Hey all! I’ve been very busy since Easter, with a bunch of stuff. My professional life (as a consultant) collided somewhat with my ‘simple life’, and so I’ve been juggling what I can get done at home. One of the tasks I always choose to do myself, though, is haircuts! People are often nervous about giving someone a haircut. I would be nervous of attempting a haircut on someone else’s child, but for my own family I think it’s a total win to do this myself. Why? Even the cheapest haircut costs $15 (for a short boys cut) around here. And that’s if you pick a weekday during school hours. For a Saturday, you are looking at $25. That may not sound much to you, and we could afford to pay for haircuts if I chose to … but I don’t see the value in it, when I can do it myself. Today I managed to pin down William for a haircut. Here’s what he was looking like before I pounced:
Pretty shaggy, and you can’t tell from this photo but his hair is in his eyes. I’ve been cutting his hair for a while, and sometimes I do a really nice cut, and sometimes it’s a bit off. But I don’t mind (if he doesn’t) and I figure that the more I practise when he is little, the better I will get, and when he is older (and less wriggly) I will be doing a Pretty Good Job (TM). I was very pleased with today’s cut:
I’ve used a bunch of different instructions from around the web on cutting hair, but today I refreshed my technique with this tutorial, which I found described things with real pictures quite nicely. The hardest parts I find with cutting boys hair are:
- He gets annoyed and complains. Mostly I pounce when he is distracted playing a game, but he doesn’t like being told to put his head up, and so the hairs go down his neck and make him itchy. I try to be quicker every time. It’s a trade-off between quick and accurate!
- I don’t do very well taking the hair sections. Usually I get too much hair and I think I have to re-cut the section over and over because of that. I’m working on doing this better.
- I’m nervous cutting the front part of his hair. I think this means I’m not cutting it quite right (I don’t like to take too much off and make crazy layers). I’m going to have to just follow the instructions for this part of his hair (next time!) and suck it up.
The most satisfying part?
- I didn’t have to book in a haircut time, so I can get his hair washed and cut at any old time that suits us,
- I didn’t have to fork out any $$$ now that I’ve spent the few dollars on a pair of haircutting scissors (bought at the supermarket),
- I feel clever when I get it looking as good as this,
- I don’t have that rotten feeling I get when a professional does it and I don’t like how short they cut it.
Well, what’s not to love, really? I do my husband’s hair too (his is easy, being shoulder-blade length, just straight across and no tricky sections). I also do my teenage daughter’s hair (she has very long hair — waist length — but it’s easy too). I even do MY OWN hair. Seriously. Since I wear it mostly in a ponytail, I don’t notice if the back section isn’t cut straight across. I haven’t yet cut Evie’s hair. I’m still growing it out, but the time is coming soon when it will need a trim! I may take her to a professional for that first cut, so they can save me some hair. It’s tricky to catch a lock of hair whilst holding the comb and cutting it! The only tools I use for this job are a water spray bottle, a pair of hairdressing scissors, and a comb with a skinny poky end:
I used to use regular kitchen scissors, and then I decided I’d try the proper ones. I will never go back to kitchen scissors. Wow, a huge difference! If you are thinking of cutting hair, do yourself a favour and buy proper scissors. Messing about with kitchen scissors is a Pain In The Proverbial! Do you cut hair? Do you cut your OWN hair? 😀
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