When I take Maisie to her various classes, I find myself looking enviously at the other little girls her age with long locks held back by cute little bows. They look like girls. Maisie? If I didn’t have her in pink every day, she could easily be mistaken for a boy—and often is.
My daughter is follicly challenged. Basically? She was born cue-ball bald. When she finally did start to get a few tufts, her hair came in like a monk—bald on top, with a ring of hair around the bottom. At 20 months, she finally had hair, but, sadly, her style was a mullet, short on top and long in the back, a style to rival any Arkansas redneck.
Rumor has it that bobbing the baby hair will make it grow faster. And truth is, her mullet was looking pretty shabby. So I finally decided to take the plunge. It was time to cut her hair.
After hearing horror story after horror story about the tearful first Haircuts, I decided to skip a homemade bob with my kitchen shears and take Maisie to one of these cute kid beauty shops. They have them all over the County: the adorable Snip-its in Scarsdale, KidStyles Salon in Bedford Hills, and Happy Kids Haircuts in Dobbs Ferry, to name just a few. I settled on Little Stars Haircuts in Eastchester. I liked the idea of a home-grown shop versus a franchise place and this cozy spot owned by Rubi was just what I had in mind.
We walked in without an appointment. Maisie was thrilled with all the toys. The place sports four chairs, a regular one and three other fancy seats: a yellow taxi, a blue race car, and a red plane. The regular chair is for older kids. In fact, Rubi says her shop even does adult haircuts. Maisie was all about sitting in the plane. Of course, we had to wait while two-and-a-half-year-old Jack got his luxurious curls chopped. In the meantime, eleven-month-old Marco was getting his first cut in the yellow taxi. Neither shed a tear.
Finally, it was Maisie’s turn. She couldn’t wait to steer the plane and watch a video on her own personal monitor. While she was transfixed by the distractions, Cecelia got to work. SNIP! Maisie’s mullet was gone—just like that.
Of course, there wasn’t much Cecelia could do. All the styling in the world wouldn’t give Maisie hair on the side or top of her head. After her 15-minute bob, she still looked like a boy, just a more well-kept fella all for a well-spent twenty bucks.
The best part? Maisie apparently loved her new look. She saw herself in the mirror and grinned…then outright laughed. My favorite part was the first haircut certificate she got complete with a lock of hair. She particularly liked her very first lollipop. All in all, not a single tear was shed—well, almost, anyway. I admit I welled up a bit when I got in the car. She’s just growing up far too fast.
She seemed to understand this was a grown-up thing, too. When we got home, she immediately wanted to put on my high heels and carry her purse to complete her spiffy new look. All too soon she’ll be sporting highlighted locks, asking for the car keys. Sigh.
PS. If you have photos of your child’s first haircut—or of your little one just getting his or her hair cut, post them here. We’d all love to see ‘em!
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