How to Cut Your Child’s Hair
I’ve always hated haircuts. In high school and college, when I was about to “take a look,” my hair was the easiest part of the look to tweak, and the hardest to hide when it didn’t look right. When I found a stylist I liked, I was as loyal to him as Mark Davis is loyal to his boyfriend . Even now that I’m a withered old daddy with brittle gray hair, I’m nervous about being touched by a new hairdresser.
It’s all because of the tape.
As a child, my mom would tear off a strip of tape and stick it to the hair that covered my eyes. Then she cut the tape. It was a haircut. I looked like Mark Davis. The guys at school were inspired by this haircut, judging by the frequency of their jokes about it. I did not share their pleasure.
This is why I hate haircuts. But I really enjoy cutting my kids’ hair, and as far as I can tell, my job is not of interest to school bullies. Here’s what I learned.
Do your research
Let’s talk about the hair itself. Your stick is straight, and the child’s curly? Vice versa? Trimming curly hair is a completely different operation than trimming straight hair. Straight hair falls flat, showing all your mistakes. Curly hair hides mistakes, but gets shorter as it dries, transforming your cute bob into Ronald McDonald.
All artists must study the environment in which they work. I’ve had good luck with forums on Reddit , but if you don’t like this place, look for magazines that target the specific demographic you want to know about.
Think about the cultural background your child’s haircut will do. Last summer my son wanted a haircut. He set out to look like our friend, the man who tends the bald patches by cutting down the remaining forest. I was smart enough to know that I shouldn’t let my son look like Kaia, but I didn’t know the compromise we came up with – cropping . Instead of letting my blond kid look like an annoying cartoon character, I made him one of Richard Spencer’s buddies. If only I paid more attention to McLemore .
Equipment
You don’t need tape. You need real scissors. Not the scissors you use to open a bag of chicken nuggets. Not the dumb, plastic things your child uses to cut heart out of thick paper.
There are dozens of scissors on the Internet – even for left-handers. Warning: they will be harsh. Like a lightsaber and a diamond-edged circular saw, a baby was born. When you cut your baby’s neck — and you will cut your baby’s neck at some point, expect to soak through a few pieces of gauze.
You need a comb. You will need a spray bottle filled with warm water. (Cold water is cold!) You can buy a hairdresser’s cloak if you like, but a superhero costume cloak will work too. Old towels and pillowcases are good choices if you have paper clips or spring clips to hold them in place.
Avoid clipper-based clipper sets at first. Clippers are designed for adults and are a little awkward to maneuver around the tiny, bumpy heads. In addition, a power tool makes a person overdo it. Remember what you did to the bush with the electric brush cutter?
Last but not least, you need a device that you can watch videos on for hours. This process can take a while – slow and steady gives the best results. Keep your baby still and half dead with cartoons. Like Kayu !
Process
Choose a room that doesn’t have a rug or carpet. It is much easier to clean up impending clutter with a broom rather than a vacuum cleaner.
The eyes should be level with the child’s head. Many people accomplish this by placing their child on a bar stool or stack of books. But this poses a fall hazard and means that you will spend some of your attention watching the wavy bum. Instead, sit the client in a child’s chair or stool and kneel down. If painful, use knee pads or a folded towel.
Gather up any drinks, snacks, or bandages your child may need for the next hour or so and keep them within reach. Make yourself comfortable and calm. When I concentrate on a project, I sweat like a greenhouse, so I cut my hair in a T-shirt and shorts.
Finally, play the Caillou videos and baptize your child with a thin mist of warm water.
Technics
There are dozens of haircut tutorials on YouTube. I like this one , but you should check out a few. Pay attention to the techniques used by the stylists. Which one seems the most intuitive to you? How likely is it that you will be able to reproduce a specific version?
Don’t look too much! It’s easy for a beginner to feel overconfident. Show me some videos on gallbladder surgery and I’m ready to get started. But as soon as I hold the scalpel, things get messy. It’s the same with haircuts.
Here are some general tips:
- Length error. Taking more is easy. Putting it back on, not too much.
- Work in stages, going from one part of the head to another. Take a step back and look at the whole picture to see how the different areas blend together.
- Do not remove the scissors until the hair is dry, or you will notice strange strands that need to be cut off.
- Listen to your children and give them what they ask for. If the mirror shows you missed, go back to work.
- Don’t sneeze when cutting bangs!