Yesterday morning, looking in the mirror made me wish I could cut my own hair.
See, this wasn’t always a thing. In Nigeria, I had haircuts weekly or every 2 weeks - depending on free time, and need. The price was negligible, so I’d never had to budget for a haircut. It’s been about 3 years of $20-$30 haircuts. They add up, and sometimes I avoid going into the barbershop twice in one calendar month.
Realizing that many people simply cut their own hair, I decided to learn whenever the chance came. My cousin could and the convenience this ability brought, plus time & cost savings weren’t lost on me. So far I’d been able to manage shaving and doing a little side fade with my clippers.
Tuesday and I need to be in the office by afternoon, so there are only a few hours to sort out my hair situation. I grab the clippers and get to work. It’s somewhat straightforward - set the comb, trim the hair in an area to that level, repeat accordingly.
Halfway into it I realize that any mistakes will have me looking like a mad man for the rest of the day (at least). Moore’s law holds up because as I round up, the comb slips off and the naked blade runs through my hair, leaving a stroke that’s lower than everything else. A close look shows this, and some other weird looking patches.
Yesterday I cut my hair for the first time. It wasn’t perfect & the worst almost happened, but I learned how to get better. Sneaky feeling: this might be a great way to figure stuff out. Here’s what Shia LaBeouf says. I think I agree.