Post: #1

I stopped paying someone to cut my hair a few years ago , and wish I had done it a few decades ago. This was a few years ago when I decided to save money in as many ways as possible by learning to do as much as possible myself.

I though that it was idiotic for men to shave themselves but pay someone to cut their own hair. Why do you stop shaving at your sideburns and then pay someone to do the rest? Why not just pay someone to do everything? Even better, why not just do everything yourself?

So I started doing research into a machine that I can shave my face, will cut my hair and I can travel with. I looked at many brands like Braun, Wahl, Remington, Panasonic, Oster, Andis, but in the end it was a Philips that was the only clear winner.

Most hair clippers will only cut hair and will not do what an electric razor does and shave it off completely. Most electric razors will only shave hair off and will not cut hair unless you want it all 2mm long. Now they also have stubble trimmers, which will only trim hair to a few short lengths, but won't shave and won't give allow you to have longer hair. It is ridiculous that all these brands make different models that do different things, but not everything.

Philips has this amazing unit that does everything well. I bought it in 2011 and swear by it now. It's awesome because it will cut hair from 0mm up to 15 mm long and comes with travel pouch, hand strap mirror and it's cordless, rechargeable and has 100-240 volt power supply so you can use it anywhere, you will just need a plug adapter depending on where you are. It even swivels 180 degrees so cutting the hair on your back and sides is much more comfortable. Works great if you are left handed too. It also only has a few attachments and you select what length you want by turning a wheel that gives you length indicators in mm's. Some hair clippers have 20 attachments, this has 4.

http://www.amazon.com/Philips-Norelco-QC...ips+qc5550

They say it's designed for guys that want a bald head, but I use that attachment to shave my face and it's an awesome electric razor, so good that I sold my old Braun one and even my wet razor and only use this one to shave my face and it makes it baby smooth. Once a week I cut my hair with one of the other attachments. It only goes up to 15 mm, so if that is too short, you can get this model which has no travel case or shaving/balding attachment but has another clipper attachment that goes from 18 to 30 mm.

http://www.amazon.com/Philips-Norelco-QC...ips+qc5550

The best way to go is to do what I did. Buy the first model the QC5550, and then order that additional 18 to 30 mm clipper attachment as a part from philips.

http://philipsparts.fox-international.co...2203617941

Another thing that is really nice about it is that the replacement shaving cutter block and foil are only about $20. My old Braun was about $60 for these parts, ridiculous! Buy it here:

http://shaveroutlet.com/shaver-replaceme...-head.html

While you're at it, get this nose hair trimmer below. I can't live without it and it never needs batteries sharpening and has a lifetime warranty. My nose actually feels clean and clear and I can breathe better. I can't go more than about a week without using it, my nose just feels plugged up and gross after its gets too long.

http://www.amazon.com/Groom-Mate-Platinu...mer+manual

Anyways, thanks for reading and I highly recommend these products. They have saved me lots of $'s in haircuts and time also. If you want some tips on how to cut your hair, just do that I did and look at youtube videos. They have lots of tips and lessons on how to cut guys hair. I became a wizz pretty quick and now cut other guys hair from my friends and family.

Post: #2

I have went the other way.

After a life time of going to the same place and paying £6 a pop I decided to head to the big smoke and spend a little more.

£25 quid not braking the bank every 6 weeks. Proper stylist that's knows what they are doing.

My hair is the bomb.

Post: #3

(03-22-2013 07:24 PM)Ego Wrote:  I have went the other way.

After a life time of going to the same place and paying £6 a pop I decided to head to the big smoke and spend a little more.

£25 quid not braking the bank every 6 weeks. Proper stylist that's knows what they are doing.

My hair is the bomb.

You get it!

You need a hairstyle NOT a haircut.

Post: #4

If I wore a military crew cut, maybe I'd consider it... but my hair is curly. There's no way I'd try it myself. I've recently stopped going to my trusty barber and have gone the salon/hairstylist route also. $25-30 now instead of $10, but I'd rather show my hair off to maximum advantage.

Post: #5

Today, I got a crewcut a la Beckham. Found a new guy - he's excellent, used a straight razor for edges all around which in itself is an argument for using a barber. For example, burned the fuzz off my earlobes with a certain flame technique. Now that I think about it, I've never received a good haircut from one of these girls in her 20s - ever. Only average.

I've always scrimped on haircuts. Never again.

Post: #6

There is another way to get your hair cut for (almost) free. Bigger shops usually have staff in practice and you can offer to hair model for them. Dont worry about getting a shitty cut, just go to a fancy place and if the apprentice fucks it up, you get some fancy gay guy to fix it. That way, after 30 years with mediocre hair, I got THE hairstyle that works with me last month.
Seriously, thats the way im doing it.I pay 10€ tip and get a treatment worth 60€+. It usually just takes a little longer because the fancy gay mentor teaches her the different techniques and shit. Thats not that bad though, because while the guy goes on explaining you can learn quite a bit about your hair just listening to him. Thanks to him, for the first time in my life, I started to really think about my hair and started to understand it, how it grows and how I can use that knowledge in order to achieve the best result.
Best thing about it is that the girls are happy that you model for them, since its not that easy to get models on the regular in the first place. If you live in a bigger city that has some upper class hairstylists or expensive chains, just check those out and ask. Thank me later.

Post: #7

Yeah, if there is a barber school/beauty school in your area, you can sometimes get the students to cut it with supervision from the instructor. It's usually very cheap, and the quality is good. It can take a long time though... a 30 minute haircut might take an hour and a half, for instance, so not so good if you're going on your lunch break.

Post: #8

I hate going to places that test you like a piece of meat. In my experience most female hair cutters don't have passion for hair except for their own. Gay guys seem to take more pride in their work on the whole. That's just what I've found though in a limited sample.

Post: #9

Yeppers... Gay dudes can cut hair.

Post: #10

Another vote for getting a professional hair cut if you have anything other than a high and tight or buzz cut.

If anyone in Chicago needs a reference I got a guy in Boystown that cuts men's hair like a boss. He's a batshit crazy gay Chinese man from Hong Kong, but man can he cut hair... for a good price too. Most "stylists" train to learn how to cut women's hair, very few know anything about men's hair. Barbers are better than most but I find they tend to stick to pretty simplistic cuts, often resorting to clippers. I've never found anyone as good as my gay Chinese guy.

Post: #11

It's tempting but my hair is long and a haircut costs me 6$ every 2-3 months, so I don't see this ever paying off.

Post: #12

About a year ago I started hitting up expensive hairstylists and getting really nice haircuts for 40€ a pop.
None of the girls I met ever gave a shit. One was straight up disappointed when I took off my hat and had some hair on my head. Apparently she expected me to be bald and was disappointed abou my hair wtf? Another one told me she would let me fuck her if I kept my hat on. Seriously wtf? Apparently a 5€ wool hat is considered "sexy" while a 40€ professional haircut doesnt even get me some feedback. These bitches are stoo stupid to recognize quality.

Last week I said fuck it and shaved it all down to 1mm. So far I love it! Its cheap, hassle-free and makes me look like a psychopath.

Post: #13

(03-23-2013 05:40 AM)w00t Wrote:  About a year ago I started hitting up expensive hairstylists and getting really nice haircuts for 40€ a pop.
None of the girls I met ever gave a shit. One was straight up disappointed when I took off my hat and had some hair on my head. Apparently she expected me to be bald and was disappointed abou my hair wtf? Another one told me she would let me fuck her if I kept my hat on. Seriously wtf? Apparently a 5€ wool hat is considered "sexy" while a 40€ professional haircut doesnt even get me some feedback. These bitches are stoo stupid to recognize quality.

Last week I said fuck it and shaved it all down to 1mm. So far I love it! Its cheap, hassle-free and makes me look like a psychopath.

How old are you? Guys in their late 20's, 30's, and 40's can look much younger with a hat.

Post: #14

My hair is all the same length and it's down past my nipples. I don't need to get it styled or anything. I just get the ends trimmed up so it's even. Every 2-3 months is fine. $15 cut. $5 tip. Done.

Post: #15

I´m cutting my hair for over 20 years now. No, I don´t have a military cut. Ok, it takes some time to build the proper technic. I came up with the idea because the haircutters in Germany are unfriendly and expensive. But I got the real motivation from a documentary. The goverment of India gave blind man haircutter courses. Apparently it worked. So I said to myself if they can do it then I can do it, too.

Post: #16

Girls love longer hair. I wish I'd known this years ago. And long hair requires a proper salon. I drop around $200 every 3 months for the cut, tip, and some products. My hair gets me laid, and increases my confidence. So to me it's worth it.

Funny, in elementary school all the boys that had buzzed were the poor kids whose parents wouldn't take them to a barber. Don't be that guy.

Post: #17

When I first got the clippers I just buzzed my head once a week, simple and easy. Then I got bored with it and experimented more and more with different styles. I now have the classic short on the sides and long on top and no one would guess I cut it myself, it looks awesome. I got tips from youtube videos and now can't imagine paying someone to cut it. I agree that gay guys give the best cut and style for guys however. I've gotten pretty good at doing it myself. I got a medecine cabinet with a mirrored door that allows me to see the back and sides properly in my big bathroom mirror. Once you try to cut it yourself you will see it is pretty easy just to do it yourself at home and you can save so much money. It is really not hard to learn quickly.

It is great as an electric razor too. I used to have a wet safety razor and and an electric razor. I found that even if I used a wet razor to shave, I still needed an electric one for certain areas like sideburns. So I decided to get rid of the wet razor since it was still a very close shave with an electric razor. The safety razor is a closer shave, but the difference is not worth it, electrics nowadays get very close too. Then when I got the Philips clipper I sold the electric I had and now use the Philips for clipping and shaving and can't live without it.

Post: #18

I got mad respect to the OP if he can pull it off. But a bad haircut will trump a custom suit. The learning curve on self cuts could be a bitch. Interesting topic though.

Post: #19

I didn't realize so many guys on here are walking around looking like this

Post: #20

My hair grows very fast and very thick. I rather just buzz it myself then get it cut 2x a month.

Post: #21

Instead of focusing on how to succesfully be poor, why not focus on getting rich?

Post: #22

A good haircut saves you $$ in long run bc it will look decent further out.

Post: #23

One of the best things I've ever done for my looks was stop going to those cheap chain haircut places a la Supercuts and go to a real stylist who knows what the fuck she is doing, not those idiot girls with clippers.

I pay twice as much-which is still affordable- and my hair looks five times better.

Post: #24

Being going to this place for years. Great value.

Post: #25

I get a Seth Cohen afro as my hair grows. Girls like it though but I don't. I wish I had the facial structure to be able to get away with a buzz cut but I don't, so I get a proper stylist to do it. I don't mind paying £30 for it every 2 months, it makes me feel better.