The current pandemic has forced many Islanders into a role they didn’t think they were cut out for – a barber.
While the health crisis has forced barber shops to shut down, that doesn’t mean hair has stopped growing.
So, people are starting to take matters into, well, their own hands.
Lesley Larter of Hampshire said her four-year-old son, Owen, and her husband, Brodie, were both well overdue for a haircut recently. When Larter’s mother recently cut her father’s hair and her sister gave Lesley’s brother-in-law a trim, with both advising that it’s not hard, she decided to give it a try and cut Owen’s hair.
“I was genuinely excited. (I thought) my first time cutting hair was going pretty good," Larter says, “until I went back to get a stray hair on the top of his head and realized, much too late, that I forgot to put the guard back on after trimming around his neck and ears.’’
She had inadvertently shaved a rather noticeable patch of hair on the left side, just above the youngster’s forehead.
“A moment of panic quickly turned into uncontrollable laughter. It was the best laugh we’ve had in a while, which was needed in this current stressful time we are in. Owen was a great sport. It didn’t bother him a bit and he said, ‘It’s OK, Mommy’’, as soon as it happened. I still giggle every time I look at him."
Larter added that Owen gave his dad a buzz cut and there were no mishaps, so “Owen is the better barber in the house".
Katie MacKinnon of Pownal took cutting matters into her own hands after she'd had enough of her husband’s scruffy do.
“At one point last week, I looked at him and his beard was all out of sorts and his hair was all out of sorts and I said, ‘You need a haircut’, and he’s like, “No, I’m letting it grow (during) COVID’. I said, ‘no’," MacKinnon said.
So, she borrowed a pair of hairdressing scissors from a friend and the MacKinnon family’s furminator (a deshedding tool for dogs) and went to work.
“I watched a couple of YouTube videos and I had a couple of glasses of wine and I thought, ‘I can do this’," MacKinnon laughed.
“Kudos to the hairdressers because I don’t know how they get it all even."
“I watched a couple of YouTube videos and I had a couple of glasses of wine and I thought, ‘I can do this’. Kudos to the hair dressers because I don’t know how they get it all even."
- Katie MacKinnon
Now, while a lot of guys can get away with temporary buzz cuts or trims for a while, it’s a bit different for women.
Still, MacKinnon said she’s not letting hubby anywhere near the scissors.
“Never in a million years," she laughed.
“Never, ever, ever. He can hardly hang a light. He’s not cutting my hair."
Charlottetown barber says her best advice is don't worry about getting too fancy with those haircuts
A Charlottetown barber said she has been coaching a countless number of clients lately.
Rhonda MacKay, who owns Ray’s Place on Kent Street, said she has been dishing out a lot of advice since they closed the shop a month ago due to the coronavirus (COVID-19 strain).
“People are looking in the mirror and they’re saying, ‘Oh my God, look at me’," said MacKay, also known as Rhonda The Barber on Facebook.
“Honestly, a lot of moms and girlfriends and wives are just buzzing hair off. They’re not getting into anything fancy."
She said people are reaching out to her on social media, asking questions on everything from what guards they should use on electric razors to sending her pictures in mid-cut, then asking what to do next.
“I’ve tried to coach them a little bit but, at the end of the day, put a hat on and cover it up. People are using dog groomers and clippers (and) they’re tagging me in (Facebook) posts.’’
MacKay said a few clients have begged her to cut their hair with one customer offering to pay her $100. Some are even willing to come to her for a cut, all promising not to tell a soul.
MacKay said she has refused every request, for obvious reasons. She’s worried about her own health and theirs.
“I’ve received private messages; text messages (saying), ‘Rhonda, please, what will it take?’"
She said the majority of her male clients are having fun with it and don’t mind a temporary buzz cut. Her women friends have expressed concern over the fact that their roots are starting to show and the grey is coming through. MacKay said that’s a tougher fix.
MacKay said she closed the shop a few days before Dr. Heather Morrison, the province’s chief public health officer, forced businesses to close because her staff was growing nervous.
MacKay knows they will re-open and that the customers will return. She’s even willing to extend business hours to accommodate the expected surge in demand.
Still, she’s cognizant that once restrictions start to ease, whenever that is, there will be an air of uncertainty because physical distancing is impossible in the profession.
“I am looking forward to going back to work ... (but) very few professions involve getting as close to a client as us. I am fearful of that. How I handle it when the time comes; I guess we’ll just have to wait and see."
