The First Haircut

The first time your child rolls over, eats “solid” food and crawls are all significant milestones. Does a child’s first haircut also count as a significant milestone? I’m not sure of the answer, but I’m sharing my 14-month old son’s first haircut experience with you (and possibly with him to see when he’s older). So where does someone find a barber/stylist that specializes in kids’ haircuts? Let’s go to the mall!



We chose Cartoon Cuts, a chain with locations throughout the DC area that specializes in children’s haircuts, primarily since the salon is located fairly close to home. Plus, the salon employs some of the most patient people you’ll ever meet. I have no idea how they provide haircuts day after day to kids, many that I’m sure don’t want to be there and share their displeasure. One such kid was my son. I’ve mentioned before that he’s generally a happy child except when I scared him during the Steelers playoff game and when he gets his diaper changed. I have no idea why he hates the diaper-changing experience.

Anyway, as soon as he sat in the barber chair, he freaked out. Maybe he didn’t like the idea of being strapped into the chair, so we quickly went to Plan B meaning that he would sit on Daddy’s lap. That didn’t help. Lots of crying and tears when the apron went on and the scissors came out. Since he enjoys seeing his reflection, I tried to point out the numerous mirrors he could see. That didn’t help. I showed him the television located directly in front of him. Even though he is usually fascinated by the TV, that didn’t help. The stylist gave him a game to play with, and while that grabbed his attention for about 8 seconds, overall, that didn’t help. More crying. More tears.

After what was probably about 5 minutes but seemed like 55, my son’s first haircut was complete. He looked so handsome and mature. He also looked so grown-up. He could have gone straight from the mall to his Bar Mitzvah! As soon as he was out of the chair and back to being held by Daddy, he was fine. No crying and no more tears. He was his usual happy self walking through the mall and at dinner.

Overall, the haircut cost $15 after using a $2 off coupon and not including tip. Cartoon Cuts also offers a first haircut certificate, but they were out so I need to go back to get one. To answer your questions, yes, we took some of his hair and placed it in a Ziploc bag to commemorate the event. Plus, we’ll use the bag of hair for a Harry Potter spell at a later date to be determined.

In addition, yes, we took pictures to chronicle this potentially significant milestone. He looks miserable in every picture which should make for some fun and entertaining (and embarrassing) stories when he’s a teenager!