Perhaps nothing reveals our homebound state more clearly than our hair. Our roots are definitely showing, and we’re shaggier than a 1970s rug.
That’s because Gov. Jay Inslee did not include salons and barbershops among essential businesses permitted to operate under the stay-at-home order intended to curb the spread of COVID-19.
Some people have resorted to the beauty black market by getting their hair cut or colored by stylists willing to make house calls, or traveling to hairdressers’ homes to get beauty services.
Others are really getting into the pioneer spirit and approaching hair care as simply another DIY skill to be mastered during quarantine. You’re already making your own protective face masks and baking your own bread, so why not? Clark County residents are nothing if not self-reliant.
We asked Columbian readers to tell us how they’re dealing with their hair: home-dyeing, learning how to cut hair via YouTube, or just letting their kids look like Cousin Itt from “The Addams Family.”
Fuhgettaboutit
Some readers figure their hair is a lost cause.
Echo Langley summed up the state of her hair in just three words: “Out of control.” Jackie Walker confessed, “It would look much worse if I did my own.”
Georgie Bolin-Reusser is letting her hair grow out. “My stylist would be super cranky if I tried trimming it myself,” she said. Mandy Marie reports that her husband looks like a movie star — if by “movie star” you mean the sasquatch from “Harry and the Hendersons.”
Family af-hair
Parents are cutting kids’ hair, kids are cutting parents’ hair, and the results range from proficient to entertaining.
Kelly Chilberg let her daughters, ages 15 and 11, give her bangs. She’s pleased with how her hair turned out (as pictured on this page).
Gina Marquardt’s daughter helped her touch up her roots, although she said they haven’t tried cutting or trimming (yet). Kimberly Kulczyk trimmed her own bangs and then cut her 14-year-old nephew’s hair with “pet clippers and dull scissors.” The result: definitely better than most poodles.
Pro tips
For those who want to try a little CIY (Cut It Yourself), we thought we’d check in with a professional. Jason Brown worked at Moe’s Barber Shop in Vancouver’s Uptown Village for many years. Moe’s is permanently closed now — something that was planned even before the pandemic hit. When hair salons and barbershops can safely open again, Brown will be stationed at Union Hair Lounge, www.unionhairlounge.com, 204 W. Evergreen Blvd., in Vancouver.
“I did cut my own hair once,” Brown said. “It obviously doesn’t go as good as when I let other people do it, even for someone trained.”
Fortunately, he has some tips to pass on from his experience to those brave souls out there who are determined to stay well-groomed.
“If they can let a significant other or a roommate do it for them, that would be the best option,” Brown said.
For those who need (or prefer) to cut their own hair, here’s how:
“Do a little set-up where you have three mirrors, so you can kind of see the back of your head,” Brown said. “If it’s long hair, you just try to cut a straight line across the bottom. I wouldn’t suggest putting any layers in because you might end up cutting your fingers.
“If you’re doing a short haircut, start with the longest guard or blade for the clippers, and slowly work down to the shortest at the bottom. A lot of people do the opposite, they start with the shortest and try to work back up,” said Brown. “And then never let the blade stop with it flat to your head, always go with a scooping outward motion.”
If you have clippers, great, but if you don’t, Brown said, just use the best scissors you have on hand.
