The Upside: Cost cut your haircut
Filed under: Bargains, Saving Money, Recession
I'm not a hairdresser, but I am gay, which is similar. So I can say with some authority that you can cut costs by cutting your own hair. The easiest way is to be born male. Then you just shave your head with clippers. It's sleek, cheap and strangers will rub your head for good luck.
Marc Matsumoto of New York City started cutting his own hair to save money while pursuing his ambition of being a food writer. "It actually looks better," he says, "because now, instead of having it get shaggy at the end of the month before my next haircut, I just cut it myself once a week." Even the New York Times recently ran a photo essay of a laid-off project manager in Vermont shaving his own head, otherwise known as a slow news day.
So what is a woman to do? I consulted a fancy salon stylist and asked him if he had any advice for women cutting their own hair.
"Don't," he said.
"But there's a recession."
"Exactly. I can't afford to lose any more clients."
Hairdressers from around the country report customers waiting longer between cuts, looking for tips on home coloring (which stylists are loath to offer -- see above), and searching for their own cost-saving solutions. The owner of Vanity Beauty in LaCosta, Calif. even had a customer try to cut her own hair using the dreaded vacuum Flowbee of infomercial infamy, which ended, as the owner put it, in "tragedy." If you do try it at home, StilettoBeautyOnline.com recommends going for an overall color, stating, "Now is not the time for highlights. As they grow out, the roots will need to be corrected at your salon."
At HowToDoThings.com, where you learn, y'know, how to do things, I discovered that the easiest cut to manage is all one length, though you run the risk of looking like Marcia Brady. And a frizzy-haired friend told me that women with curly or wavy hair have more freedom because it's harder to tell if you cut it crooked. "When in doubt," she said, "just toss your head a lot."
Home hair-cutter Maria Canul of San Jose, Calif. recommends buying a decent pair of hair-cutting scissors at a drug store. They can retail for as little as $20, but even an expensive pair pays for itself once you've skipped a salon visit.
And according to my local barber, more women are coming to him, instead of their regular stylists, for military cuts, particularly cost-conscious seniors. "Their stylists won't use clippers to get it as short as they want it," he says. How short? "The Marines wouldn't take 'em, but the Air Force would."
Yesterday, I treated myself to a crew cut from my local barber, saving $40 off my usual salon visit. Not only did he vacuum my head when he was finished (though not with a Flowbee), he offered me this tip while I tipped him: "Cut a little at a time. You can always go shorter, but you can't go back."
And that, my friends, is the Upside.
Have you tried cutting your own hair? Share your horror, or success, story in the comments section.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
5-10-2009 @ 7:52PM
davenwin said...
The recession, as it's called, isn't taking as much of toll on me, as the $4.00 gas price did. When they went to $4.00, I stopped having my hair cut completely. I'm a 35 year old male with long hair. I decided that I'm gonna donate my hair when I'm ready to get it cut. Even then, it doesn't get cut often. I definitely won't use the Flowbee again, after I had a bad haircut from it. It chopped my hair so bad, that it knotted up in too many places, and even brushing the knots out didn't do any good. It just reknotted. This was 13 years ago, and threw out the Flowbee around that time. From now on, I'll stick with professionals to cut my hair. Now if only I can find someone I can trust to cut my hair regularly for less.
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5-11-2009 @ 7:12AM
Willy said...
I cut my own hair -- or else my wife cuts it for me. She does a better job, since she can see the back of my head, but if you use clippers and just keep going over the hair, you will get it all.
The "men's salon" I was going to was charging $40/haircut (plus tip, plus fuel costs to get there). My clippers cost $12, require no tip, and I never need an appointment.
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5-11-2009 @ 11:21AM
Allen Butler said...
Going bald is even cheaper.
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5-11-2009 @ 12:11PM
Pattra said...
indeed... but what's a woman to do when it starts happening to her?... comb over's don't seem to be working and if I shave my head people will think i'm in treatment for cancer... which i'm not... just getting older and the hair is getting thinner...
5-11-2009 @ 11:22AM
Elizabeth said...
It IS easier for curly girls to cut their own hair, because you really can't mess it up. A girl I knew in college taught me this method, which results in nice layers:
Bend over so the top of your head is facing the floor.
Gather all your hair into a ponytail on the top of your head - top, like Pebbles, not the middle of the back, like a cheerleader.
Cut off the end of the ponytail, to however short you want it to be - I wouldn't go shorter than shoulder length with this one.
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5-11-2009 @ 11:23AM
Jenn said...
I cut my husband's hair, and my own. I only go in once a year to get the layers shaped up in my own. it's not that hard... just get used to the fact that when you are learning that you'll have some off cuts, at least in the begining.
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5-11-2009 @ 11:30AM
Barbara said...
Marc -
Great ideas! And there's always a hat to hide your mistakes, and if you have to take your bonnet off, you can blame your mess on 'hat hair'
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5-11-2009 @ 11:35AM
CM said...
My wife uses the shaving clipper kit to cut her hair. I love the look and feel of it. She keeps it short, butchy, and adapts as new styles from trendy boys appear.
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5-11-2009 @ 12:00PM
Christina Katz said...
I tried this strategy with my child. Bought the expensive hair-cutting scissors, only to find that I cannot even be trusted to use them to cut a hair-mat off one of our long-haired cats.
Long hair is a good solution for women. I just got an amazing cut with highlights...only to realize that I'm doomed to expensive follow-up treatments every 8 weeks or so (!!!).
My former long-hair with a color wash was cheap to keep and easy to maintain. If only I hadn't gotten sick of it right smack in the middle of the recession!
Thanks, Marc. Look forward to more of your humorous tips. :)
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5-11-2009 @ 11:46AM
Carin said...
I'm a woman who wanted to shave nearly all my hair off after my grandmother passed away. This was several years ago and more about an expression of grief than an attempt to pinch pennies. I started using 30 year old clippers my folks had taken with them to Liberia when they were in the Peace Corps. Half way through the cut/clip/shave, one of the screws to the blade came loose and fell into the grass, never to be seen again. I had to finish off by using my dog's clippers!
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5-11-2009 @ 12:17PM
Pattra said...
Loved this story!
5-11-2009 @ 11:52AM
edward a samuelson said...
marc is great. i read his column in portland for years. it was like, the paper had a name, but he was the draw. loved your hair cutting tip. however, to add an international flair to it, just send people to my town in mexico. i get my hair buzzed for 30 pesos. yep, that is like 2.00 dollars, us. and it is stunning in chapala where we have the second best climate in the world, and perfect.
keep up the writing, let me know when you are syndicated world wide. the world still needs some humor on a regular basis, and you are the man.
hugs forever
tu amigo edd, aka lalo en chapala
ps: i am in portland - yikes, setteling in again marc.
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5-11-2009 @ 11:57AM
Laura of the Props said...
Loved Marc's essay. Charming. Good advice. And FREE!
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5-11-2009 @ 12:02PM
Christopher J. Kliks said...
Marc, you are too funny! I cut my own hair all the time, and have been on a regular basis for about 2 years. I usually look OK, and don't hear many snickers, so I know I've done it right. Recently, I also cut my wife's hair, with amazing results. (Though she ended up at her stylist to get her hair colored.)
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5-11-2009 @ 12:02PM
lisa peet said...
I don't dare cut it at home, but I did decide to go for the stunning head of silver rather than futz around with Miss Clairol every three weeks, and that's turned out rather nicely.
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5-11-2009 @ 12:25PM
tipovertiff said...
Marc,
loved your column... maybe you could offer your haircutting services on the road? a writer/barber kinda thing... I would let you cut my hair!
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5-11-2009 @ 12:15PM
Pattra said...
Love your writing, Marc and the comments it generates... some very funny and practical stuff ( couldn't think of a noun) here. Thanx pbm
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5-11-2009 @ 12:25PM
corey said...
I started buzzing my own hair last summer when I started biking everywhere. It was retaliation against both the economy and "helmet hair." Most people thought it was great, though I did need to grow a 5 O'Clock shadow to balance out the buzz. I even got a couple David Beckham comments.
It was definitely worth the investment in a good pair of hair clippers. Weekly trims with a number 1 and I am good to go.
Looking forward to bringing the look back for this summer.
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5-11-2009 @ 12:13PM
Monique said...
I have not yet mastered the art of cutting my own hair. It scares me. What if I have to go out in public after I've turned myself into something one would hope to see only on late night television? I have considered shaving my head, but I'm afraid it would not be a good look for me and might scare people. I did, however, die my own hair yesterday after getting it cut.
I made it black. My hair has never been black. While looking for a color at the store my husband kept picking brown. "My hair's already brown!" i said, "why would I want to make it the same? I want something different!"
So he picked up what was described as a soft black and handed it to me. "Still looks brown to me," I said, frowning at the box.
So he picked up a blacker black (when did black start having shades, anyway?) and I said, "Okay, that'll work."
I'm not sure yet if it's a good change. No one but the husband has even seen it yet. But sometimes any change is a good change.
Don't quote me on that.
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5-11-2009 @ 12:20PM
sharmon said...
Has anyone priced DOG grooming lately? I bought Oster clippers and cut my two Welsh Terrier's coats myself. Sure it's not professional quality but I save $120 a pop. As far as my own hair I have never colored it and am going grey gracefully. I deserve a good cut once in a while since I don't dye and don't mind scraggly looking terriers. Neither do they!
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