Don’t be alarmed, but I just got my highly anticipated CreaClip in the mail today!
CreaClip is a cool home hair-cutting gadget that is getting some phenomenal reviews and demos all over the innernets (like here, here, here and here). Yes, they’re basically clips that help guide you through a haircut. I know, sounds highly suspect. I promise, it’s no joke. This shizz is for real.
My first impression is that they feel like they’re good quality, which is obviously a great sign. They have a nice weight to them, “snap” together in a satisfying way and are not made of cheap plastic. Yes, for essentially plastic clips they are not cheap, but they are not cheap in quality, either. Considering they cost less than a cheap haircut, I feel they are a good deal.
I’ve never bought something that felt so “infomercialy”, but the idea is pure genius and it’s so simple. It’s a fool-proof guide to where your hair needs to be cut; the right angle, the right shape, and even has a bubble-level-thing to allow you to cut straight across (or at a perfect angle if that’s your thing). After watching a bunch of videos (way more than I care to admit to), I KNEW it was a perfect product for me.
For one: I’m all about the DIY.
Two: It looks WAY too easy not to give it a shot.
Three: All the haircuts were gorgeous. Not one person messed it up!
Alrighty. Why am I SO excited about this? Full disclosure time.
I don’t just hate getting haircuts, I absolutely loathe it. Getting a haircut is the single-most stressful activity I can think of. I’d rather write a final exam or go to the gynecologist. Hell, either of those sound downright pleasant next to how I feel about haircuts.
I’m all for the idea of paying $170 for a yearly haircut that makes me look like a goddess, making my fine, wavy hair appear thick and luscious, with cascading waves and perfect volume. I hold out some hope my hair can look this way. At times, I’ve even seen it! After a good coconut conditioning, washing with some Aubrey’s, and a couple days of wear, it looks pretty great. It just doesn’t happen with a haircut. I always come out looking much, much worse than I did going in.
I’ve never met a hairstylist who “got” me or my hair, and honestly? What I want is not so complicated. A TRIM, some non-extreme layers, make sure my bangs suit my face. Since having long hair in my adult life (so since getting past shoulder length at about 22) I’ve had ONE haircut I liked, and that’s because I got some asymmetrical hipster thing, back when that’s what I wanted. That looked good, and I’m pretty sure it’s because stylists want to carve your hair, not trim it and clean it up. That’s ONE haircut in nearly 9 years that worked out for me. Those are some pretty bad odds.
Now, I just want longish, healthy, GOOD hair. I am specific, I am clear, I say it in English, French and hand gestures. I’ve brought in pictures. I’ve MADE them look at my hair dry, since they never seem to before sending me off to the sinks. What do I get? Thinned out with razors, my hair layered the shit out, my bangs somehow untouched. I am left with the limpest little scrap of hair. Once, when I asked for “light layers, with only a few inches difference between the longest and the shortest” I got exactly TWO layers. Like, a single step in my hair, if you can picture that crazy crap. I said it was fine, rushed home and trimmed off that bottom shelf pronto. Are stylists just plain mean? Really. (Sorry if I’m offending any stylists out there!)
Anyhow, for years I’ve been giving myself haircuts, and they work out ok. I don’t have a great relationship with my hair, but people seem to think it’s nice enough (perhaps some kind of latent anxiety about having had such short haircuts as a child enforced on me, to the point nobody knew if I were a girl or a boy, but that’s a whole other post. I’ve got hair issues.)
But now, my hair is LONG. Too long for fine hair, in my opinion. I crave the bounciness of shorter hair, some light layers in place, and so I’m SUPER excited to try out my Creaclip! We’re taking it out for a test drive tonight, so I’ll document it and report back, STAT! Wheee!!!
Wish me luck!!!!
Melisa June 6, 2012 at 1:06 am
I, too have a love-hate relationship with my hair. Perhaps it comes from the belief that my hair type/texture is better suited to Medieval times. Right now, it’s long (almost waist length)wavy/frizzy/fuzzy and limp. My hair hasn’t been this long in 7 years. Whenever I’d get my hair cut, It would never hold a hairstyle for more than 3 hours. No matter what was done at the salon, never mind recreating it, maintaining it past walking out the door, was a challenge. I’ve heard I have lovely hair and I’ve had glimpses of what others mean. But, truthfully, my hair is a stranger to me. I’ve always tried to fight what my hair was. It’s not truly straight or curly, but somewhere pitifully, in between. I never understood how my cousin with very curly hair could blow out her hair and keep it straight all week. I still don’t. (Her bangs never curled up either, even in the rain; so strange.) All I will say is that I, too, have never, ever, been satisfied, with most haircuts I’ve gotten in the past. Since I am low-maintenance…you know, one cut a year, I don’t mind spending the money, but dammit, know what you’re doing, especially with my type of hair. I’m trying to embrace my hair, but seriously, not having a hairstylist understand the kind of cut to give me is exasperating. My hair freakin’ frizzes at the slightest hint of moisture. Getting my hair done every week isn’t an option, because it doesn’t last. The only thing that brings me satisfaction is taking scissors to my own hair and doing whatever the hell I want, which I did three weeks ago and it was insanely freeing. I, obsessively watched a YouTube video, before jumping in and cutting away. And yeah, I thought to myself, ‘You don’t know what you’re doing’. But, my need to control the end result won out. My hair had body and movement that I hadn’t seen before. Was it perfect? No. But, I was totally psyched at being able to give myself something a professional couldn’t, which is not to say that all hair techs suck.How good they are depends on whether or not they continue with their education. Maybe I just live in the wrong zip. Who knows! I haven’t given up hope, but I am so tempted to buy the CreaClip. I want it more to trim my daughter’s long hair, than for me because ultimately, I do want that great salon experience for myself and I don’t think the CreaClip can replace a good hair tech; I’ve just not had the best luck in finding the right person. We’ll see. Soon, hopefully.