Remember how excited I was when I found that coupon online for an $8.88 haircut?

I haven’t had a haircut since.

It wasn’t a horrible haircut, one that would send me into hiding and searching for collections of hats and scarves to wear for the next month, but it was okay… It was even, but quite a bit shorter than I asked for, and really not meant for my hair type, but she did what I asked of her (and then some).

So is my hair down to my knees now? no. I still get it cut. In the bathroom. With scissors. By myself. FOR FREE.

I am letting my hair grow out just a little, but I do keep it neat and trim, and that includes a trim once a month or two, and trimming my bangs every few weeks. Those of us with bangs know that you can get them trimmed for a small fee (around $7 usually) but that can add up! Do that every 2 weeks and you spend $182 a year to have someone take off a quarter of an inch of fringe!

Do it yourself:
*you will need a sharp pair of scissors- ones meant for cutting hair are probably best, but I have this awesome pair of kid’s fiscars I got at a fabric store when I was 10 and they work perfectly.

*A mirror helps with the back of your hair.

*do not attempt to do fancy cuts without learning techniques. I just do a basic trim, and feather the ends. Everyone’s hair is different, every cut is different. I trim my boyfriend’s super curly hair, and it is much more forgiving than my baby fine strands.

*less is more. Especially with bangs. Really really short bangs can be cute, but not always. Always go slowly and evenly. You can always cut more off if it isn’t short enough.

*cleanup tip: take the rug out of the bathroom before starting. Spread a trash bag, newspaper, junk mail, etc. over the sink before starting and make sure your toothbrush is out of range of flying bits of hair. No one likes to brush their teeth with bits of hair.

*to wet or not to wet: I don’t personally- I have a better idea of how it will look afterwards if it is dry. I always wash my hair after trimming. Better yet: shower afterwards to wash all little hairs away.

*research before you start: I found several online sources of amateur hair cutting advice like this, this and this. Take what you need, and experiment (gently).

FREE! you can’t get better than that.

My haircut went alright, she seemed a bit worried and spent the good part of an hour blow drying the back of my hair, snipping with scissors, wetting it down, snipping with scissors,  blow drying it, etc.

All in all, my hair is shorter, and while it’s not the greatest cut ever, it gives me something to work with.
On a scale from 1 to 10, 1 being cheap and “you get what you pay for” quality, 10 being cheap and “holy cow, I need to do the got-a-good-deal dance,” my rating would be a 6.5. OK cut, cheap price, she did what I asked, and tried really hard to make it perfect, yet, I could tell she was not experienced.

Great Clips: OK-but-cheap Clips.

I need a haircut!

That could cost nearly $100 for some, but for me, $8.88 (plus tip).

Now realize, this is no fancy salon, but Great Clips, one of many family haircut chains, and a decent one at that.  Fantastic Sam’s is pretty good too, but I usually walk out of there sans twenty bucks or more, and well, right now that’s not gonna fly. We’re not gonna get into my experience with Supercuts.  Let’s just say they have a satisfaction guarantee, and I got my money back, which I then spent at Fantastic Sam’s shaping up my mangled ‘do. 

Great Clips usually runs at $12.99 for adults, and coupons are found aplenty. Looks like earlier in the year there was a $5.99 haircut deal, but for now, $8.88 will have to do (plus tip- don’t forget the tip).

The $8.88 haircut at Great Clips is via this coupon for the San Diego region. You can do a google search for Great Clips coupons in your area, though this coupon has no specific city mentioned on it (and besides the unfortunate spelling error, it’s so easy to just print and go!). 

Gosh, seems like just yesterday we were getting messy hands clipping coupons from the sunday paper. The internets sure make it easy to save a few dollars.

Stay tuned for a Great Clips followup. (hopefully I won’t be crying and wearing hats for the next month or so)