When I was growing up, my mother would cut my hair. I remember watching her technique in the mirror as I went through the various "hair stages" of my teen years. In the late 1970's I had it long and parted on the side, and in the early 1980s I opted for shorter hair parted in the middle. My mother did a great job every time and I went off to college in 1983 having never been to a barber.
As a typical broke freshman in college, I had little money for extras. In an effort to save myself a few bucks, I decided to cut my own hair -- recalling the countless times I watched my mother in the mirror. With a pair of paper-cutting scissors and a tiny cracked mirror, I gave it a shot at the age of 18. Well, suffice it to say it wasn't quite like my mother did it and I ended up wearing a hat for many weeks thereafter.
When I once again reached the point of needing my hair cut, I decided to try again. This time I got a better pair of scissors, a mirror without a crack, and went slower. I had better success, but the hat was once again needed for a time. Suffice it to say, I went through my college days without going to a barber -- and got to the point where a hat wasn't needed after a cutting! Keep in mind, this was long before the existence of the Internet. Today, there are many YouTube videos on how to cut your own hair.
As the years went by, I continued to cut my own hair. It was convenient and a money saver. If you figure that the average cost of a guy's haircut is $20, then I've saved nearly $4,000 since 1983 by cutting my own hair. On average, I cut/trim my hair every two to three months. A 2015 survey showed that 11 percent of men cut their own hair. It was reported that 12 percent allow a family member or friend cut their hair, while 32 percent go to a hair salon and 45 percent go to a barbershop.
I've been cutting my own hair for 36 years and will continue to do so until I'm simply unable to. Someday I may walk through the doors of a barbershop for the first time, but until then I'll be my own barber.
From Him, Through Him, For Him (Romans 11:36),
Paul J. Staso
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Visit my YouTube channel -- https://www.youtube.com/user/pacetrek
Click on any of the links below to see some of my adventure photos:
- United States in 2006 (3,260 miles solo in 108 days at age 41)
- Montana in 2008 (620 miles solo in 20 days at age 43)
- Alaska in 2009 (500 miles solo in 18 days at age 44)
- Germany in 2010 (500 miles solo in 21 days at age 45)
- The Mojave Desert in 2011 (506 miles solo in 17 days at age 46)
- Various Photos From Mileposts Gone By
- Students Worldwide Who Ran With Me Virtually
- Roadside Sights From My Running Adventures
- Some Cycling Moments From The Past
