CUT THE HIPPIE KID'S HAIR

January 29, 2006 8:19 PM

Behold! I am one of those increasingly multiplying long haired adolescent boys! I NEED A HAIRCUT!

I am 16.
My hair is very long.
My hair is very difficult to control.
My hair has been living under my favorite hat for the past few weeks because I simply do not want to deal with it.
My hair most certainly needs a cut.
I have a large head.
I apparently love very terse boring short sentences.

I need reccomendations regarding a relatively cheap (<$30), but good haircut in Manhattan.

I can't find a camera right now but i could post a picture upon request.

posted by weaponsgradecarp to clothing, beauty, & fashion (15 comments total)

Hair Box
203 Spring St
New York, NY 10012

(it's around 10 or 12 bucks for a men's haircut)
posted by reverendX at 8:29 PM on January 29, 2006

You could go to the Bumble & Bumble school and have it cut for free. This might take awhile, since first you go on a Monday night and they look at your hair, and then they make you an appointment, but this would definitely give you a cool hairdo. I did it twice and it turned out great both times.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 8:44 PM on January 29, 2006 [1 favorite has favorites]

Shave it all off.
Free and strangely liberating.

It'll always grow back.
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 8:49 PM on January 29, 2006

Astor Place (on Astor Place, naturally).

If you're considering chopping that hair, perhaps figure out how to donate it to make a wig for a cancer patient.
posted by jellicle at 8:51 PM on January 29, 2006

Trust me, it won't always grow back.
posted by ryanissuper at 9:05 PM on January 29, 2006

Hey, congrats on realizing it at 16. I made it 'til almost 20 before I started noticing that (1) I saw lots of older guys walking around with long hair and (2) none of them — absolutely NONE of them older than about 25 — looked good. At which point it became a simple matter of rhetorically asking, "What, do I think I'm going to be the exception?"

I've appreciated it every summer day since. Short hair rocks.
posted by cribcage at 9:12 PM on January 29, 2006

Bumble & Bumble takes forever to set up; they call you when they need your hair type. This is good if you want to know what hairstyle a professional thinks looks best on you, but it's bad if you need your hair cut.

With that, I second Astor Place Hair. Astor and Broadway, underground. It should be under $15ish if you want something plain.
posted by booksandlibretti at 9:27 PM on January 29, 2006

Let me give you a tip about Astor Place Hair: There are many barbers, more than twenty I think, and at the cash register there is a board with nails on it, one for each barber. When you pay, they stick your receipt on the nail of your barber.

When you enter take a look at that board and pick a barber with lots of receipts on his nail, even if you have to wait.
posted by StickyCarpet at 9:45 PM on January 29, 2006

Barber college. Last time I went to one it was $1. It's been a while, now my friends wife cuts my hair. The college also offers a $1 shave, but I was never brave enough to try one.
posted by Marky at 10:25 PM on January 29, 2006

Locks of Love provides hair prosthetics for children with long-term medical hair loss.
The minimum acceptable length is ten inches. If you have hair that long and are feeling charitable, Google for instructions.
posted by Cranberry at 10:59 PM on January 29, 2006

Haven't been there in a while, but Dramatics on 5th Ave. around 18th St. usually does a decent job. It should be about $20, not including tip.

Or you could buy a pair of barber's scissors and a hand mirror and start cutting your own hair. I've been mostly doing this for the last year or so, because I got frustrated that nobody I paid to cut my hair could ever make it look the way I wanted, even when I paid as much as $60.

WARNING: Cut very small amounts of hair with each cut... better to cut not enough than too much. I usually get my hair wet, then comb it upwards on the sides and back, so that it sticks straight out from my head. Then I make lots of small cuts upwards from below, reducing the length gradually and uniformly.

Google for more tips. And when you're on the subway, look at other people's haircuts for ideas.

Over time you'll figure out what works best for your hair, and for the look you want.
posted by Artifice_Eternity at 11:37 PM on January 29, 2006

Buy some clippers and buzz it. Really.

Spend $20 once for the clippers (that'll get you a set with clippers, attachments, a mirror, oil for the clippers, and a cape -- for being a superhero I guess), then every two to four weeks it takes 15-20 minutes if you're leaving some on top or 5 minutes to take it down to the scalp.

DIY instructions: go to the bathroom, buzz your hair (mirror comes in handy to check the back of your noggin), shower, clean up the mess. Done.

I spent $10-$30 every three to five weeks for many years, then spent $20 for clippers five years ago and nothing since. And I can trim it up daily if I want. For free. I imagine I'll have to eventually buy a new set of clippers. Big deal.

Bonus: it takes one quick towel swipe to dry (if that). If I leave something on top and want to run a comb/brush through it, it's gotta be quick because it's dry in like 30 seconds. Messed up hair? Give me a break. If you didn't shower for a week, it'd still look decent (you might not, but your hair would).
posted by mumeishi at 6:45 AM on January 30, 2006

I ditto mumeishi. I'm 54, probably considerable older than he, and did it because I was beginning to bald a bit. The ancillary benefits of kissing haircuts and hair care goodbye are just wonderful, tho, and I'm never going back. My 20 year-old son, however, has no interest in copying me, and I'll understand if you don't either.
posted by mojohand at 1:14 PM on January 30, 2006

nice story, cribcage, now i feel ugly.. we (me and my long-haired ugly brethren) just want to enjoy it while it lasts
posted by suni at 5:22 PM on January 30, 2006

The Hair Box gets my vote. The cut was perfectly decent and affordable. An unpretentious joint with a touch of the surreal. How can you argue with a place that has a P.G. Wodehouse quote stencilled on the wall? This game show I Have a Secret was on the tube. Apparently, tonight's contestant holds a world record for being the oldest male stripper. And didn't everyone in the shop drop what they were doing to watch his act.
posted by maniabug at 5:15 PM on July 28, 2006