A Hairy Situation

So with the recent Bears loss I decided to shave off my beastly man-beard I had going on for about the last 3 weeks. Don't get me wrong, this was no ZZ Top beard, but for me it was a lot of facial hair. For evidence, look no further than some recently tagged facebook photos of me. Anyway, on Monday I took the beard trimmer to it and brought it down to a 5 o'clock shadow length. I did not do the full shave-gel-and-razor job because I just don't want to be that exposed in the winter after having just been so burly for a few weeks of really cold weather. I haven't shaved since and don't plan to open up the shave gel can or unsheathe the razor for a few more weeks, but I also don't plan to get as grizzly as I was before the trim. I'll just keep weed-whacking it until the wind chill jumps above single-digit numbers.

Also, since I was in such a hair-shortening mood, I decided to get a haircut... a short one. I usually let me hair grow out to a few inches long until it is just too much to style. I don't have much of a hairstyle anyway, but once it hits that yield point, I can just never get it to look right. My hairline is full of cowlicks and it also tends to get curly at the ends the longer it gets. Those two factors contribute to a really hideous looking head of hair when I let it go for over a month after my last haircut. This past time - before buckling under the aggravation - I tried maybe to do a new thing where I style it to one side with a part and make the front do this swoop back thing. It looked good for a day and then I couldn't recreate that look. I got the idea from seeing Ryan Gosling on the Jimmy Kimmel Show - it worked for him, but I couldn't get that look to repeat more than once. So I went back under the scissors.

Usually when I get a haircut I get it cut pretty short so I don't have to get another haircut for awhile... because I hate my hair when its freshly cut (it never looks right for a few days) and I can't stand paying for it. And let's get one thing straight... I'm not a salon guy. I was when I was in high school because it was important then and I had a job and no bills so I had an abundance of expendable income. Now I don't live like that anymore so I opt for the "SportClips" or "Great Clips" do. Say what you will about the talent level of the stylists at those places, but it generally works out fine for me, so I don't need to hear about it. Plus I don't care that match so don't want to pay more than 20 bucks!

The biggest problem I have when getting my hair "did" is that I sort of panic when I get in the chair and have no idea how to communicate what I want done. I know what I want the outcome to be, so I usually just give them some mumbled description and let them do their thing. My go-to combo is the "finger width" trim on top with a specified number of clipper guard depth on the sides and back - between a #2 and #4. Sometimes I'll let them go with the clippers on top, like in the summer when I'm looking for a very close cut. I also like the ear and necklines cleaned up. Most of the time this works out and in the following days and weeks I'm able to apply enough product to make it passable as a hairstyle. That is until the aforementioned point-of-no-return length, of course.

This past Monday my cut turned out decently. Unfortunately she forgot to give enough care around my cowlicks and receding hairline and left the front there a little longer, so I had to do a few finishing touches in the mirror when I got home... no biggie though. The cut was 16 bucks including tip and she kept me there for about 8 minutes, so I was relatively satisfied. I was also able to "style" it this morning to be presentable enough to walk out of the house without a hat on. My expectations are low, so I'm easy to please in that department. At least until a month from now when I'm struggling with the style some morning and cursing the fact that it's time to bite the bullet and go back into the chair.

And that concludes my hair chronicles for the moment.