I've been giving the devoted Mr. Garland his haircuts for over 10 years now. We have never spent a cent on haircuts for the kids. I'm not a beautician but hair cutting isn't rocket science. (It's probably more like planar geometry if you think about it.) It's a huge money saver ($15 x 12 months x 4 people = $720/year) and it's totally fun family time!
The big question: How do I get the kids to hold still? We have used the tv in the past but recently, we put one kid in charge of the treat bowl (m&m and smarties) and they get to feed the haircut-ee a treat every few minutes during the haircut if they're sitting still. The kids love to be the one feeding the treats to their sibling. I occasionally need a little extra assistance (from Jeff) with Z but I've done his haircut alone a few times already. If you can set up shop on your back porch (near a plug for the clippers), and the weather is nice, that is optimal. A kitchen works great too.
Here are some supplies that I use:
blue haircutting apron (found at beauty supply shops for a few bucks)
good haircutting scissors
good clippers with variety of guards (pay more than $20 for this, it's worth it in the long run)
large clips for keeping girls hair divided
water spray bottle
comb
the key: bowl of m&ms and smarties, our treat of choice
broom to clean up afterwards
Any other hair cutters out there?
*** Post-note: These photos were taken in my parent's backyard, on a recent visit. (Thanks for snapping them, Mom!) I'd love to have a backyard like this too!!!
yep!! when my husband and i were dating, his mom taught me how to cut his hair with hair clippers (because she has done it his whole life and he's never been to a professional barber). i wanted to carry that tradition on to our kids, so i cut their hair too. i've gone through stages when i could use scissors, but most of the time they are too impatient and wiggly (and generally NOT happy about it), so i use the clippers mostly for them too. i totally agree that you need to pay a little more for a good set of clippers (with a lot of length ranges). i look forward to doing girly cuts now too! clipping them outside is a great idea. i'll have to try that next time. usually we put a movie on, with treats on hand, but i'd like to take it outdoors. now that i think of it, my mother-in-law would often cut hair on the back porch.
ReplyDeleteand if those pictures were taken in your backyard, i want to visit your house!! beautiful!