The Poor Man's Method of Home Hair Cuts!

I'll be the first person to admit that I'm extremely cheap. If there's any possible way to save a few dollars I've already figured out how. In most cases I'd be willing to sacrifice a bit of quality to save a bunch of dough. With that in mind, I purchased a Wahl Color Coded Hair Cutting Clipper about a year ago at a local Walmart. Since then I've estimated that I've saved approximately $200 by cutting my own hair.

Wahl makes it cheap and easy to do it yourself.... so long as you don't mind a few missed hairs here and there and you don't expect anything more than a buzz cut.

The Kit
Included with this kit is a comb, eight different cutting guides, a brush for the cutter, an ear guide for cutting around your ears, and a few other miscellaneous attachments. Rather than the standard 1, 2, 3, 4 labeling system that most cutters use, Wahl created their own color coded system to let users select their hair length. After a year of using this product I have the cutter itself as well as the length guide that I use. Everything else was either thrown away or lost. I never really used the ear guides, and cleaning the cutter is really as simple as running it through some water and letting it air dry.

Maintenance
This cutter sits in a shelf of my bathroom until it's time for a haircut, I use it, and it goes right back onto the shelf after a quick rinse. It has not required any sort of maintenance, lubrication, or other specialized nonsense since I started using it. The simplicity of the on/off switch makes it a very simple device. I'm sure that the blades will eventually need to be sharpened... but after a year of regular use there is no indication that that time is coming up soon.

Personal Use
The power cord is only about five feet long so this cutter is clearly designed to be used in a bathroom or another location that has easy access to a convenient plug. There is no built in fault or circuit breaker to this shaver, so if you use it in your bathroom I'd recommend plugging it into a GFI outlet. I cut my own hair in about 10 minutes. If I'm really picky I then make my wife clean up the back of my head where I can't see or reach.

The Look of the Cut
So long as you don't expect much out of your haircut, this clipper gives you a professional looking haircut every time. Granted I just opt for the "military style high and tight" look... but nobody could tell the difference between my do it yourself job compared to a professional $20-30 haircut from a barber.

With the various color coded length guides you can cut lengths of 1/8" 1/4" 3/8" 1/2" 5/8" 3/4" 7/8" or 1". I use the 3/8" guide every time to get the length that I want. When my wife helps me out with the back of my head we'll take the guide off and use the clipper to tidy everything up.

It is a little difficult to cut around my ears with this clipper... partially because I'm honestly too lazy to really try that hard. I find it easier to just take a pair of scissors and trim around my ears after using the clipper.

My Recommendation
If you want nothing more than the same boring haircut each and every time, this is a good tool to purchase and a cheap way to accomplish an otherwise expensive experience. Good for children, teenagers, or adults that just need a basic haircut without any type of fuss. If you fall into the 'pretty boy' category and have to have you golden locks layered just right... this probably isn't the best investment you could make.