By Sabina Chen
If it had been up to me, I would have let Milo’s hair grow until I could tie it into a ponytail. But his hair was getting pretty unwieldy, covering his eyes, and hard to keep neat. For Daddy, the final straw was the fact that Milo’s hair was starting to snake down his back like a mullet. This was unacceptable. We had to get a haircut.
I imagined Milo’s first haircut would be a battle. He is cautious of strangers, let alone strangers playing his hair. I imagined a poor hair stylist trying take a little off his bangs and Milo tossing his head from side to side, screaming, “Don’t touch me!”
In an effort to make Milo’s hair cut a fun family event, I wanted a salon that catered to kids. My fellow MVMoms Blogger Meredith McKay had taken her daughter, Mia, to Snip-Its over a year ago. So I decided to give it a shot. We went to the location in Nashua, NH.
We told Milo we were going to Snip-Its to get a haircut and then we would go out for pizza. I printed out the $3 coupon for first-timers. I showed him the website, full of pink and green and a yellow pair of scissors with eyeballs and a tuft of hair: Snip-Its himself. Milo was game.
Shaggy-headed customer ready for action.
The salon is brightly decorated pinks, greens, and yellows, and is full of fun statues and decorations. Imagine Disneyland turned into a hair salon. Milo barely had time to explore before it was his turn. He eagerly climbed into a pink salon chair, was buckled up, and bright blue smock with penguins tied around his neck.
The stylist was obviously experienced working with 2-year-olds. She flipped on the bright green video monitor. Milo was mesmerized. He was still long enough to get most of the haircut done and when he started moving, it was out of curiosity rather than annoyance. The whole haircut took about 10 minutes.
Since this was Milo’s first haircut, we received a photo and a certificate with a lock of his hair. Milo also got to insert a card into a vending machine for a special prize (a rubber ducky). After the $3 first-timers’ coupon, the total came to $13.99 + tip.
The haircut was nothing fancy, just about an inch trimmed all the way around. I suppose I could buy myself a pair of scissors and try cutting his hair myself at home. Maybe I’ll do that next time. But for Milo’s first haircut, it was a nice treat to visit Snip-Its. I’m sure he would not have been so cooperative if Mommy had insisted on cutting his hair at home. In fact, Milo had such a good visit to the salon, that Daddy thinks we might be raising a budding metrosexual. That would be just fine. Can’t wait for our first mother/son mani-pedi.
Milo with his finished coif and a new friend.
