Haircutting for Dummies [Paperback]

J. Elaine Spear (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Features tips for trimming and treating hair

Let the scissors fly and cut hair at home

Do you want to cut and style your family’s hair, but don’t know where to begin? Relax! This easy-to-follow guide shows you how to get salon- or barbershop-quality results on all types of hair – long, short, straight, curly, or kinky. You’ll discover how to care for your tools and maintain a haircut while you trim big dollars off your budget.

The Dummies Way

• Explanations in plain English
• "Get in, get out" information
• Icons and other navigational aids
• Tear-out cheat sheet
• Top ten lists
• A dash of humor and fun

From the Back Cover

Features tips for trimming and treating hair

Let the scissors fly and cut hair at home

Do you want to cut and style your family’s hair, but don’t know where to begin? Relax! This easy-to-follow guide shows you how to get salon- or barbershop-quality results on all types of hair – long, short, straight, curly, or kinky. You’ll discover how to care for your tools and maintain a haircut while you trim big dollars off your budget.

The Dummies Way

• Explanations in plain English
• "Get in, get out" information
• Icons and other navigational aids
• Tear-out cheat sheet
• Top ten lists
• A dash of humor and fun

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 360 pages
• Publisher: For Dummies (August 29, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 076455428X
• ISBN-13: 978-0764554285
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #186,395 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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  Books > Health, Mind & Body > Beauty & Fashion > Hair

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

110 of 112 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not a good book for the visual learner, December 29, 2003

By	A Kitchen and Housewares Enthusiast (Georgia USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Haircutting for Dummies (Paperback)

Spear offers many helpful tips, among them: 1) wetting the hair for 90 seconds before shampooing and 2) before cutting your bangs, in order to avoid cutting them too short, first wet them and allow the hair to dry for 3 minutes to determine shrinkage.

That said, the main purpose of this book is to teach ordinary people to cut hair, and I'm not sure it does this very well. I've been cutting my 3 boys' hair for many years, having learned by using common sense and by watching my stylist's technique as she cut my hair. I was hoping this book would help me finally understand how to give a good haircut. Not so.

If you are a visual learner, you will find it difficult to follow the step-by-step instructions, since there are few accompanying photos. At a minimum, the instructions for each type of haircut should be accompanied by a photo of that style, as well as head sketches or photos showing the progression of the haircut.

51 of 53 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good for the home stylist, December 17, 2002

By	Sandi Jones (Cincinnati, Ohio USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Haircutting for Dummies (Paperback)

This is not a professional stylist's manual, it's for HOME use. I think that she does spend a wee bit too much time trying to convince the reader to go off to cosmetology school, but then again, that is her field, and her interest. If you want a professional manual giving tips on how to do the hottest, newest styles, go to cosmetology school. If you want the basics of hair cutting, to trim your family's, or your own hair, this book is an ideal tool. As a mother who has been cutting the hair of a husband and 4 sons, I have found corrections to problems that I have been having as an amateur stylist. The first time that I skimmed this book I saw a few tips well worth the price of the book to polish the cuts that I have been giving, and to prevent errors in the future. At about the cost of one decent haircut, this book is a frugal investment.

43 of 46 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Not an easy book to follow, June 13, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Haircutting for Dummies (Paperback)

I feel bad giving this author 1 star because I can only imagine how difficult it is to write a book. And I'm sure she's a good stylist. But I'm a guy who wants to cut his own hair and I couldn't find any easy-to-follow instructions in this book. I truly am a haircutting 'dummy' so I need a book that will treat me like a dummy- and this isn't it. There were terms I didn't understand 100% but no glossary to explain them and the index was little help. Since the book is over 300 pages, I wasn't about to flip through the pages to find answers.

I would suggest that the next edition have far less talk and have far more photos with step-by-step instructions. As the old saying goes, a photo is worth a thousand words, but a drawing of hair is only worth about ten or twenty. Something like that...