You can save money with at-home haircuts. But first, let me say this – I have never been trained to cut hair and I certainly don’t cut my own hair. This post is not going to teach you any fancy hair cuts because I am very much a novice. I have only given my children simple cuts.
What I am going to tell you is that you can do a basic clipper cut at home with no experience at all. Growing up, my mom cut our hair and gave my brother a buzz cut; I think he may still get his hair cut from her. It helps save both money and time.
For the cost of a single child’s hair cut, you can give many, many hair cuts. Usually, a child’s hair cut is $10-$15 depending upon where we go. An 18-piece Haircut Kit will cost you under $15 for this Conair Haircut Kit on Amazon ( FYI – Amazon prices change quite quickly, when I started writing this post the set was $14.99, but just 5 days later the price dropped to $12.99) . The one I have, I bought for $10 from a Black Friday sale when my son was really small and didn’t come with clips or a barber cape. As you can see, I use a bath towel draped over his shoulders held together tight with a heavy duty clip we had in our tool box.
Sometimes you just have to use what you have, but the set I linked to does include a barber cape. I also have pictured a trimmer because we already owned one previously and it works really well and I don’t have to switch comb attachments and can always keep a No. 3 comb on the clippers. The basic clipper with no combs on, is a great trimmer.
This haircut you seen on my son is an all-over No. 3 comb clipper haircut. I like to do this on him because he has 4 different cowlicks on his head. The poor kid gets a crazy looking mop when it gets even slightly shaggy. So, he really requires a monthly haircut. He can pull off a mohawk pretty well too because of where his cowlicks are and we will use a No. 3 clipper on the sides as well when we do this. If you consider that a haircut with tip will cost us $15 each month for a total cost of $180 each year, the savings in our budget adds up really quickly.
I have used the comb and hair scissors we have in our set (also included in the set linked above) to give my daughter a basic straight cut. I haven’t done this too often because she likes to grow out her hair to make a hair donation, but it works great to trim up the ends and I don’t have to waste time or money taking her in for a quick trim.
Also – a tip I learned from my mom is to give a clipper hair cut outside in the warmer months. The wind will blow away the hair clippings and make clean up a “breeze.”
Do you you do at-home haircuts? What tips do you have?
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That looks pretty good! I’m always tempted to cut my hair myself. My hair is long and curly, so I generally only cut it 1-2 times per year. Even still, I typically spend $100 reach time. There’s got to be a better option!
I haven’t figured out how to cut my own yet, but I have hair like yours and end up going in a couple times a year. The nice thing about long curly hair is that it hides split ends pretty well.
I save a lot of money going the DIY route or should I say my husband does the DIY as he is the family barber. He gave me a haircut shortly after we first started dating and I have not been back to the salon since. He does my children’s haircuts each month. In the warmer weather he sets a board across a chair outside to reduce the cleanup. He uses a cape with the paper neck strips to keep loose hairs from getting down their necks. He uses the big clippers with the different comb attachments to the sides and top and then uses a peanut clipper to do the neck line and sideburns. Always a great haircut and it saves me the cost of the haircuts, time and transportation costs which i calculate at over $500. When the weather is cold, he does them inside and I use the shop vac to collect the clippings. I get my hair trimmed every 6-8 weeks to keep the ends even and remove the splits. He does the full sectioning and trimming each successive layer, he doesn’t rush through it, he is very meticulous. He uses the clips, the good quality hair shears and a cape to do my haircut. I figure it saves me well over $400 a year by having him cut my hair. At first my friends and family thought I was crazy or it was a control thing having him cut my hair, but after they have gotten bad haircuts and complained about the cost, they realize it is a very smart move. I get a lot of compliments on my hair and my best friend stopped over when i was getting mine trimmed and when he finished, she said I’m next and took a seat. He was ok with it and she was very happy with the results. It is definitely a skill that if you can learn it, that can save a lot of money.
I need to buy a cape next. I will find some with good reviews on Amazon and add to my wishlist, then I watch the price and buy when they mark it down. I do that with quite a few things and them use prime shipping. My next thing will be to watch some youtube videos so I can learn to cut in layers on my daughters long thick curly hair to make it not so bulky. Right now she just gets a straight cut.
I just cut his hair again 2 days ago (wrote this post a little bit ago) so that he could have a fresh haircut for a wedding. He didn’t need it too bad, but it was nice to just clean it up and look sharp and not have to worry about getting an appointment or spending the money. We were at my mom’s house so I used her set and she has a really nice cape that kept those little haird off him nicely and he liked that, so that will be our next purchase.
Not sure I am brave enough to try this, but you make it sound easy. Maybe if I watch someone do it it will seem easier. I will have to pay attention next time I take my son to the salon. I wonder if my son will let me near his head.
It is pretty easy to do these simple cuts. I bet if they let a stylist/barber near them, they will certainly let mom. It will take a while with your first cut since you are just learning but after a while it will start to go quick.
we always had our hair cut at home while growing up.
Great way to save money. Haircuts can cost a pretty penny…my daughter is a stylist so I know. :)
It’s easier and cheaper to learn how to cut our kids’ hair. With plenty of resources online, it’s possible to learn quickly as well. I think it’s a great idea.
That sounds like an economic as well as sensible option. need to try it out.
This is a great way. haircuts are wayyy too expensive.
I learned by watching a barber cut my husband’s hair and asking lots of questions (sprinkled with small talk), then waited 3 weeks and gave him a trim, following the guidelines laid out for me on his head! We’ve never been back to the barber since. With my daughter, I did the same thing, simply watching the stylist, then giving a trim on my own every few weeks.
My sweetheart cut his sons’ hair until they hit their teens and wanted to go to a stylist. He still cuts his own hair, using a Flowbee. Hey, it works for him!