On cutting my own hair...

I used to have long hair way back when, but I've long given up on it after my first child was born. I don't have time to deal with it. Plus I don't need guys to look at or compliment my long straight jet black hair. I wish I have come to realize the big market (and needs) for selling or donating hair since my hair used to garner so much compliment that I wish I have found better use of the hair after they were cut. It's too late now. Still, I love my short hair. It's one of the best things I've discovered. I don't even need to comb my hair. I don't have to worry about strong wind blowing this way and that, and I forget to bring my scrunchie to tie up my hair. Yes, the compliments were nice, but I've come to appreciate efficiency and convenience much more. Plus, I don't need guys looking at me anymore. Leave that to the younger women. :)

Don't get me wrong, my long hair never gave me much hassle. I never need to use hairdryer, and I never really need to comb or brush it. Afterall, the weight of the hair itself and the natural straightness would ensure it that once the hair is dried, they just came straight down my back. I only comb my hair when I like to play with my hair. I must admit it too, that there are so many more ways to play with one's hair - tie it up this way and that, french braid, ponytail, pigtail, bun, all up or separate sideway, add to those the variety of scrunchies and clips and headbands, the possibilities are endless. Ah, how I miss those, but I don't have time for them anymore.

I don't know about you, but I've always had a haircut problem. I need a haircut every three months or so. With the short hair now, three months are about the most I can stretch it out to. I can't even begin to count how many hair salons I've tried, but rarely do they cut it to my liking. What most hair stylists fail to see it from my perspective is that, I want my hair to be really short. These days, with the pixie cut back in vogue, it at least makes it easier to explain the kind of layering I want it. Still, pixie cut is still too long for me in the back and on the side. Most stylists can't possibly give me a boy cut, but that's much closer to what I want than they are willing to deliver. While I understand their concerns (since there's no turning back, should they cut my hair too short, and I could get very upset with them), it doesn't lessen the frustration.

And so, it was almost a godsend to discover this hair salon near chinatown, where two male salonists provide haircuts to men and women alike. I have come to like my back to be cut using razors. Having said that, the haircuts were never exactly perfect. In particular, the spots above the ears were always insufficiently thinned, so that I always have to do some trimming afterwards. Still, this hair salon was the closest I could find that gave a haircut I want, so I stick with them.

The other problem with this hair salon was that, I don't live anywhere near chinatown, so every three months, I had to make special trips to chinatown to get my haircuts over the weekends. Funny thing is, weekends were always either very busy, or very quiet. When it's busy, the waiting time was long. When it's quiet, all there were left in the shop were the assistants who did only hair wash and sweeping floor. I'd had my fair share of angst, when I got to the hair salon, and was quickly shoved through the hair wash, waiting for hours for the salonists to show up. Their rationale must be that, once customers got their hair all wet, they became captive audience and would have to wait, no matter what.

Parking is such a pain in chinatown. I drag the prospect every time when it's close to the haircut time because it could mean I would get not only a haircut, but a parking ticket as well.

So then, earlier this year, the awakening was finally here. I took the train to the city (since I didn't want to drive and have to find parking), walked to chinatown, just to discover the shock that the hair salon had closed down. It must have been around for more than ten years now. I thought their business was ok; I guess it's not good enough.

I dragged my feet back home with such heavy heart. You can't imagine the drag I was going through, and the prospect that I have to go through the same looking-and-searching and trial-and-error, in order to find any hair salon. I was quite fed up with it.

I did some thinking when I got home. I have become quite determined that I don't want to be held hostage by that again, that I can get a perfect haircut, whenever I want it. I think back to how the guys cut my hair, and ask myself, is there anything I can (or cannot do). I go to google and youtube to check how people do it. Some of the very professional looking salonists disgust me because their hands and scissors move about so furiously fast that I know I could never do on my own head. But then, the now defunct hair salonists in chinatown were never that fast, and they did my short haircut ok; hence, I've come to rest on the comfort that if the chinatown guys could do it, I should be able to do too. I know I won't be able to use razors, so I look online for alternatives.

One thing I distinctly remember was how the chinatown guys thin and layer my hair using a pair of shear scissors, yet so little hair came off in each cut. I have a pair of shear scissors at home too, but each cut always see large chunks of hair coming off with it. I realize it must be a different kind of shear scissors than mine. And then, I found the online forum with people having the same issue. The cause? The salonists were using double-shear whereas I was using single-shear scissors. Double-shear scissors cut far less hair in each cut, allowing much easier and more time for trimming, thinning, and layering. I went to ebay and bought a pair of double-shear scisorrs, and was waiting for it with trepidation.

When the pair of double-shear scissors finally arrives, I handle it with such apprehension. My 1-2 weeks of wait time were cutting close, and I was pass the three months' mark and needed a haircut badly. So, one night, after dinner, I locked myself in the bathroom. With a mirror in front of me, armed with a few pairs of scissors (single-shear, double-shear, straight blade), a comb, another hand-held mirror for checking the back of my hair, with even duster and dustpan for cleanup, I was quite determined that, one way or the other, hair will come off. I had to strip (as my arms needed to raise during the cutting) first, then sat straight on a low-back chair, and stared at myself in the mirror.

And cut, I did. With the double-shear in my right hand, my left hand started feeling the back tentatively. I could easily find the lower back of my hair where it needed thinning and layering very badly. That's where I would start. After a few cuts, I became much more confident, since the double-shear scissors indeed cut much less hair than the single-shears. The layering felt right to my left hand after the few cuts. It bears out with verifying by two mirrors, one in front and one from the back. I realized then, that I have a winner.

In the end, I got the perfect haircut that I've always been wanting. I can't believe my own eyes. :) Granted that the chinatown guys could finish the job in less than 10 minutes, and it took me over an hour. It's quite tiring. But I can't tell you how much satisfaction I've got when it's all done. I finally, finally find my perfect short haircut, that I can have it whenever I want it. For all that, it's free!!! You can't beat that.

Secretly, I know my family has the brave side in us all. Back then my younger sister had the same courage to cut her own hair too. (She also had a short haircut in high school.) When I told her about my endeavor, she told me, her motivation was exactly the same as mine. She was kind of forced into it, since she couldn't find anyone or anywhere who could give her a haircut that she wanted.

So, now, I'm free. I won't be held hostage to a less than perfect service. I won't need to make trips to the hair salon every three months for my pilgrimage. And it costs me nothing. Now, I can give myself small trims every now and then. I won't have to wait until the hair gets in my eyes or neck, which gets me so worked up that I would endure another trip to chinatown because the hair annoyance outweighs convenience. I won't have to make such decisions anymore. I was so proud of myself, for the rather professional looking haircut.

It's so awesome.