Frugal Japan Wiki | Cut Your Own Hair browse

Topics: Hair

Learn how to cut your own hair. We bought an electric clipper and some hair-cutting scissors years ago for about $15, but that investment has saved us hundreds of dollars over the years.

I've never done this myself (way too afraid!), but apparently cutting your children's hair at home (and husbands, boyfriends', friends, siblings, what have you) is a bit of a fad among the "setsuyaku set" in Japan. They have a bunch of items that can help you with this, usually for sale in catalogs like Nissen (free at convenience stores) or others. These include "bibs" that catch the hair, good clippers and scissors, etc. My mom used to throw a garbage bag with a whole cut out over in on our heads, and snip away outside on the porch.

As far as other resources, the Tightwad Gazette has a very long section on home-hair cutting, how to divide hair to cut, how to practice, etc. She recommends spending a bit of cash to get proper barber's scissors, as it apparently really makes a difference. Also remember that cutting Western and Japanese hair is very different, so those of you cutting Japanese hair might want to ask Japanese housewives or your hair-dresser for any "tips".

For people with wirey hair (which leaves a big and difficult to clean mess), the only solution I could think of was a "Flowbee"! Those who watch TV shopping will be familiar with this, but it's basically clippers with a vacuum attachment. See the webpage! Some Americans really like it, and if your subject (victim?) is not picky about the results! See here for details: http://www.bestpriceontv.com/prod.cfm?prod=3317

Good scissors and lots of practice go a long way. I started cutting my husband's hair as a complete novice just prior to our marriage over 20 years ago. Now he won't let anyone else near it. Also, we got smart and made a deal...with a portion of the money we didn't spend on his haircuts, I earned a date to a restaurant for a meal out. It's been great. Of course, living here meant no babysitters which meant taking the whole family out. But that was okay because I also cut my three sons' and my daughter's hair.

About a year ago, I let my daughter start cutting my hair....The first couple of times were a real experience but nothing that couldn't be fixed by time and another try. Now I love her artistic styles and bemoan the fact that she's headed to the US for college in July. I also order highlighting kits from the States and do it myself...it really isn't hard...and saves a bundle of money while giving me a fresh look.

I cut my husband's hair. I have no qualifications, just lots of practice and a good pair of scissors! It's fun too! However, were we to be really serious frugalites I'd have to let him cut my hair too. So far it hasn't come to that!

I bought scissors for cutting hair at Daiei about 6 years ago, but they were only 2,000 yen and did not cut very well at all! I also bought a cute alligator-looking razor for cutting boys' hair, and it has worked very well (especially for the nape of the neck and little boy sideburns!) I can't remember the price, but I got it at Aka-chan Hompo.

However, the best scissors I ever bought were directly from my hairdresser. I got a low grade 'professional' set (straight blade and combed blade for thinning), and they work SO much better! Even the cheapest grade scissors, according to my stylist, can cost well over a hundred dollars in Japan. The pairs she used on my hair were over 600,000 each. I paid 30,000 yen for my set, which came with a case and cleaning cloth and hair clips, etc. It has been totally worth it because I can give both my kids and my husband a decent haircut every month. At a barber shop it would be at least 2-3,000 yen for the three of them, if not more, so in just 10 months the scissors have 'paid off'. (They should last a lifetime, if not more, so it is a nice heirloom for my kids, too!)

A professional hairdresser friend of mine in Texas, however, said she bought her scissors for just 50 bucks about 15 years ago, and has been quite satisfied with them. She said those Japanese prices were outrageous. She thought she could cut hair with just about any scissors!

For me though, I definitely felt the difference between supermarket scissors and 'professional' ones. If you're in in for the long haul, I definitely recommend the latter. Ask your hairdresser if s/he could order a pair for you.

Oh, one more thing, even though I thought I would need the thinning scissors, it really isn't necessary -- especially on kids. If you can't splurge on both pairs, just get the straight blade.

My husband usually cuts my hair. We need to get a better pair of scissors though. Some women at http://makeupalley.com were discussing trimming their own hair recently and one confessed that she uses a pair of dog scissors that she bought at a pet supply store! I guess they are much cheaper.

My family has only been to a hairdresser about 3 times in 4 years here in Japan, I've never been happy with the cuts. Solution: I've grown my hair long, I cut my son's hair but he's going for the surfer look so that's getting longer as well and for my husband...about 3yrs ago I picked up a battery operated hair trimmer and he gets a No.2 in summer, No.3 in winter. Besides that my son's hair is wavy so it is easy to hide mistakes. For scissors I just use 100 yen shop ones. You need to buy a fresh pair about every 6 months but well worth it.

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