The Canary Report

28 Responses to “DIY: Skip the chemicals, get a buzz”

1. 

   linda
   

   22. Jul, 2009

   That’s LONG compared to what happened to me with my buzzer last night!!!
   I had to oil it as it was pulling my hair, and forgot to put the length guide back on before I went back at it. It’s real easy to look after though. No bad hair days when you get out of bed.

   Reply to this comment
2. 

   Susie Collins
   

   22. Jul, 2009

   Linda, HUGE LOL. By the way, I don’t really like the oil in the clippers. Does it bother you?

   Reply to this comment
3. 

   linda
   

   22. Jul, 2009

   I just went and took a whiff. Explains why I forgot to put the attachment back on.

   I just don’t smell it through my congestion and when the effects have kicked in, who knew what they were from? I probably thought it had to do with hanging my head upside down over the bathtub.

   Normally I’ve tried to oil it after use so it off-gasses before I use it again (I always wash what’s left of my hair afterwards anyway, as most of it is stuck all over the rest of me then)

   sigh. I need to have the thing sharpened, and worry it it will get contaminated with fragrance and other chems if I leave it anywhere.

   Reply to this comment
4. 

   Susie Collins
   

   22. Jul, 2009

   Yeah, that’s the rub, the clippers have their own set of problems. But it’s way better than a visit to the salon. I just cannot do that anymore.

   Reply to this comment
5. 

   linda
   

   22. Jul, 2009

   I’ve been cutting my own hair for a long long time.

   I used to use a pair of scizzors and cut whatever stood out from between my fingers as I combed them along my head. This worked well and left at least that much hair, but my knuckles were in danger of being too damaged when I started losing co-ordination from the MCS, so I went to a buzzer then. Much faster. But shorter.

   Reply to this comment
6. 

   linda
   

   22. Jul, 2009

   Hey Susie, you don’t have the finger pointing photo on the front page – it would be a hoot to see the 2 photos side by side (you and Franny)

   Chemicals and chemical free

   Reply to this comment
7. 

   Susie Collins
   

   22. Jul, 2009

   Linda, I wondered if I could cut it that way, just clipping what stuck out between the fingers. I do go over the whole cut after the buzz and cut out chunks all over so that it doesn’t look smooth.

   Heh. I changed the photo to the pointing thing. How funny is it about Franny and me posting similar photos at the same time?

   Reply to this comment
8. 

   linda
   

   22. Jul, 2009

   Priceless!
   I love it!

   Reply to this comment
9. 

   Gally Moravec
   

   22. Jul, 2009

   It looks beautiful! I had mine like that a year ago and got a lot of compliments.

   Reply to this comment
10. 

    Susie Collins
    

    22. Jul, 2009

    Gally, thanks much! I can’t believe I didn’t think of it YEARS ago! All those Tuesday afternoons at the salon I could have avoided all those chemicals, and saved all that money. When it grows out a couple weeks after the buzz, it looks exactly like the salon cut!

    Reply to this comment
11. 

    Denise in Honolulu
    

    23. Jul, 2009

    Susie, you look great.

    Reply to this comment
12. 

    Susie Collins
    

    23. Jul, 2009

    Oh thanks Denise! It’s calmed down a bit and isn’t sticking out all kooky anymore. It’s always better a few days after the cut. This was the shortest one ever!

    Reply to this comment
13. 

    Eva Caballe
    

    27. Jul, 2009

    Susie, you look beautiful!! I love your gray too. We should appreciate our natural hair color and go natural!
    I cut my own hair too, even before I had MCS.

    Reply to this comment
14. 

    Susie Collins
    

    27. Jul, 2009

    Thanks, Eva! I used to cut my own hair when it was long, but went to the salon every two months since I did the pixie cut. The buzz cut grows out to the pixie cut in a couple of weeks!

    Reply to this comment
15. 

    Leslie
    

    28. Jul, 2009

    you look awesome!
    I have very very long hair now, and I never ever use any kind of store bought chemical, soap, shampoo, conditioner or any product whatsoever. I haven’t used anything like that in my hair in about 7+ years. Occasionally I will use some lemon , or boiled lavender leaves as a rinse, but otherwise hot water does the trick.
    It does take some adjustment time for your hair to get used to not using anything to clean it (maybe a month or two)- but it’s worth unloading the burden of buying and using commercial products.

    Reply to this comment
16. 

    Susie Collins
    

    28. Jul, 2009

    Thanks, Leslie! The boiled lavender leaves rinse sounds great! I’ll have to try that.

    Reply to this comment
17. 

    Lou Cheese
    

    02. Aug, 2009

    I’ve been cutting my own hair for some time now. I have two tricks that helped me:

    I cut it one day but I’ll fine tune it a day or two after that. It helps get the areas behind the head that you can’t see so easily. The first day is the only day I use the trimmer, I’ll use regular hair styling scissors and the alligator-tooth thinning scissors the second day. The thinning scissors also help to blend different lengths of hair. For a guy who cuts his own hair, mine is fairly styled-razor close in the back and just over the ears, quite long on the top and in front but with a clean transition between the two.

    The other trick was to train myself to be left handed so I wouldn’t embarrass myself when using the scissors on that side of my head. I did that by twice transcribing a book called the Rule of Saint Benedict left-handed. Writing left handed also helped me to process the reverse image of cutting the hair on the back of my head in a mirror, and oddly enough, made it easy to write backwards with my right hand. Some Navy guys have to do that on aircraft carriers to track flights in progress, but I have no idea how they trained themselves to do it.

    Reply to this comment
18. 

    Susie Collins
    

    03. Aug, 2009

    Aloha Lou, my problem spot is the left side of the cowlick area, I always manage to mangle that area. I did try to really focus this time with the left hand maneuvering the clippers there. Then I noticed a gouge on the right side, lol. I do the same thing you do: I come back the next day and do some finishing stuff. And I cut out dozens of little chunks here and there all over with hair sheers so it doesn’t look all smooth. I should get some of those alligator tooth scissors! That’s a great idea.

    Reply to this comment
19. 

    Amanda Strader
    

    03. Aug, 2009

    I love your hair cut, Susie. There were several years where I had my husband trim my long hair! He was brave and did it for me. (Everyone knows how unpleasant it is to live with a woman having a bad hair day! LOL)
    As much as I’ve moved around, I’ve tried to find a small salon that only does hair and not nails. And then I schedule the first appointment of the day and hope I’ll survive the 45 minutes to an hour of exposure. Afterwards, I take a couple of Emergen-C packets along with my Amino-D-Tox formula.
    I try to limit my visits to when I am feeling strong, and then I also try to keep it to a maximum of 6 times a year. Of course, over the years my tolerances have fluctuated and I’ve had to have an adaptable spirit as well as an adaptable hair style!!

    Reply to this comment
20. 

    Susie Collins
    

    03. Aug, 2009

    Thank you, Amanda! I did that same routine as you describe for my salon appointments for years, except I went on Tuesdays, which was their slowest day. Like you, I went about 6 times a year. Then they switched around the stations, and the person stationed next to my hair cutter would do that cloud of hairspray routine all over her clients. I’d lose a day to recovery. That’s when I decided I couldn’t go back and had to figure out how to cut my hair myself. I had my husband give me my first buzz cut with the clippers earlier this year. It was hilarious. We were both laughing so hard. He tried to be so careful, and I was like, “JUST DO IT! THINK GI JANE!” Just like your husband, he didn’t want to mess up. Now I do it myself but I still mess up the cowlick area as you can see.

    Reply to this comment
21. 

    Jeanne
    

    06. Aug, 2009

    Susie,

    As you know from my Facebook and twitter comments, I just love this! When you mentioned this “shortest buzz ever”, I believe I was one of the first people who asked you to post pictures of it online. I just came across these pictures again here and just had to comment again. You did a great job!

    With my fibromyalgia, holding my arms in an upwards position is very tough. There have been many times over the last few years where I was physically unable to even wash my own hair and my husband had to wash it with the shower hose.

    I have struggled for years with the whole, “where can I safely get my hair cut with my MCS?” thing. Every time I find a place that works (going in on a slower day, going to a salon where my friend used to cut hair – where she’d schedule me at the deadest possible time, having a relative of mine cut it at her house until she became unable to do it)… something happens and I have to search for a new spot again.

    I just found a new place and I had my 3rd haircut there the other day. It is a very small salon and the guy who owns it is “IT”. He’s the only one working. No worries about hair spray clouds billowing over from the next chair. Next, I explained my situation to him from day one and he’s totally awesome. He schedules me after a bunch of “cuts only”… no coloring. He doesn’t do perms or nails at all. So no issue there. He himself has had his throat close up when he’s been in those big department stores with the nasty perfume counters. So he knows how serious reactions can be.

    For the first two cuts the salon was literally fragrance-free to my very sensitive nose… which is really amazing! This last cut was interesting. My daughter and I arrived about 15 minutes early for our cuts. We walked in, exchanged greetings with the owner, and headed for the waiting room. Then, I smelled something. I wasn’t sure what I smelled but I didn’t like it. It was a nice day. So, I took my daughter outside for that 15 minute gap.

    We were sitting outside and my daughter said, “Mom, it’s our turn”. Simultaneously, still out on the sidewalk, I smelled the offensive odor. It was coming from the woman who was before me. She had just walked by us. We walked inside. I politely explained that we were going to have to move quickly and why. I knew we might have to bail before getting both cuts. I really wanted to try to stick it out because my hair grows REALLY fast and my daughters grows equally fast. So, pushing it off to another time was not an attractive idea. We’d driven in from the next town and we were feeling/looking downright shaggy. (We grow so fast we go every 4 weeks)!

    He was very accommodating and started to zip right along to the hair-washing stage. I bring the special shampoo we use at home and he uses that. OK. So, my brain has had time to think about the smell being associated with that woman. It hit me that it was not salon-related at all! It was her stinking perfume!

    I asked if he could use the next chair over to his usual one to cut our hair so that heinous perfume wouldn’t get on our clothes. No problem. Her perfume was bothering him too! So we did that.

    In the meantime, the smell was dissipating rapidly. I was just amazed at how quickly. It turns out that he has a special air filter that must be pretty darn good. I have never had a smell that bad dissipate that quickly. He explained when I commented about how well his filter works that he changes the filters every 2 weeks. (The look on his face when he explained his 2 week rule tells me he is very fussy about these things). This is my kind of salon!!

    So, when all was said and done… The smell was short-lived and I never had serious symptoms take hold. I was never in that, “will I be OK to drive?” zone or anywhere near it. I was really pleased at how well his air filter worked. On top of all that, he said he’ll make a note in his book so that he never schedules me after that woman again! Now how cool is that? (Because we all know she’s likely to keep wearing her nasty fragrance).

    So, I was impressed. I am so grateful to have found a salon that is about as safe as they come. Since cutting my own hair isn’t an option for me with my fibromyalgia and neuropathy, I am thankful that I found a salon that works for me and is pretty darn close to home.

    Kudos to you for finding a method that works for you and for sharing your story to help others!

    Take care,

    Jeanne

    Reply to this comment
22. 

    Susie Collins
    

    06. Aug, 2009

    Aloha Jeanne, I loved your story! You are so lucky to have found someone so caring to cut your hair. YES, you were the one who asked for photos! Another fine mess you’ve gotten me into.

    Reply to this comment
23. 

    Jeanne
    

    09. Aug, 2009

    Susie,

    It took awhile to find someone I could work with for “fume-free” haircuts but I finally did it.

    You don’t fool me. If it were a “fine mess” you wouldn’t have hammed it up so much in those pictures. I think you secretly enjoyed showing off that cute buzz cut!

    Jeanne

    Reply to this comment
24. 

    Elaine Willis
    

    10. Aug, 2009

    Can you do my dentistry for me? I can’t get into a dentist’s office and my teeth need a professional cleaning! How many places can’t we go before we rise up and rebel! Truth is I found a home salon that caters to my sensitivity but not a dentist… What does THAT say about the world…

    Reply to this comment
25. 

    Susie Collins
    

    10. Aug, 2009

    Jeanne, you’re on to me.

    Elaine, I even get sick in my holistic dentist’s office, even before any work is done! It’s always traumatic. I think the suggestion to ask for oxygen during any procedure at the dentist is a good one, I’m going to do that next visit.

    Reply to this comment
26. 

    jo
    

    20. Nov, 2009

    Susie, Love the buzz BUT those are NOT gray hair, they are pure sterling threads that like glittering stars add a sparkle to life. To be celebrated for sure!

    I’ve been cutting my own hair for about 40 years. My hair is so thick and heavy and grows so fast that I cut it at least every other week. I just finger comb and chop chop. I do use a back mirror to watch what I do in back and sort to cut it in layers so it falls in its natural waves. It’s good hair and I am grateful.
    I never did tolerate salons well even before I became MCS because I’m very tender headed. My mom told be I could fix my own hair by the time I was 5 because I couldn’t stand to have anyone brush it.

    Reply to this comment
27. 

    Susie Collins
    

    20. Nov, 2009

    Aloha jo, I’ve been thinking about experimenting with a finger comb and chop chop. I’ve been doing the chop chop thing after the buzz cut b/c just the buzz is too smooth and even. We are both lucky that our hair cooperates with DIY cuts! You are so smart to have skipped salons from such a young age– wish I had been doing it myself all these years (about 10 years with short hair)– why was I doing something that exposed me to so many chemicals every six weeks? Even after I had MCS! Crazy.

    Reply to this comment
28. 

    carys
    

    05. Dec, 2009

    adorable, susie! i especially like the pointing picture. and i have a cowlick, too *g*

    i’ve cut my own hair since my teens (i’ll have my half century day in 16 months) and also do the “cut what sticks up between my fingers” for when i want it short and use a comb and scissors when i want it longer. i think i’ve had my hair professionally cut maybe twice in my life; it was waist length until i was 19, then a friend taught me to cut it when i decided to go short, and it’s never gotten far past my shoulders since. i think of it, but then the extra work (i’ve had cfids since i was 18) seems overwelming, or it gets to a particularly messy stage,a nd snipsnipsnip.

    year before last we got a trimmer, and wow, does it make short easier! it’s got about 8 length guides.

    a few years ago i did a mohawk and used purply pink on the remainder and loved it, but my goodness it would have been much simpler with the trimmer!

    Reply to this comment