Boys Hair Cutting Tips from the Trenches

So--I am the mother of 3 boys.  2 of these boys need haircuts OFTEN--the littlest guy is still working on growing his from his baby hair phase.  But I know it won't be long--and I will have all 3 of them needing haircuts all too often!

Having said that...I have a confession.  I HATE CUTTING BOYS HAIR!!

But, being the cheap thrifty gal that I am, I usually end up cutting their hair anyways, because the times that I have decided to treat myself my boys to a professional haircut from the masters at great clips or the like--I usually have come home and fixed the haircut anyways--which didn't save me the TIME, the HASSLE, the MONEY, or the MESS!!!  So I have decided it is best if I just handle the haircutting situation myself...until the next time I am too lazy and decide to let someone else take a wack at it.  (get it?  Wack at it?  I know, I need help!) 

But having said all of that...I must say that I LOVE my boys with SHORT hair!  I have very handsome boys hidden behind all of their locks!!  And this is why I wanted to share this little hair cutting project with you!

Here are the 2 subjects:

So before I show you the after shots, let me share with you some of the tips that I have learned over the years to make this process of haircutting go a lot smoother--for ALL of us.  (And just a reminder--I AM NO PROFESSIONAL--just a desparate mom trying to find a method that works!

1.  I always have a jar full of suckers or candy nearby.  Ok--so I bribe them!  They can't complain as easily with candy in their mouths! 

2.  I position the haircutting chair in front of the TV in the family room.  This trick alone has made a HUGE difference!!   Because the children are far more entertained with what is on TV than by what was hanging on my fridge when we did the cuts in the kitchen. 

3.  Place a garbage bag under the chair and over the carpet in your living room.  Most of the hair will fall on the garbage bag and you can just throw it out with the garbage bag.  The other hair falls on the carpet--and it is SO MUCH EASIER to vacuum up the hair than it is to sweep it around and around and around your kitchen floor.  (I always felt like the hair was like the pink stuff in the cat in the hat book where the pink stuff gets on everything and you just move it from place to place and you never actually get rid of it.  Anyone else remember that book?).  So trust me--just go with the vacuum and leave the broom in the closet!

4.  I use clippers.  I used to do clippers on part of the hair and try and scissor up the top.  Well--this just takes too long and since I am not a professional--it really didn't look that great!  So now I just buzz them with different size guards.

5.  I have also learned am trying to learn NOT TO STRESS!  I am such a perfectionist--that I would obsess about the cut...trying for perfection.  But I have learned that they are little boys who don't really care what their hair looks like...and so I guess as long as they don't look dorky--I guess I shouldn't care SO MUCH.

Now that I have my system all worked out...haircuts are a lot less painful than they used to be!

So here are my men in their SHORT SUMMER CUTS (in before and after mode--of course):

Before:

After:

Before (with bribing sucker already at work):

After:

2 cute boys with cute short hair:

And now I can cross that project off my list for another 2 months!  Yippee!