When to cut?

I have already seen two-month-old babies brought for the first, others wouldn’t come before their second birthday. Keep in mind that every child is different, it’s not carved in stone when the first cut should be done. This small list shows the signs when the first haircut is supposed to be made:

• when the hair reaches the baby’s eyes and/or neck
• when the flyaway hair look like wings
• when your son is often complimented how „sweet little girl” he is

Getting prepared

The haircut is a new experience for the baby, it is useful to get prepared for fears and tears. Actually, I have noticed throughout these years that the parents are so much more frightened than the babies. Using the following tricks much of the inconvenience can be avoided:

• bring your little one to your next haircut to show what happens or bring him or her to the styling shop several times where you want to have the haircut to get familiar with the environment.
• bring another T-shirt or top with you to have a change if the child would be reluctant to accept the protecting cover. Sometimes it might help reminding the little boys that the super heros all wear cloaks like that ☺
• it’s worth scheduling your appointment in advance to make sure you’ve got the time you need. Select a comfortable time frame that does not affect his or her usual nap or snack and does not meet the usual whimpering periods.
• if you cannot go to a children’s hair shop, ask which stylist is the best with children. Many stylists don’t go with kids.
• if you cannot go to a children’s hair shop, take some books, favorite toys or candy. Being bored will get the worst of both of you. In our shops the kids can sit in little sports cars and can watch their favorite video. We’ve got balloons, bubble pipes, we even used to sing to distract the kids.

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During the first cut:

Even the most prepared and brave little child can get frightened when the moment comes. The following hints can help to achieve the smooth, positive experience:

• don’t use the word “cut”. Some children are afraid of it very much.  Use another expressions, eg. trimming, prettify.
• give a nickname to the noisy instruments, eg. wind machine for the hair dryer, or Mr Tickle for the collar trimmer so that the kids got relieved.
• don’t forget to be relaxed yourself! When the parent is worried or gets emotional, the little one immediately follows in the same mood. As mentioned earlier, the first cut is frequently harder for the parents than for the kids.
• If the little one cannot sit calmly in one place, there’s no problem with sitting in mummy’s or daddy’s lap. Of course the grown-ups do not need to sit into the race car seat :)
• don’t forget to keep the baby’s first lock of hair as a memory. The color, texture of the hair changes with age. In Tincses we issue a “Certificate of First Cut” where we put a lock of hair from the first cut.

After the first cut:

• the well deserved reward, a small gift, which is so much wished for, can make miracles :)
• The bigger the fun the better. Using the above hints the first, the second, the third and the umpteenth  cut will be the same lovely experience.