Haircut How-to

Since the Good Doctor and I got married, I've been giving him haircuts to save money. I had never given anyone a haircut and had absolutely no experience whatsoever when I started cutting his hair. He was a brave new husband and so trusting of his new bride. And I only butchered it a couple times before I finally figured it out!

When our son was born with a full head of hair that was growing over his ears by four months old it only seemed fitting that I cut his hair too. {We were on a really tight budget and didn't want to fork out money for a haircut every month.}

I've gotten a lot better at cutting their hair over the years and though I'm not nor will I ever be a pro, I can at least give my family decent haircuts to save us money. So I'll share with you my method in case you'd like to give it a try.

Here's Boo before. He was getting pretty shaggy.

Start with a good set of clippers. We have these...

I start by putting a size 3 guard on the clippers.
Beginning in the back, I cut from the bottom to the top, about an inch or less above the top of his ears. I continue this method all the way around his head.
Here's my headlock grip. Wouldn't want to clippers to stray and make a funny path through the top of his head!Then, using sharp scissors, I cut the top of his hair. I hold his hair, parallel to the side of his head, between two fingers while cutting.
To blend the top with the sides, I use a comb and angle it just slightly where the two lengths meet. I use the clippers without the guard to trim away the hair sticking out from the comb.
Here's where we are so far: sides buzzed using #3 guard and top cut with scissors.Using the micro-trimmers that are built into the clippers, I trim the back and sides of his hair, around the ears and neck. That's it! All done.
Keep your kid from dreading his haircut: A few tips...

I always start out by letting Boo feel how the clippers vibrate before using them on his hair. It eases the anxiety and keeps his shoulders from being up by his ears if he's reminded that it's just a gentle hum and doesn't hurt.

Boo's pretty good about being still and following my cues on when to look down, look straight, etc. But he's also had me cutting his hair for three years. If you're just starting out, try giving your child a tupperware lid and spray some whipped cream or shaving cream on it for them to play with during the haircut. It'll keep them distracted and they'll be looking down which makes it a lot easier to cut the back of their hair.

Hope you enjoyed this little haircut tutorial. At home haircuts are a great way to cut a little off the top of the budget. He, he.