Being my own barber

My friends are always surprised (shocked?) when I mention that I cut my own hair—have been cutting it for years.

How do you DO that? They ask.

With two mirrors, I say.

Oh, I could never do that—even with two mirrors, they say.

I can’t say that it always comes out perfect, but it usually looks just fine, and no one has ever looked at my head strangely or crossed to the other side of the street. In any case, it’s even easier to pull off a not 100% perfect haircut nowadays than it used to be. Today we are living in an era of “acceptable messy hair” —in fact, it’s even considered “stylish.”

Stylish messy hair

I’m old enough to remember when your hair had to be perfect. You had to have a part in it (both men and women), and if you were inclined to perm it, it had to be the perfect perm—not a curl out of place. You always carried a comb in your pocket, and made sure your hair was neat and tidy.

I wear my hair very short, and I’ve learned to cut it by pulling it away from my head between my fingers, and then chopping off the excess. After I do this all over my head, I check myself in the mirror to see if I need to even anything up. Then I trim across the back of my neck and check it with two mirrors. Thinning shears come in handy, especially for tidying up and for cutting bangs. It’s not hard, really, although it does take a bit of patience.

Me with my 50s hair-do

But keep in mind that I’m very much a do-it-yourself person. I’ve never had a manicure or a pedicure (don’t want anybody messing with my extremities, thank you very much!), and I’m not really big on makeup, although I do use it, lightly. Clothes? Not really my thing, except for admiring them online or on other people. I like to be comfortable, and I’m not crazy about dresses and skirts. For me it’s men’s boxer shorts and halters, T-shirts or tank tops in the summer, and elastic waist pants with long-sleeved T-shirts in the winter. Yes, I work at home. And no, I don’t wear panty hose or high heels.

But getting back to the hair…if you’re tired of the beauty parlor or just can’t find anyone who can cut your hair the way you want and not make you look like a freak, do give cutting your own hair a try. You might be surprised. I mean in a good way, of course!