, minimal, spiritually grounded content for a growing digital brand. If this sounds like something you’d enjoy, please take a moment to read the details below before reaching out.

💰 Payment

• $4 USD per approved post
• Each post must also be resized for YouTube Shorts (included in the $4 rate)
• Paid monthly
• Potential for long‑term work if we work well together

📅 Weekly Content Requirements

You will create 3 pieces of content per week:

• Wednesday: Static post or carousel
• Friday: Whichever was not done on Wednesday
• Sunday: Reel

📝 Weekly Workflow

• Monday: Submit all drafts for approval
• Wednesday: Apply revisions if needed
• Final versions must be ready before posting days

🎨 Design Style

The brand aesthetic is:

• Islamic
• Minimal
• Clean
• Elegant
• Emotionally impactful
• Spiritually grounded

Please note:

• No faces
• No bright colours
• No clutter
• No heavy AI use (light assistance only)
• All final designs must be created in Canva Pro

If this matches your style, you’ll fit in well.

📞 Monthly Review

Once a month, we’ll have a short review call to discuss:

• performance
• improvements
• upcoming content
• any support you need

I have an exam at 9am. Im still studying at uni in making a cheat sheet to take I won't be finished till around 2am. The drive back home is an hour then another 1 hour 30 mins to come back to uni for the exam. The earliest I'll go to sleep is around 4am if I drive back home. Is it worth saving the 2 hour commute and just sleeping in my car for tonight? Im parked at uni (have a parking permit)

I have an exam at 9am. Im still studying at uni in making a cheat sheet to take I won't be finished till around 2am. The drive back home is an hour then another 1 hour 30 mins to come back to uni for the exam. The earliest I'll go to sleep is around 4am if I drive back home. Is it worth saving the 2 hour commute and just sleeping in my car for tonight? Im parked at uni (have a parking permit)

Looking for a Remote Canva/Social Media Designer (Part-Time)

I’m currently building a social media brand focused around Islam, self-improvement, reflection, discipline, mindset, and cinematic-style content aimed mainly at younger audiences (roughly 16–25).

I’m looking for someone reliable who can help with content creation consistently each week.

The role includes:

• Designing 3 posts per week
• Mix of single-slide and carousel posts
• Writing captions
• Resizing content for different platforms (Instagram/TikTok/YouTube)

The design style is:

• Minimal
• Elegant
• Cinematic
• Calm/reflective
• Clean typography-focused content

This is NOT trend/spam-style editing. Consistency and understanding the brand style matters more than flashy effects.

You’ll need:

• Canva experience
• Basic understanding of social media formatting
• Ability to follow references/examples closely
• Good communication and consistency

Payment:

• $3 USD per completed post
• Long-term opportunity if the work quality is strong and consistent

Before replying, please make sure:

• You can genuinely commit weekly
• You’re comfortable studying the existing content style first
• You can work independently after guidance/examples are given

Thanks.

I’m currently building a social media brand focused around Islam self-improvement, reflection, discipline, mindset, and cinematic-style content aimed mainly at younger audiences (roughly 16–25).

I’m looking for someone reliable who can help with content creation consistently each week.

The role includes:

• Designing 3 posts per week
• Mix of single-slide and carousel posts
• Writing captions
• Resizing content for different platforms (Instagram/TikTok/YouTube)

The design style is:

• Minimal
• Elegant
• Cinematic
• Calm/reflective
• Clean typography-focused content

This is NOT trend/spam-style editing. Consistency and understanding the brand style matters more than flashy effects.

You’ll need:

• Canva experience
• Basic understanding of social media formatting
• Ability to follow references/examples closely
• Good communication and consistency

Payment:

• $3 USD per completed post
• Long-term opportunity if the work quality is strong and consistent

Before replying, please make sure:

• You can genuinely commit weekly
• You’re comfortable studying the existing content style first
• You can work independently after guidance/examples are given

Thanks.

Hi everyone,

I’m applying for GEM this cycle and wanted some advice on what UCAT score I should realistically aim for to be considered “safe” competitively.

A bit of background:

• I’ve sat the UCAT twice before (3 years ago and 2 years ago) and got 2890 band 1 (when ar was around)
• I’ll officially start prep on 18 May and aiming to do the exam 20 September

Current plan:

Week 1:

• Untimed practice just to get back into things
• Monday = VR
• Tuesday = QR
• Wednesday = DM
• Thursday = SJT (lightly, around 20 mins) + mixed practice of VR, QR and DM (1 set each)
• Friday = 2 mini mocks on 2 sections (alternate sections weekly)
• Weekends off because of work

From Week 2 onwards:

• Everything timed
• Same structure Monday–Thursday with 1 hour focused practice daily
• Each day I’ll also do smaller mixed sets from other sections
• Friday = 2 mini mocks on alternating sections
• Weekends off

Then from August onwards I’m planning to mainly do mocks, and closer to the exam in September I’ll use the official UCAT resources/mocks.

Does this sound like a solid schedule for GEM prep, or would you change anything? Is 1 hour a day enough or should i be doing 2 hours in may till August?

Also, with GEM being so competitive now, what UCAT score should I realistically be aiming for to feel relatively safe for interview chances?

Thanks!

Hey everyone,

I’m a uni student trying to build a small online business alongside studies and wanted some honest feedback before I go too far down the wrong path.

1. Tutoring idea
I’m planning to run a tutoring setup where I connect students with tutors (mainly online lessons). The idea is to:

• Hire tutors at a lower hourly rate (based on their location/experience - not from UK but can speak good english and of course have decent qualifications) - perhaps hire uni students aswel
• Charge students a decent rate and keep the margin
• Eventually scale by adding more tutors and subjects

I’d handle organisation, student onboarding, scheduling, and overall structure rather than just leaving everything to tutors.

My questions:

• Does this model actually work in practice at a small scale?
• What are the biggest problems people run into (quality, reliability, etc.)?
• Is it better to stay small and premium or aim for volume early on?

2. Ebooks / digital guides
I’m also creating study guides based on exams I’ve personally gone through.

Questions:

• How do you actually protect your content from being copied?
• I’m based in the UK — is it enough to just put something like “© 2026 [Brand Name]” on each page?
• Is there anything more formal I should be doing legally, or is that mostly unnecessary at this stage?
• Realistically, do people just accept that some level of piracy will happen?

3. Selling & formatting
For the guides:

• What’s the best format for selling online? (PDF, interactive, etc.)
• Any tips on making them feel “premium” rather than just a document?

Appreciate any advice — especially from people who’ve tried something similar or learned the hard way.

Hey everyone,

I’m a uni student trying to build a small online business alongside studies and wanted some honest feedback before I go too far down the wrong path.

1. Tutoring idea
I’m planning to run a tutoring setup where I connect students with tutors (mainly online lessons). The idea is to:

• Hire tutors at a lower hourly rate (based on their location/experience - not from UK but can speak good english and of course have decent qualifications) - perhaps hire uni students aswel
• Charge students a decent rate and keep the margin
• Eventually scale by adding more tutors and subjects

I’d handle organisation, student onboarding, scheduling, and overall structure rather than just leaving everything to tutors.

My questions:

• Does this model actually work in practice at a small scale?
• What are the biggest problems people run into (quality, reliability, etc.)?
• Is it better to stay small and premium or aim for volume early on?

2. Ebooks / digital guides
I’m also creating study guides based on exams I’ve personally gone through.

Questions:

• How do you actually protect your content from being copied?
• I’m based in the UK — is it enough to just put something like “© 2026 [Brand Name]” on each page?
• Is there anything more formal I should be doing legally, or is that mostly unnecessary at this stage?
• Realistically, do people just accept that some level of piracy will happen?

3. Selling & formatting
For the guides:

• What’s the best format for selling online? (PDF, interactive, etc.)
• Any tips on making them feel “premium” rather than just a document?

Appreciate any advice — especially from people who’ve tried something similar or learned the hard way.

I'm making a UCAT guide for applicants I wanted to ask what helped people with the UCAT any advice you would give to future applicants.

So I normally get a mid fade at the barbers with a beard fade (Italian bear). I bought all the kit a foil razor, trimmer and clipper. My first mid fade went terribly wrong.

Now I'm planning on practicing mid tapers and just building my way up just so I can get comfortable using the 3 way mirror and fading and then trying the mid fade once I master the taper how is this plan also is there any guide video guides for a beard fade and a low or mid taper?