Among other things, for many of us, staying home during the coronavirus pandemic has meant letting your hair grow out. (There are plenty worse things, we know!) For many parents, it has also meant watching your kids' hair grow a bit unruly.
If you've been hesitant and doubted your ability to give a good cut, our friend and beauty & style pro Gretta Monahan is here to help with her best tips for giving your kids quick and easy haircuts — with step-by-step instructions for an all-over toddler cut and trimming bangs for an older child. (Hey, this time- and money-saving skill can come in handy even when you're not staying inside anymore!)
Gretta has two young boys — a 9-year-old named Kai and an almost-3-year-old named Rio — so she knows the drill.
GETTING SET UP TO CUT YOUR KIDS' HAIR AT HOME
What you'll need:
- Garbage bag
- Spray bottle
- Sharp scissors
- Comb
- Hair clip
1. Make a cutting cape using a garbage bag.
"Kids get really itchy and irritated during haircuts, and we don't need that," Gretta says. "[With] a garbage bag, cut out a neck hole and little arm holes."
2. Add a kids conditioner to your spray bottle.
Mixing a little bit of conditioner with the water in your spray bottle will help with tangles, the mom of two says.
3. Find a distraction for toddlers.
To keep her youngest son, Rio, from squirming during the haircut, Gretta puts on a movie to distract him — and when that doesn't work, she lets him watch home videos on her phone. Works like a charm!
HOW TO TRIM BANGS FOR AN OLDER CHILD
If your child wants to grow his or her hair out like Kai does — you can still trim the bangs.
1. Using a spray bottle, wet the hair with a mixture of water and a bit of kids conditioner.
2. Part the hair exactly how your child wears it and clip the back section of the hair, leaving only the bangs hanging in the front — ready to be trimmed.
3. Starting in the front, and working your way around the sides of the head, loosely comb pieces of hair with the wide section of the come and point-cut the ends on an angle.
"When you're not cutting the entire head, you want it to look as though it's still one haircut," Gretta adds. "So by doing the point-cutting technique and matching it up on the side, you're good to go."
"[The part of the comb with thin teeth] grabs and pulls the hair too tight," she says. "We don't need to do that. Hair is elastic, and it will bounce up, and you may end up with a haircut that's much shorter than you bargained for."
HOW TO DO A SIMPLE ALL-OVER TODDLER HAIRCUT
1. Using a spray bottle, wet the hair with a mixture of water and a bit of kids conditioner.
2. Comb the hair into sections as it naturally falls all the way around the head.
3. Starting in the front and working your way around to the back of the head, loosely comb pieces of hair with the wide section of the comb and point-cut the ends.
"By trimming the edges into points," the style pro says, "you're just doing a more forgiving cut that will blend and fall easily."
"I like to start at the front of the head, because, honestly, if [the kids] go crazy, at least the front's done," Gretta explains. "You can always go back and do the back."
