I mentioned many times how my 11-year-old daughter, PickyKidPix, wants to learn to be a hairstylist in order to earn money in high school. What I didn’t realize was how sneaky and persistent she has been to learn.
In the beginning, she would invite her friends over for a playdate and let them watch TV so they would sit still while she styled their hair. Her friends would leave with elaborate braids á la Katniss. And, after she received flat irons and curling irons for birthday gifts, with straight and/or curly hair; the opposite of what they came in with.
She’s watched over 200 hours of YouTube videos on how to style hair starting with Cute Girls Hairstyles and then branching off into Style and Beauty YouTubers including Michelle Phan, Kandee Johnson, Hey Kayli, and Bethany Mota. I hadn’t heard of any of these beauty Vloggers either, but since my bedroom has the best WiFi, I can now recognize their voices!!
I believe in If You Can’t Beat Them, Join Them so after realizing this was not going away, I got her a beauty school synthetic hair wig for Christmas along with a How To book and tools. My son named the hair mannequin “Leslie” and PickyKidPix gave her a classic bob.
Wendy at Safar in Boston. She’s been cutting my hair for the last 16 years!
Because PickyKidPix could only convince her friend Lily to let her trim her hair (it turned out really well!), I decided to let her trim my hair right before I got my hair cut. I had let my hair go for a few weeks longer than I should have, so it hung limply in my face. I told PickyKidPix to layer the front and this is what she did:
My first haircut from PickyKidPix. She did the front of my hair.
My hair stylist Wendy from Safar sympathized with PickyKidPix and kindly decided to help her by making her a video on how to cut the more difficult part of my hair: the back.
This is the back of my hair after Wendy cuts it.
She said that PickyKidPix was a natural and did a very good job on the front! I knew my daughter would not believe me that Wendy had complimented her work on my hair, so it’s included on the video! Honest, no prompting from me!
Wendy also sent my daughter instructional videos to help her learn hair-cutting techniques.
After hearing my daughter’s woes about finding clients willing to sit in her chair, we told Wendy that our boxing trainer Marc offered to let her cut his hair. PickyKidPix hesitated to seize this offer because she didn’t know how to layer the top of his head and blend it down the shorter sides.
Wendy also sent her this video to show my daughter how to cut men’s hair using clippers. My daughter would use scissors instead.
Hair Styling Picture Book Giveaway
I wouldn’t leave you with a book choice!
Birdie’s Big-Girl Hair (Birdie Series) by Sujean Rim
This adorable picture book also tells a mommy and me hair styling story, but in this case, young Birdie goes to the hair salon after deciding on a special hairstyle! [picture book, ages 3 and up]
I’m giving away Birdie’s Big Girl Hair. Please fill out the Rafflecopter to win!
I get my hair cut every 8 to 10 weeks, so I’ll keep you posted on the next haircut I get from my daughter that will include the back. In the meantime, she will watch those videos over and over again (she really is obsessed!) in order to learn these hair-cutting techniques.
Do your kids want to learn a skill that doesn’t really excite you? Please share! I’d love to hear!
p.s. Serge Safar, founder of Safar, did the hair and makeup for the recent Milly show at New York’s Fashion Week a few weeks ago. PickyKidPix says she knows how to do that ponytail look!
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I admit, I saw the title of this post, and something deep down and male said, click away! But, I didn’t, and I’m glad. Funny and clever insight into your family life while bringing in kiddie lit. Great post:) Good for PickyKidPix:)
Thanks so much Jim! I’ll let PickyKidPix know that she is getting your support! It always amazes her! 🙂
Picky Kid Pix sure is determined. To answer the question, I have never been brave enough my hair or any member of my family’s hair. I just don’t have the eye for proportion.
Hi Barbara,
I think it’s hard to cut your own hair and it seems easier to do than it really is to cut someone else’s. I used to cut my kids’ hair when they were toddlers but my husband said that I did a terrible job and made me stop. He would take them to Snip Its, a children’s hair salong, but I swear that I did a slightly better job than they did. LOL, my kids loved Snip Its. They got candy and a toy there everytime they got their hair cut!
For the right price, I’d let her cut mine right now. I can’t afford my hairdresser right now, but my hair ridiculously in need of a cut! That said, I usually won’t even let Super Cuts cut my hair. I once had an awful experience at one.
My husband cuts my sons hair these days (my son has been growing it out into kind of a Beatle bob) but it’s adequate – not a great cut. I am not brave enough. Haven’t cut my own hair since I was about 4 and horrified my family with what I did.
Hi Dee,
I’ll let her know! She is a good saver so she might be able to come up with the right price!
What a fabulous opportunity and Wendy is awesome to make those videos for your daughter. It is so much fun to find an area our kids are passionate about, isn’t it? Way to go, all around. Congratulations, Picky Kid Pix, keep up the great work and determination!
Hi Christine,
Thank you so much for your kind words for PickyKidPix. She is always so amazed and grateful that people root for her and her odd little hobbies. She is going to practice her hair cutting; Wendy said that during the summer she can watch the classes they hold for their staff on how to cut hair. It’s early on a Tuesday so she can’t go during the school year.
This is such a fun post, Mia! How fun to see all these grown-ups support your daughter’s passion!
Thanks so much Erica. The thing with PickyKidPix is that I’ve learned you just have to get out of her way. I’ve tried to stop her in the past and that just never worked. Now, I just get out of her way and/or give her choices to support her end goal. We get along much better this way! 🙂
You’re brave, Mia, and so wonderful about encouraging your daughter’s interest! If I still lived in MA, I’d let her try my hair (it’s a simple bob–why not!)
Do you know the picture book Bad Hare Day by Miriam Moss? It’s pretty funny, though I have to confess that we have it in German, not English. I’ll bet the puns are even better in English! It takes place in a hair salon and has great illustrations, so you might want to check it out.
Hi Maria,
Oh, the bob is actually the most difficult cut. It needs to be undercut in the back to lie correctly. It’s the cut they give new hairdressers to test their skills.
But PickyKidPix would have loved to cut your hair. I think she convinced our boxing trainer to have a go at his hair. It’s short and curly so it’s pretty easy. (Also, he can wear a hat to work if it turns out horribly. He does own the gym.)
Thanks for the great book recommendation. I will have to find it!!
I would LOVE to have Picky Kid Pix experiment on my hair – too bad we don’t live near you any more! I have super thick and pretty curly hair, and I got so sick of stylists not having a clue what to do with it that I’ve been cutting it myself for the past few years. I wouldn’t say I do a fabulous job, but it isn’t worse than most haircuts I’ve had. The back is definitely the toughest part to cut. I just cut it short short with clippers this past weekend…
Hi MaryAnne,
Well… PickyKidPix is visiting Stanford in two years so I’ll let her know. I actually think you did a great job on your hair!! And thick curly hair is pretty forgiving! You are brave to use clippers! PickyKidPix is learning scissors-over-comb which she tells me gives her more control. LOL!!!
Thanks, Mia! She can certainly experiment on my hair in a couple years if she comes out here – my kids, too, if she wants 🙂
I agree with her, too, that scissors over comb gives better control – except, not if your trying to cut the hair on your own head really short! I use scissors over comb to cut Mike’s hair, and Johnny’s (although Mike often takes the clippers to Johnny’s hair and cuts it short while I’m off somewhere. We disagree on how long his hair should be!)
Also, you are right – thick curly hair is super forgiving. Even if you cut it straight it won’t lay straight, so the “right” way to cut it is often not straight across.
Hi MaryAnne,
My hair stylist gave her a video on how to hold each curl and slice it across at a diagnol to get the curl to lay correctly. I had no idea!
Hi MaryAnne,
She might take you up on your offer! Hopefully, by then, she will be good at her craft!
You are brave! My dad lets my sister cut his hair but he pretty much shaves it really short.
My hobby – I can pick locks (as a hobby – locks interest me! I wouldn’t use it for evil!), and, for some reason, Mom and Dad agreed to let me learn how to do it.
Hmm… I just realized a new dream-job – a spyentist! Specializing in everything spy – from Hollywood’s spy tricks to real-life spy specialties! (of course, becoming a spy at some point would help me in my research…) 😉
Hi Erik,
Oh, I would love to learn to pick locks!! Do you have a special lock picking kit? I’ll bet that comes in handy if anyone is locked out of their house!!!
I think you would make an amazing spy!! I actually read about an older woman in Brookline who is a personal spy for hire. I guess — what do you call them — private investigator. She looks like a grandmother so she blends in. People hire her (a lot!) to check on their husbands!!
I do not cut my own kids’ hair as they have super curly hair that I have no experience with (until now).
Hi Valarie,
I have heard that super curly hair needs a special hair cutting technique of slicing through each curl on an angle to lighten it and make it hang correctly. I’ve never cut curly hair.
That was so nice of Wendy to make your daughter a video even though it might make her obsolete! I am an amateur stylist myself. I cut my own hair and my daughters but I don’t think I have the patience for a men’s cut!
My daughter has an American Girl book and video about hair styling. We have had a lot of fun with it!
Hi Ann,
Wendy keeps laughing saying that PickyKidPix will be better at hair cutting than she is soon. I doubt that. Wendy is really an artist with hair and other things.
Wow, you can cut hair too! My husband and son refuse to let PickyKidPix cut their hair which is a shame because they get their hair cut fairly often.
Sounds like your daughter likes hair styling too!!
Are you the best mom in the whole world? I think you are. And I’m thinking you also have the best hair stylist in the world- how sweet of her! I’m a little excited about these videos, too- I have a secret need to learn to cut hair, and all of my kids’ home hair cuts have turned out miserably…
Hi Jeanette,
We will share all our hair cutting videos with you!! Wendy sends a few to my daughter after each visit. It does look fun to cut hair!!
Wow! That’s fantastic! You are one good mama! I’m not sure I’d be so brave, but then I cut my hair off every two years to donate so I’m not that attached to my hair. Still, my daughter, scissors, hair… I’d be scared! lol I tweeted about your giveaway. 🙂
Wow! It looks great. I think she has a skill in hair dressing.
Thanks so much George! She’s given up but maybe your kind encouragement will motivate her!
Wow. You have a nice bonding time with your daughter. My wife and daughter also do the same to each other’s hair. It helps us save money instead of going to an expensive salon.
Hi Robert,
Thanks so much! It’s more convenient too!