Haircuts Archives - FocusPositives FocusPositives

Flowbee Review & Hack: How to Cut a Long Layered Haircut (2019)

January 26th, 2019 § 0 comments § permalink

This post contains affiliate links. Please see my disclaimer for more information.

YES, the Flowbee is My Haircutting Tool!

Flowbee is a really old vacuum haircutting system not targeted for haircuts for girls with long hair. Flowbee works great for short haircuts for women, men, kids and pets.  If long layered hair or long haircuts for women is what you want, stick with me.

I got my Flowbee from my dad and he bought it between the 80’s and 90’s. The video I made below is to share with you Flowbee’s pros, cons and how I hacked the Flowbee to cut long layered hair. I wanted to share how you can cut your own hair with ease, no experience needed. You can use this method to cut really short or really long layers up to 15″. I have been cutting my own hair for the past 8 years with consistent good results.

Worth the Effort to Hack the Flowbee

With all the flaws the Flowbee has I can see why it’s not very appealing. If Flowbee did some design adjustment to secure the spacers and reduce gaps to maintain suction, reduce the noise level, and maybe a self-sharpening blade, I am sure a lot more people would be convinced to use it.

Good thing it only takes earplugs, tape and 1/2hr of time for the hack setup.  If you don’t have the system you do need to invest some money to buy the system. The system will more than pay for itself in due time. It’s been worth it for me, I only spent less than $40 dollars on extra spacers and oil. I have used it since 2010 and my dad used it when he was young. It’s been through two generations. Once you have it set up, your haircuts will be a breeze. I have not found anything that works better and easier than the Flowbee yet.

A Vacuum Haircutting System is a Great Investment

According to a google search, a girl’s haircut average to $43 and girls get their hair trimmed every 12 weeks and get a haircut every 6-8 weeks. Guys haircuts average to $28 and get a haircut every 3-6 weeks. There’s 52.1429 weeks in a year.

Girls Haircut Cost Estimate:

52.1429/12wk=4.345 trims/yr *$43 = $186.85/yr *10yrs = $1,868.45/10yrs

52.1429/6wk= 8.69 cuts/year *$43 = $373.69/yr*10yrs= $3,736.91/10yrs

Guys Haircut Cost Estimate:

52.1429/3wk = 17.38cuts/yr*$28 = $486.67/yr*10yrs = $4,866.67/10yrs

52.1429/6wk = 8.69 cuts/yr)*28 = $243.33/yr * 10yrs = $2,433.34/10yrs

My haircuts averaged from $38 to $50 in Asian salons back in 2010 so I have more then recovered what I put in. If I had 6 cuts per year and if the price for my haircut stayed at $38 dollars per cut, in the past 8 years I would have spent $1,824 not including tips. My savings is for one person, imagine what a family could save.

As time passes by haircuts always goes up. Around 2002 – 2008 my friend’s haircuts were about $20 dollars but for me it was $28 dollars because I have super thick hair. I was upset I had to pay more. Prices spiked up to $30 dollars the next year and for me it was $38. My haircuts were always about $8 dollars more. Plus tips brings the cost closer and closer to $50 dollars per haircut. I have no idea how much a haircut would cost me now.

I can’t remember when was the last time I went to the salon. The Flowbee is pretty much a guaranteed money saver and success for me.

Flowbee Prices Going Up

If you are interested in investing in a vacuum haircutting system, definitely explore the options out there to suit your needs.  If you want to buy the Flowbee, I would suggest getting it on amazon for free shipping. The Flowbee website shipping cost seems a bit crazy.

Flowbee layered haircut with one set of attachments.

7.5″  Flowbee layered haircut with one set of attachments.

Here’s the research I did for the Flowbee vacuum haircutting system in 2014 when I got extra spacers & oil from Amazon.

2019 prices have gone up. Flowbee Haircutting System + Extra Rubber Vacuum Adapter) – $139.95.  I suggest getting the one with extra vacuum adapter. The one sold without the extra vacuum adapter is the same price. The original vacuum adapter broke since my dad’s era, but there’s nothing duct tape won’t fix. If you have an extra vacuum, you won’t need to rip the tape out every time you need to clean the house.

Conclusion: I Love my Vacuum Hair Trimmer

It’s nice to have total control of my time and hairstyle I choose without having to worry about messing up. My favorite function is no hair to clean up. I recently dared to cut a super short pixie after years of having long hair. Short hairstyle is really liberating and super easy to maintain. Now, I love short hair. I have lots of fun cutting different hairstyles by myself and hope you will too. Here’s other haircutting methods I have tried cutting my hairs with.

1-1.5″ Flowbee Pixie Haircut

1-1.5″ Flowbee Pixie Haircut

Cutting My Own Hair: CreaClip vs the Rubber Band Method

October 3rd, 2011 § 4 comments § permalink

This post contains affiliate links. Please see my disclaimer for more information.

The personality profile of my hair is straight, thick, coarse and stiff. It is so stubborn that the baby hair sticks straight up at the top of my head even if blow dried. I could never have short bangs because they would stick out as well. The only solution was to grow it long enough to weigh it down. No side swept bangs for me :(. Haircuts are dangerous as well. If the wrong stylist touched it, my head would end up looking like a big broom. My mom, not a professional, has the most experience dealing with my hair. She has cut my hair since I was a baby. I only trust her with my hair.The broom look was not encouraging for me to go to a stylist. After moving out, I was itching to experiment with cutting my own hair. I thought to myself, “It would be great if I could cut my own hair just the way my mom did.” I played with cutting my bangs. Failed, my hair was not obedient like usual but I was hooked on how I could possibly control the outcome of my hair.

With lots of research on different ways and methods to cutting hair, I decided to order the Original CreaClip Set. It seemed diverse and easy to use. If the kid in the video could cut her own hair, I could too. While waiting for my CreaClip I watched all the related CreaClip instructional videos and saw a similar technique of cutting hair into layers using a rubber band. I’ve always wanted a layered cut, I was so gung-ho about it that I took a pair of scissors and a rubber band and started cutting. I was so inspired and eager try the technique. Sometimes I am very impulsive, when I want to do something really badly, I have to do it now. Are you thinking, “Oh my Ga…she just butchered her hair!!!!”? Don’t worry, I didn’t need to run to the barber shop. Originally I had a straight blunt cut with no layers. I was in a rush to cut my hair and totally forgot to take a picture.

Creaclip_back

Cutting my own hair using the Rubber Band Method VS CreaClip: Back

Creaclip_left

Cutting my own hair using the Rubber Band Method VS CreaClip: Left

Creaclip_right

Cutting my own hair using the Rubber Band Method VS CreaClip: Right

Rubber Band Method:

(Updated 12/28/2013: The original Rubber Band Method video I saw is missing on Youtube, the pictures below are recreations of what I did.)

Cut my own hair with a Rubber Band

Cutting my own hair using the Rubber Band Method: Front view, Steps 1 & 2

  1. Comb and flip hair to the front.
  2. KEEP CHIN TUCKED, Tie hair with a rubber band. Pull rubber band straight down until you reach a desired length.

Cut my own hair with a Rubber Band

Cutting my own hair using the Rubber Band Method: Side view, Steps 3 & 4, Pictures are showing more then you should cut. Cut horizontally about 1/16″- 1/4″ at a time. Repeat until you reach your desired length.

  1. Using sharp hair cutting scissors, cut horizontally, 1/16″- 1/4″ off at a time to remove split ends or shorten the length. This creates a blunt edge. This step can be repeated until you reach the desired length.
  2. To feather the ends, point scissors vertically and cut OR use feathering scissors if you have one.

Cut hair into U shape with Rubber Band Method

Cutting my own hair using the Rubber Band Method: Back view, Step 5 is optional

  1. Optional: If you prefer a U shape, tie hair at the back and pull downwards, trim a little at a time. Release and check often before you cut more. (This step, if done alone, creates a straight edge.) Repeat Step 4 for the feathering effect.
  2. Release rubber band and brush.

I basically followed the exact steps in the CreaClip video below but instead of using the CreaClip I used a rubber band to hold all my hair together. The rubber band was still tied to my hair after the cut. I used layering scissors at the tip to refine the cut for a feathered look

Pros

  • Easy to tie hair and cut.
  • Good for long hair.
  • Require only scissors and a rubber band.
  • Saves money.

Cons

  • No defined guide to see if hair is even. I used my nose, lips, chin as a markers for keeping my hair leveled.
  • Tough to cut through with one clean-cut. To ensure evenness it took lots of patients with slow tiny cuts. If you have thin hair it might be easier.
  • Edges of my hair turned out jagged. I had to do lot of correcting with thinning scissors afterwards. Maybe because my hair is super straight and thick even small flaws can be seen. If you have curly hair you may not have my issues.
  • Can’t be used on short hair or guy’s hair.

CreaClip Method:

Hair Cutting Process

Cutting my hair with CreaClip step by step, TL) Clipped all my hair together in the front. BL) Made sure the bubble is balanced BR) Scissors pointed up, cut my hair a bit at a time. TR) Package from CreaClip.

🙂 I kept it simple with a basic long layers cut for my first haircut with the CreaClip.

Pros

  • Fast and easy to use.
  • Spread my hair evenly which made cutting faster and easier.
  • Evenly defined results. You can clearly see the V shape in the back. I didn’t have to do any correcting.
  • Can cut many endless possible stylish cuts, bang trimming, short or long styles, layered or blunt.
  • Can be used on short or long hair.
  • Effective and easy tool that will save money for the whole family.

Cons

  • The white clips is a bit too flimsy for my hair thickness. It may be better for finer hair. It’d be perfect if they could make it the same firmness as the blue one for the bangs.

Conclusion

Both method gave similar results for this layered look. The Rubber Band Method cost practically nothing but took a lot longer with unpredictable results while the Creaclip is a small investment with a guarantee of ease of use and diversity in the styles you can produce. Overall I loved playing with cutting my own hair. For a hair cutting newbie like me, the CreaClip was a super simple tool that gave me courage and confidence to start creating experimenting with cutting my own hair. I felt safe and sure that I wouldn’t mess up my hair. Tip: Go slow and cut a little at a time. Hair can’t reattach itself. I can’t wait to try the “A line” cut or trim my bangs in the future with the CreaClip. It’s been lots of fun, I love it.

Want the CreaClip?

You can find the Original CreaClip Set and Scissors Package on Amazon. It sells for $39.99 plus shipping and handling. Customer service was friendly and fast. You can shop similar products for a lesser price. I did not try the other products similar to creaclip so I don’t have any thoughts on these items.

* This product was sent to me for consideration. This is NOT a sponsored post and contains affiliate links to help keep this website up and running. All views and opinions are my own.

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