Textured Toby Terror

There are so many of us who would way rather try something at home rather than give out our cash for someone else to do the same job, especially when we think, "Oh! I could do that! Easy!". In fact, as coincidence would have it, we happen to have a whole website devoted to featuring projects people did at home when they saw a pin and thought, "I don't want to buy that. I'm sure I can make it at home!". :) One area this can get a little hairy is, well...hair. Check out Carolyn's story about finding a haircut for her son on Pinterest:

My 2.5 year old was in need of a hair cut.  I was looking for something short that didn't need much care.  Within two minutes of brushing his hair he would have it completely messed up.  I was tired of fighting him, so I tried to keep it to just Sundays that I struggled to keep it combed nicely for church.  Well, today I decided I had had it.  I found a hair cut I had had the barber give my son before that looked easy enough.

latest-hairstyles.com

Textured Toby "Get the right cut! Ask your son’s stylist or barber to use a #4 sized clipper on the back and sides and a #6 or #7 on the top then blend."  

As soon as the baby went to bed I grabbed the clippers, and plopped my toddler down on a chair and went to town.  Please note, this is the first time I have tried to cut his hair.  Up until now I have taken him to a barber.  This was going to go pretty easy.  (I know famous last words).  I grabbed the largest guard, a #6, and went over his whole head.  Then I went down to the #5 guard and went over the sides.  Then down to the #4 guard and did the lower half of the sides blending up into the #5 nicely, which would blend into the #6 nicely.  Well, that was the plan at least.  I very quickly learned he doesn't sit still for me as well as he does for barbers.  Right at the beginning he jerked his head just as I was moving the clippers in.  It now looks like a cat scratched him behind his ear, poor kid.  Some spots are still long.  The hair around his ears is not very evenly trimmed, some still long and some slightly bald looking.  Then I pulled out the little clippers to trim around his ears a little better, and to trim at the base of his head... well he has a nice random bald spot by one ear now, and it is kinda an uneven line along the back of his head.  

Once my husband is home and can help hold him down I am going to have to take it down even shorter to try to fix it.  Not much a barber can do at this point... but I might wimp out and take him there to fix it... don't want to ruin it any more than I have.  And until he is older and will sit still for me better I am leaving all future haircuts to the professionals.

Not long after this first submission, we received this update from Carolyn:

"I wimped out.  I took him to the hair place at Walmart, and had them cut it.  The gal suggested a size 1 comb or bald on the sides.  I told her go with 1... think I'd get in trouble if I had him bald on the sides... then the top was a size 4 comb. Super short but much better looking."

Hooray for barbers! Oh, this makes me think of a time in college when one of my guy friends asked if I'd cut his hair for him (I know...looking back I realize I totally friend-zoned him, and I feel bad, but I'm grateful he continued to be my friend even though I was clueless). Now...I had never cut a guys hair before. I'd never even used clippers. He said, "I'll talk you through it, you'll do fine!". So I cut his hair. The next day he walks into choir and some of his friends kinda laugh and ask "What did you do to your hair?!" It was pretty bad. He was so sweet about it though. But now I'm terrified to try cutting hair ever again. Hooray for professionals! I'm sure when Darrow is older I'll try cutting his hair in an attempt to pinch pennies...but I kinda shudder at how it's going to turn out.