When COVID-19 shuttered local businesses and public spaces, DIY became a nationwide mantra. We baked our own sourdough bread. We made our own lattes. We planted vegetable gardens.
Evan Scheingross, the father of two boys in La Mesa, learned how to cut his kids’ hair.
Scheingross had a set of clippers he’d bought decades earlier and decided to give it a shot, without so much as a YouTube tutorial.
“I really just kind of jumped into this blind,” he said. “And it's been good enough, so I'm like, ‘Okay, let's keep rolling with it.’”
They kept rolling with it even after hair salons reopened. Riley and Kaleb, now 11 and 8, get their haircut by their dad once or twice a month. With tip, Scheingross said, it would have cost about $30 per haircut at a salon.
“When I cut both their hair, that’s like, I don’t know, $60, $70 savings right there,” he said.
Great Clips in Tierrasanta charges $25 for a kids’ haircut. At Pigtails & Crewcuts, a salon in Point Loma that specializes in kids’ haircuts, a standard kids’ cut costs $31.95. They also offer a trim around the neck and ears for $15.95. In Poway, Sharkey's Cuts for Kids offers a father and son haircut package for $49.99.
Haircuts are certainly not the only expense the Scheingross family has seen go up since the pandemic. Groceries, dining out, water bills and insurance have all become more expensive.
“This is one of the ways we can make sure we have the budget for other stuff you want to do, like go to Disneyland,” Scheingross said.
One year of saving $60 per month on haircuts equals $720 — enough for a trip to Disneyland for the family of four. Since Scheingross opened his backyard barbershop five and a half years ago, he’s saved close to $4,000.
Along with extra spending money, the last five years have given Scheingross time to hone his tools and technique. In the beginning, he wrapped a towel over their shoulders. Now he’s upgraded to a barber cape that he fastens around Riley and Kaleb’s necks. He still has those trusty clippers, but he’s added a pair of hairdressing shears.
Scheingross works in web development and digital marketing. The backyard haircuts provide a nice change of pace.
“I work at a computer all day, so I like to get away from that and do something tangible with my hands,” he said. “I always thought it’d be cool if I had my own barbershop. I don’t think I’m going to do a career change, but I guess this allows me to live that out a little bit.”
And like professional barbers, he has to keep up with the style preferences of his customers.
“There was a phase where he was very into Top Gun,” Scheingross said about Riley. “If I could make it kind of look like the military cut, he was like, ‘Oh, Dad, that's cool.’”
Riley likes his hair a little longer now. He and his younger brother, Kaleb, are both big fans of Blink-182. After Scheingross shortened the sides of his hair, he asked Kaleb how long he wanted the top to be.
“Mark Hoppus style,” Kaleb said, drawing inspiration from the band’s bass player.
Scheingross left enough long hair for Kaleb to stick up at the front. With his mom’s approval, Kaleb’s hair was deemed “good enough.”
Riley gives his dad good reviews, saying he’s improved over the years.
“He knows what he's doing,” Riley said.
“All right,” Scheingross said, smiling. “I know what I’m doing.”
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