Well, today I gave haircuts to the males in the family. I don't think my son has had one since the end of August and he was starting to really look like a ragamuffin. A cute ragamuffin, but a raggamuffin nonetheless. I think enough hair ended up on the floor to give an entire colony of birds nesting material. We'll put it out by the bird feeders tomorrow morning when it's light and then peek through the window to see what the birds are doing. It's always fun to watch them during nesting season. I also gave a touch up trim to my husband.
I invested in a good barber's razor kit a couple of years ago for $39.00 and I made the money back within three haircuts. It doesn't take long to get the hang of it at all. The first time I did it I practiced on my husband because he had no qualms about shaving his head bald if I happened to mess up. I didn't, though, and he ended up with a nice, professional looking cut. He gets the number 3 attachment because he prefers something close to but not as short as a buzz cut. And I use the number 4 for my son, which comes out short, but doesn't leave him feeling like he's been scalped. At this level he can go three months between haircuts before he starts looking like he needs one.
Included in the kit we bought was a cape that I use for both haircuts and when I color my hair or my daughter's hair. It came with a very sharp pair of hairdresser's scissors as well, which I use to cut my bangs. I used to do my daughter's bangs, too, but she's growing her hair long and doesn't want to have bangs anymore. My daughter and I do go get a professional cut twice a year and then I will occassionally trim her ends between visits.
In the past I have given my daughter both a bob and a pixie cut. They are both simple cuts for beginners, but you really must use sharp hairdressers scissors. I can't stress that enough. Dull scissors from the sewing basket or craft kit are not going to do the job right. Your bangs will look split-ended and the cut will definitely be jagged. I'd also recommend getting a book out from the library that tells how to cut hair.
We save a lot of money doing this ourselves because at the cheapest salon around here, it's $12.99 for a kids cut and $14.99 for an adult cut (no shampoo, no styling, no blow dry). The barber is $13. A bang trim is $6. It takes a bit of practice to trim bangs yourself but it really isn't all that hard after the first time or two. It helps to have a forgiving style and keep a longer bang until you get used to doing it yourself.
I reckon between the two cuts, my bang trim, sales tax, and tip, we saved about $40, so I transferred that amount into my safety net today, bringing the total to $340.48. Not a bad investment at all.
Cutting Hair at Home
March 3rd, 2010 at 03:25 am
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