I learned to cut boy’s hair when I was the young, broke mother of two little boys. I had a friend who was the young, broke mother of two little girls – and a former hairdresser. She taught me how to cut boy’s hair, and I taught her how to sew.

Teaching each other how to perform the skills in which we were accomplished was a much better decision than simply bartering them as we needed. Because my friend eventually moved away. But she left me with a life skill; I can still cut hair. And still do – for my husband and grandsons.

I would say I cannot tell you how much money I saved cutting my husband’s, son’s, and now grandson’s hair. But I can. Using $13 dollars as the average cost of a no-frills haircut (including tip) over the course of years I’ve done each of them, I’ve saved at least $7,500 cutting my family’s hair over the years.

Not chump change, eh? So let’s teach you how to cut boy’s hair (and your husband’s!) and save lots of money too.

ASSEMBLE THE RIGHT TOOLS

You can scrape by and make-do with some tools, but you’ll want to invest in good tools (not necessarily top-of-the-line) that will work for years to come. Always buy quality when you’re buying something to last. You’ll need:

  • Cape to keep hair off clothing and chair. A large garbage bag will do the job if needed.
  • Spray water bottle. You can use dollar store version.
  • Clippers. Don’t skimp here. A good clipper set, properly maintained, can last 20+ years.
  • Cutting scissors. Don’t skimp here either. You don’t want to try to cut a kid’s hair with cheap scissors. Trust me.
  • T-edger. Used to make perfect sideburn and necklines, but you can use your clippers if you bought good ones.
  • Thinning shears. These fix a multitude of beginner hair-cutting sins.
  • Hair gel. For that pro-finish. But you could use a spray bottle of sugar-water with a drop of rosemary essential oil.

HOW TO CUT BOY’S HAIR

A series of still photographs is not nearly as helpful as video instruction. I watched several YouTube videos to find the best so you don’t have to wade through them. The one I selected below wasn’t the most popular (perhaps because it’s 22 minutes and people want to learn life skills in 5 minutes), but it was the most instructional and helpful.

In this video, you’ll learn: how to use clippers properly, where to stand when you’re working, professional cutting tips, how to cross-check your work, how to fix blending mistakes and tame a cowlick, and how to keep from cutting yourself.

YouTube: Hair 101 with April

You can find more practical articles in the Teach Me To series, here. And save this article for future reference by pinning it to your own Pinterest board.