Recession Haircuts

One of my favorite haircuts ever took place during my senior year of college. One of my housemates set up a folding chair in our driveway and sat me down in it. He had a pair of clippers in one hand, a flask of whiskey in the other, and he proceeded to give me a perfect haircut.

As The Wall Street Journal reports, DIY haircuts aren't necessarily new, but the recession may be pushing more people to try it out at home (with or without the whiskey). According to a January poll of 600 salons, about 72 percent said they have seen a dropoff in customer spending. And sales of electric hair clippers and RoboCuts are growing.

On the "I Cut My Own Hair" Facebook group (yes, it exists), one commenter offers her secret for cutting long hair. "Make sure your hair is straight. Then use a striped sweater, match all the hair to one of the stripes in the front and cut. It will layer very nicely in the back."

For those who accidentally take out a chunk of hair - or an eyebrow - salons are seeing a spike in people looking to fix botched at-home cuts. A co-owner of the Minardi Salon in New York estimates that roughly a third of all business now consists of "corrective" styling.

(Photo by TheGiantVermin via Flickr/Creative Commons)