Is Cutting Your Own Hair Always a Better Choice Than Visiting a Barber?

[turbo]

I have had the same barber for over 25 years. I was one of her very first customers when she got her license. I went to my friend's wife's shop to get my hair cut and she was too busy so she sent me to "the new girl" in the back room. The "new girl" was cute, smart, and very independent-minded, and she cut my hair perfectly - just what I asked for. I've been going to her ever since. Because I am extremely sensitive to fragrances, she cuts my hair outdoors, so it gets fairly long in the winter until it's warm enough to work outside. She used to come to my house to give me haircuts in the winter but, we've moved about 30 minutes away, so that's not an option. She charges me $12 for a haircut, but I always give her $20 because she's been so accommodating.

 

[Jimmy Snyder]

Here's how it goes in the Snyder residence. I shave my head once a year in the spring. I just did it a week ago. Once it grows back in, I go to the barber through the year to keep it trim. I bring my son with me to a barber who discusses sports while he hacks away at our heads. It's a man thing. He really gets rather excited about matters that certainly don't raise my hair. You have to admire someone who continues to work so long after senility has set in. My wife has her hair done too often to suit me. Because of the short duration of these perms, there isn't that much difference when it occurs. However, it is in my best interests to notice it when it happens or the potatoes get cold along with everything else. Warm globally, cool locally. On occasion she has me trim her hair at the neckline in the back. This is great. I can complement her on her great looking hair and she has no idea how ridiculous it looks. My daughter does her own hair with a lawnmower, hair blower, and catalog from Sherwin Williams.

 

[turbo]

My wife has me trim her hair between cuts - about 1" every couple of months. She doesn't like to pay a beautician more than a few times a year. It's pretty ridiculous, because the going rate for womens' hair cuts are about double the rate for men. I've never figured that out, nor why a dry-cleaner might charge more to clean blouses than to clean dress shirts...is it because the buttons are on the wrong side?

 

[Jimmy Snyder]

is it because the buttons are on the wrong side?

I don't think the fact that the buttons are on the wrong side has anything to do with it. They also charge more to dry clean my wife's t-shirts than they do for mine.

 

[turbo]

I don't think the fact that the buttons are on the wrong side has anything to do with it. They also charge more to dry clean my wife's t-shirts than they do for mine.

Sounds like the women are getting shafted pretty regularly. They also earn less money on average for the same jobs. My wife has been at her job 15 years now, and is the most experienced cutter in her department (she cuts out leather and synthetic materials for shoes), but there are still guys in her team that make more money than she does, despite the fact that all they know how to do is cut, and my wife is also an experienced stitcher (arguably the hardest job in the shoe manufacturing process) and routinely moves down the production like to help the stitchers get caught up when they fall behind in production.

 

[Jimmy Snyder]

Sounds like the women are getting shafted pretty regularly. They also earn less money on average for the same jobs. My wife has been at her job 15 years now, and is the most experienced cutter in her department (she cuts out leather and synthetic materials for shoes), but there are still guys in her team that make more money than she does, despite the fact that all they know how to do is cut, and my wife is also an experienced stitcher (arguably the hardest job in the shoe manufacturing process) and routinely moves down the production like to help the stitchers get caught up when they fall behind in production.

This is the stuff lawsuits are made of. Are you in the US?

 

[turbo]

This is the stuff lawsuits are made of. Are you in the US?

Yes, we are in the US. She's not going to rock the boat because I have a medical disability, and if she was fired 1) She would have to find another job and 2) The insurance company at her new job would refuse to offer me health insurance coverage due to my pre-existing condition.

 

[Moonbear]

I've never figured that out, nor why a dry-cleaner might charge more to clean blouses than to clean dress shirts...is it because the buttons are on the wrong side?

Tell them they're your shirts when you go to the dry cleaner. If they charge less, ask why they charge more the weeks that your wife wears them.

I don't go to dry cleaners that have different prices for men's and women's shirts. I'm okay with them charging different prices for plain shirts vs fancier ones (i.e., something with lace or frills or something that makes it harder to clean or press correctly), but if it's by the gender of the wearer, I find another dry cleaner. They don't all charge different prices, and I'm not even sure that's legal anymore.

 

[Moonbear]

The insurance company at her new job would refuse to offer me health insurance coverage due to my pre-existing condition.

That's not allowed. If she has had continuous coverage, the new employer's insurance can't deny you coverage for a pre-existing condition covered on the previous employer's insurance (you would have to pay for the COBRA coverage between jobs though).

 

[Poop-Loops]

I haven't had a hair cut in 3 years.

 

[Moonbear]

I haven't had a hair cut in 3 years.

What about all the other hairs? (Ba dum bum <cymbal>)

 

[Poop-Loops]

http://www.uncov.com/assets/2007/6/29/fry-see-what-you-did-there-scaled.jpg

 

[turbo]

That's not allowed. If she has had continuous coverage, the new employer's insurance can't deny you coverage for a pre-existing condition covered on the previous employer's insurance (you would have to pay for the COBRA coverage between jobs though).

I wouldn't want to test that. I have had some really bad experiences with health insurance, and have had to pay for stuff that they refused to. If you have an illness/disability that is rare and your doctor wants to try some therapies or off-label drug treatments, be prepared to fight the insurance company and/or pay for the full cost out-of-pocket.

 

[ehrenfest]

Why on Earth would someone prefer a hack job on their head that people have been honest enough to let him know looks ridiculous when it's easier to either buzz it off or just let it keep growing long and pull it into a neat ponytail. Either option is more socially acceptable and far easier than hacking away piece by piece. I'm not even sure why getting a haircut wastes much time if all you're doing with the time is studying. If people flip through magazines while in a hairdresser's chair, you can just as easily flip through a textbook.

Moonbear that does not make sense. If I owned a razer I would buzz it all off. I gave reasons why I don't let it keep growing long in a previous post (it gets itchy, falls in my face, holds me back when I run, etc). When I was younger, I used to get haircuts from barbers and I cannot imagine doing anything productive during them. I would have to concentrate against hair falling on my book, people chatting away in the background, and other distractions. Furthermore, transporting myself to the barber takes time and then there is usually a wait.

This whole series of threads is bizarre and disturbing, and not wanting to get a haircut is actually the least of it. Thinking eating is a non-essential extra that should be minimized as much as possible is not particularly conducive to survival. When trying to cut out everything else in life except doing math and physics problems, even the things that keep one alive and healthy, and denying oneself all social interactions, well, that sounds like a rather obsessive sort of behavior. Perhaps a visit to a psychologist or psychiatrist is required.

Thanks for your concern Moonbear. This calls for some attention. I guess I should probably defend my mental health. The reason I began these threads was because I realized some of my lifestyle choices are not common and I wanted to see whether there was a substantive reason for that or not and in the cut-my-own-hair case, I was just interested in whether others were doing this also.

My point is that I am going to take some of your advice. For example, I have totally ditched my plan to eat only four items for the health reasons you and others gave in the "an optimal diet" thread. No one here has given any reason of similar caliber why I should stop cutting my own hair, so I will continue that. Moonbear's argument about good hair indicating good parenting skills was the most convincing but still there are still some problems with that argument. (I think Michael Jackson--the singer and child molester--had really nice hair but would make a horrible father. I am sure there are many other examples.)

Other people have also given good advice about stretching, religious tolerance, etc. If I were really mentally unhealthy, I would probably ignore this advice.

I think the members of PF are MUCH more helpful than a psychologist or psychiatrist would be. I don't think a psychologist or psychiatrist would understand the academic ambition behind my actions. Working in mathematics and science gives people a kind of mindset that most psychologists and psychiatrist lack. There was a chapter on Fraud and pscyhoanalysis in my AP Psychology book and pscyhologists and psychiatrists probably have to know that kind of stuff which I think is destructive to rational scientific thought.

 

[Cyrus]

Seriously, optimize your time with less of these threads. You don't want to cut your hair, fine. The rest of us do. You can spare us your lecturing. If you can't sit in a babers chair for half an our of your life once a month, you need to reevalute how your spending your time. You seem to have some sort of anti-social disorder.

 

[~christina~]

I was spoiled when I recently cut my hairo. :) Was charged 20 something for 2 hair washings(before hair cutting and after hair cut), hair cutting, hair blowdrying, and EVEN flat ironing my hair and I didn't even ask for that (I thought he was done after blowdrying my hair).

 

[stingray78]

Jajaja check this docu about barbershops:
http://www.tubepolis.com/play.php?q=barbershops&title=Barbershops%3A%2BUncut&id=kBw8uS1OjSw&img=http%253A%252F%252Fs4.ytimg.com%252Fvi%252FkBw8uS1OjSw%252Fdefault.jpg

 

[~christina~]

Jajaja check this docu about barbershops:
http://www.tubepolis.com/play.php?q=barbershops&title=Barbershops%3A%2BUncut&id=kBw8uS1OjSw&img=http%253A%252F%252Fs4.ytimg.com%252Fvi%252FkBw8uS1OjSw%252Fdefault.jpg

I don't think it's an everyday practice to sell stolen goods in a barber shop.

I can't believe what people will make into a show these days...like Survivor or the barbershop events...for example.

 

[rewebster]

Seriously, optimize your time with less of these threads. You don't want to cut your hair, fine. The rest of us do. You can spare us your lecturing. If you can't sit in a babers chair for half an our of your life once a month, you need to reevalute how your spending your time. You seem to have some sort of anti-social disorder.

funny

 

[gravenewworld]

Even if you try to shave your head yourself you still can't get around the ears and the neck line well at all. You can definitely tell when people shave off their own hair because they don't have a good line all the way around.


I go to a barber that still does straight razor shaves. They are the best, especially with the warm shaving cream. There are also all you can drink beers, a pool table, and guy magazines to read. You can hang out and BS for as long as you like.