Baby's First Haircut!

The "Before" pictures: the Haystack



Okay, so it wasn't exactly hanging in his eyes or worthy of pigtails, but since we like Alton's hair to look neat and tidy it was time for a trim. He had feathers hanging over his ears, suspiciously mullet-like wisps in the back, and some rough waves in the back that I was convinced would lay flatter if he had a cut. I surfed around online to find any baby haircut tutorials I could and came up with nada. There were good suggestions and prep ideas, but no cut-by-numbers guide like I was hoping for. Oh well, we would wing it!
We prepped our cutting area and "customer." We decided to cut it in the dining room on the laminate floor for more space, ease in clean up, light for the video camera (yes, we have video and that will come in a little while), and the television. From asking people about their experiences with the kid haircut place in town, they said that besides having stylists who were used to cutting moving targets (some stylists clearly better than others, though...I had seen some kids with adorable little bowl cuts and some who just got what we call the "Andy Special," i.e., buzz the whole head the same short length), the only gimmicks at the haircut place were airplane-shaped haircut chairs (as if Alton would care) and TVs with cartoons for the kids to watch. Since we don't show Alton any TV, we thought that our own gigantic screen with colorful movement on it would be enthralling. We spread out the kid videos on the floor and he gravitated toward Finding Nemo. Great! He was completely absorbed in the menu screen...and then totally lost interest after that. Doh!
But meanwhile, we were ready. We took the back off of his booster seat to allow for more rear space, strapped him in and lined up our tools on the table: full-size WAHL clippers, scissors, combs, water, towel, beard-size trimmer, and brush. Andy took on the job of distracting Alton while I channeled my inner Paul Mitchell.
Here's our little Beatle, ready to go.



I started with the full-size clippers on guard #8. I had been unofficially polling moms I know who cut their own babies' hair, and the general consensus was that it's easiest just to buzz the head with a big guard and then clean up as needed. I was cool with that look (short and spiky), but was nervous about getting the "fade" right in the back, since I didn't want him to be bald, but definitely wanted to avoid having any fringe hanging out back there.



Okay, so he wasn't in love with the clippers or anything, but that's why we did those first! Get the rough part out of the way before he has zero patience left for us. Scissors came in for some trimming here and there (including his little duck tail curl on his neck--sniff!) and then I brought out the beard trimmer with an adjustable guard for that rear "fade" I was so nervous about doing. He was actually a rock star when it came to being still and quiet. You can see that Andy started out with some toys on the tray to occupy him, but eventually we had to move to the big guns: forbidden objects. We started with the cordless phone from the kitchen, which absorbed Alton enough for Andy to pick up the camera again and snap a few pictures.





You can see in the pictures how riveted he is to the phone, which made it very easy for me to take my time (relatively speaking) and cut his hair very deliberately, the way I wanted to. There were only a few moments where I would be holding a lock and he would whip his head around at the last second, daring me to accidentally hack off a chunk and turn him into Little Baby Bald Spot. Andy was great at steadying me and providing a second set of critical eyes for the process. If Alton had allowed it, I would still be there now, doing a little comb here and a little snip there. But Alton let us know when he'd had enough and I hastily wrapped things up, although I was pretty much done by that point, anyway. Here we are, post-haircut!

Mommy and Baby immediately jumped into the shower to wash off all the bits of hair and rinse off, then we got Alton all warm and snuggly in his sweatsuit and sat him on the bathroom counter to review his 'do for any last few straggly long hairs and to give a little style.



So the first haircut is supposed to be a little bittersweet--maybe Mama sheds a few tears because her baby boy is growing up, major milestone, etc. I was definitely feeling unsettled, but it was mostly because I didn't like the way it was turning out as I was cutting! In hindsight, I think that starting with the clippers was a mistake for us, because it cut his front hair a lot shorter than I had intended. Yes, he was pretty much bald for the first 4-5 months of his life, but the little hair he had was wispy, and now his hair was a little darker, coarser, and thicker. His hair seemed deceptive as I was cutting it, because his long wispy locks with just that teeny hint of wave to them turned into bristly, businesslike strands as soon as I cut off the baby-fine ends. I tried to even it out and would just end up with this humorless hairline that looked like something out of WWI. Being a stylist is stressful! As I finished up and whisked him off to the shower, I felt really bummed that the haircut had turned out so severe and Alton's face seemed both reproachful and overwhelmed as I rubbed in some shampoo.
Andy was really sweet and reassured me every moment.


Fortunately, it's amazing what a difference a shower, some pomade, and a fresh attitude will make! I got some "product" out and spiked the front of Altie's hair and we went to the playroom to have some fun (and then were lured back in to the bathroom by the siren song of the vacuum cleaner--he loves that thing!). He looks like a bit of a "big boy" now, sure, but he looks adorable!


And clock the back! My "fade" turned out great!

Sassy superstar!