license to cut

I'm a self taught stylist. I remember giving highlighting a try when I was sixteen on my friend Katie. It wasn't bad, but it sure wasn't even. So the second try I decided to give foiling a try since it seems basic enough: you take small strips, weave, put down some foil, apply bleach, and then fold the foil around the hair. And ta-da, we had just discovered how to give ourselves amazing highlights for about $4.

Once I got to college I realized that I needed to train someone to highlight my hair, so I found a friend (usually a roommate) who also wanted highlights, and I we would exchange services. I would usually do a quick demo to show her the basics and then let her highlight my hair. Over the years I have probably taught at least 8 people how to highlight hair. You would be amazed at how easy it is to learn. I mean, there are some tricks (like doing very crisp folds and working with another person to cut the time in half), but so far I really haven't had any mishaps. Even the "kinky streak" turned out to be one of my favorite hair memories.

I gave my first haircut my junior year in college when my roommate Kim and I were bored one night and both complained we needed a hair cut. And ta-da, we both learned how to cut hair. And I might add, we did an incredible job (Kim in fact remarked that it was the best haircut she had in awhile). After that we started giving friends haircuts. I still cut hair (my husband is my newest client).

When I was cutting my friend Jill's hair a few nights ago (again, we were swapping haircuts), she remarked how frightened stylists are when they hear that she often cuts and highlights hair without any formal training. And Jill is by far the best highlightess I have ever found. Her highlights were so even and subtle that I went six months before I even needed more.

The hilarious part about my self-taught stylist ability is that people stop me all the time on the street/metro/mall to ask who does my hair. And usually I saw, um a friend. They then ask for that person's contact information so they can get their hair done by them, and I have to break the news to them that they are not a trained stylist and usually taught by me. In fact yesterday while going home on the metro a girl behind me tapped my shoulder and asked me where I got my hair done. She is a stylist and wanted to know who did my hair so she could go learn from them. She almost died when I told her that my husband cuts my hair and I taught him how to.

The moral of the story: I believe anyone can learn how to cut hair. As my sister Diedra often says "if you can decorate a cake, you can cut hair." Apparently you just need a little creative urge.