Do-It-Yourself

What's a DIY project that you've successfully completed? Any that's usually done by a professional counts.

This morning, I got my hair appointment kicked right from under me, and tried to find a new stylist. The best salon in town doesn't do black hair. Gross! So, I surfed the web and got a pro stylist's instructions on how to do a home relaxer. I'm nervous, because I could burn my hair out, but I'm tired of these dingy, unprofessional places taking more money than they deserve while I spend most of my Saturday waiting. I would pay top dollar for the right hair salon experience. Unfortunately, I don't I'll ever find one.

My hubby is a barber. He went to cosmetology school though, so he's licensed to do just about anything beauty related... hair, hair color, nails, make up, etc... I just let him cut my hair though b/c it's been so long since he's done anything else. That sucks you can't find a good salon though. Where are you located?

Let's see.. DIY projects... I've done a lot... mainly involving sewing or painting though. But I am about to embark in some diy landscaping! We need something different done in our yard....

I have done many DIY hair projects on myself LOL I was sick of paying money for people to mess up my hair- so I figured I'd mess it up myelf for free. I was pleasantly surprised though. I think you can do it- don't forget youtube usually has a ton of good tutorial videos. That's what I use for a lot of things.

And yes, we are working on some landscaping projects right now too... we moved out of PHoenix to escape the desert and what do you know- there is so much desert landscaping in our yard- I hate it! We're like the only house in this neighborhood with desert landscaping- it's a cruel joke!
So we're ripping up ugly huge nasty plants and going to plant in pretty flowers.

Quote :

We're like the only house in this neighborhood with desert landscaping-

Whoa, the irony.

snowboardnmom wrote:

My hubby is a barber. He went to cosmetology school though, so he's licensed to do just about anything beauty related... hair, hair color, nails, make up, etc. Where are you located?

I'm in southeast Alabama, 90 miles south of Montgomery, and near the Florida border.

Can your husband do black hair, like braiding, relaxers, etc? Me and some friends have been going bacl and forth about this issue. Some say, if you're not used to being around certain people, you're not going to know how to do their hair.. I say, everybody should learn everything in cosmetology school to avoid situations like mine. I've gotten my hair done by people of all races. It wasn't until I came down here that I had a problem. I appreciate the honesty when they tell me they don't do black hair, but it's also really annoying. Why get a state license certifying you for a skill that only serves a portion of the population? It seems misleading.

ChewyMama wrote:

Why get a state license certifying you for a skill that only serves a portion of the population? It seems misleading.

That is such a great point!

The only person that has ever been able to tame my curly Jew-fro hair is my Vietnamese stylist. I found her through another Jewish girlfriend of mine, but was skeptical, thinking... how is this asian lady supposed to know how to deal with curly hair? 8 years later and I wouldnt let anyone else near.

My DIY stuff? I changed all the locks in my house once. And installed laminate flooring.

Sahel578 wrote:

The only person that has ever been able to tame my curly Jew-fro hair is my Vietnamese stylist. I found her through another Jewish girlfriend of mine, but was skeptical, thinking... how is this asian lady supposed to know how to deal with curly hair? 8 years later and I wouldnt let anyone else near.

My DIY stuff? I changed all the locks in my house once. And installed laminate flooring.

Asian ladies are awesome at "kinky" hair! I freaked out while visiting my husband in Korea after going swimming and realizing I needed a professional hair tamer, but that was some of the best service my hair ever got. Even some Korean guy with blond icy tips jumped in. I had 4 people working on my head at once. Efficiency! Also, when we first moved here, the only person who could do my hair was a Korean lady who manages a salon near post.

How long did the laminate job take? We have cherry laminate here and some of the planks are scratched in the middle. I dread having to pull the whole floor up just to replace one or two.

ChewyMama wrote:

How long did the laminate job take? We have cherry laminate here and some of the planks are scratched in the middle. I dread having to pull the whole floor up just to replace one or two.

It took a day to do one room, including cutting certain planks to fit. If all you are doing is pulling out and replacing, not having to cut, I bet it would go pretty fast. Its just like putting together legos.

ChewyMama wrote:

snowboardnmom wrote:

My hubby is a barber. He went to cosmetology school though, so he's licensed to do just about anything beauty related... hair, hair color, nails, make up, etc. Where are you located?

I'm in southeast Alabama, 90 miles south of Montgomery, and near the Florida border.

Can your husband do black hair, like braiding, relaxers, etc? Me and some friends have been going bacl and forth about this issue. Some say, if you're not used to being around certain people, you're not going to know how to do their hair.. I say, everybody should learn everything in cosmetology school to avoid situations like mine. I've gotten my hair done by people of all races. It wasn't until I came down here that I had a problem. I appreciate the honesty when they tell me they don't do black hair, but it's also really annoying. Why get a state license certifying you for a skill that only serves a portion of the population? It seems misleading.

He works at a barbershop now, so he only does men's hair cuts, but I still let him do my hair. He can cut black hair, but he's the only one in his barbershop that can or chooses to do so. It's weird to me... He's in downtown Raleigh NC, and says they are the only "white barbershop" & then there are "black barbershops"... People from his barbershop will turn down black people & say we only cut white hair... I mean, that sounds INCREDIBLY racist to me! I see what they are saying... It's different hair, and it's a different skill you've got to learn, but if you're a barbershop, you should know how to cut ALL men's hair! That's just my opinion... My hubby feels the same way about it, which is why he's taught himself to cut black hair as well. He took it upon himself to go visit some of the black barbershops and make friends with the other barbers in town and learn a few tricks. He doesn't have many black customers, as they typically go to the black barbershop for barbers really experienced with dealing with their hair type. But I mean, I think I'd rather go somewhere where they KNOW how to work on my hair, you know?

snowboardnmom wrote:

My hubby feels the same way about it, which is why he's taught himself to cut black hair as well. He took it upon himself to go visit some of the black barbershops and make friends with the other barbers in town and learn a few tricks. He doesn't have many black customers, as they typically go to the black barbershop for barbers really experienced with dealing with their hair type.

Your husband sounds like an amazing person to take the extra time and effort to do that. The increased income potential alone is a good reason to learn. These shops have no idea how much money they're losing by not doing "black hair". Black hair = cash flow. Most of us go to a professional barber or stylist at least once per week, if not once or twice per month. If your husband learned how to do black women's hair alone, that's close to, if not six figures of extra annual income.

I hope you don't think I'm being too forward talking about money. I hate talking about money, honestly. I just don't think the people who run these shops realize they're cutting themselves off at the ankles by excluding an entire demographic.

oh man, if he did women's hair AT ALL he'd make a killing! There are a lot of reasons why he doesn't want to... mainly because it's messy, takes a long time, and he doesn't like dealing with women. lol With the men's hair cuts they just come on in, sit down, 15 minutes later he's done. He's able to fit in a lot more customers... of course he doesn't get paid as much per customer. In the near future he'll actually own the shop though (his father currently owns it, and will be retiring soon), so when that day comes he has a lot of plans to increase the cash flow there. I'm definitely for an increased income! But, I don't want him to hate life... right now he loves his job... if he was doing women's hair, I think he might want a job change pretty fast. However, when he owns the shop he can hire people that will do women's hair, and he'll be making a percentage of their income.