Haircut Warning

[Guest Keane]

So, I've been cutting my hair short since April or May, but I kind of let the stylist do her own thing and let it be feminine, but fixed it later so it wouldn't look so girly. And my hair was cute but not masculine enough. The hairdressers don't know I'm transgendered, and when I try to take the reigns to get a more masculine cut without saying directly "make me look like a boy", they go against me and try to make me look as feminine as possible.

I just got it cut a few days ago, it was getting shaggy, and I asked her not to cut my hair into "points" by my ears, I asked to make it more sideburn-like. Apparantly, this is a HUGE no-no in girls haircuts. So she ended up messing up a little and i ended up with a haircut MUCH shorter than i was planning, and my mom got mad.

It was a pretty humiliating experience, even though I really like my hair now, I don't want to have to face that discrimination again.

If you're planning to get your hair cut like a boy, find a way to ask for one directly, say you're doing a male part for a play or something, or find a queer-friendly stylist that you can tell that you're trans and it will make things much easier. I'm planning to get my haircut somewhere in Boystown in Chicago next time.

[Guest Jackson]

Good ideas.

Here's another idea: I've been a Civil War reenactor for years portraying a male soldier. In fact it was five years ago when I first picked up an Underworks binder for reenacting. So whenever I'd get my hair cut, I'd just tell them that I need my hair to be pretty masculine. I get my hair cut at the same place for a few years now. So they would always do a little something to make it more feminine.

Now this last time (a few weeks ago) I got my hair cut again. This time I just came out and told the young woman who was cutting my hair that I was changing genders. She actually was the one who gave me a really great boy cut the first time a few years ago. But she did go and give me a totally masculine cut. Now she did ask once if I wanted her to do a little something to make it give it a little more feminine style, but I told her no.

So it's totally masculine. I didn't realize how much the little things can really define something like gender-specific hair styles, but let me tell you. And most of the time, it's something so small and something that a person doesn't even consciously notice. It was quite the enlightening experience. It was also weirdly a little mentally traumatic knowing that I was stepping over that gender line and wasn't ever going back.

[Guest J-Walker]

I hate it how hairdressers seem to think just because you're born with certain body parts you'll want your hair to match. I've been going to the same hairdresser since I was a little kid and even then I was asking for more masculine styles (When I was 6 I used to ask that the back of my had be buzz cut and then leave a little hair growing on top). Of course the older I got the more she seemed to want to feminize my hair. For prom I was taking my friend who didn't have a date, got a tux and everything, and told her I was going as her "male" date so I needed a masculine haircut. She didn't follow through at all.

What might be the best idea for those who can is to start going to a new hairdresser and just tell them straight out you're a male and want a more manly haircut because your current hair makes you look like a girl. XD I find that if you say it enough times that you're a guy it will mentally click for them, especially if they haven't met you before.

[Guest harvester52]

I've just always told the hairdresser that my name is B.C. and I pass well enough that they assume I'm a guy, and therefore don't try to make me look like a woman. But one time, my dad came in with me to get my hair cut before I was out to him, and he signed me as -legalname.- When I went in there later for the appointment, I was lucky to get a gay guy as my hairdresser, and I told him I'm trans, and he gave me a men's haircut.

[Guest Evan_J]

I dunno. Haircuts have gotta be #2 on the list of stuff typically encountered to drive an ftm nuts in regular living lol. - I takae it back, number 3.

#1 -moobs give you away.

#2 -the john

#3 -haircut

lol

Still, its in the top 5.

And yes, Jackson you hit it exactly on the head. It's that there's a million things that a person can do to "make" or mess up a man's haircut.

I admit it, its psychological perhaps, but I avoid "hairdressers" like the plague. Actually I won't let a woman cut my hair because I know they spend so much time in "women's style world". Even a male barber though needs to be let know "MAN'S haircut ". Some of them too "want" to create women. It is all about that person being able to ignore whatever the heck body you have and go with "you" and what you want to be. Somehow more men barbers are like "want to be a man? 12 dollars. Here ya go" and give a rats less.

[Guest Huff]

When I first cut my hair off, I basically asked them how they did it with clippers. Then, I just cut my own hair for about 9 months... it was a little tricky to get the left side blended well, but it worked out OK 'cause my hair is wavy and that kind of hides unevenness. After I was on T for a few months, I went to the barber to get ready for a job interview. They did such an amazing job and it was cheap and it was such a testosterone-laden environment that I've been going back ever since. None of those stupid girly magazines... just a line of chairs and one guy gets in clip, clip, buzz, on to the next guy. It's almost all guys who work there, but there's like 2 of the barbers that are women and if you get them, they give you crap about making you look all handsome for the ladies, etc, etc... it's great.

MK

[Guest Cal]

I've always passed, I remember there was ONE time when the hairdresser read me as female and the haircut she gave me was so girly, I hated it. I must have been about nine.

Now though I just cut my own hair. I bought clippers for like $15 and I cut my hair every three weeks or so. I like keeping it around 1/4", the same length all around. I don't know what kind of hair you have, or if that kind of style would look good (or if your mom would let you ) but it works pretty well for me, and you wouldn't have to deal with a hairdresser trying to make you look like a pretty little girl.

[Guest harvester52]

I do that now too, Cal. My aunt has clippers and she shaves all the men's heads in my family. I keep mine at a #2. It works on my head/face, and is a lot easier. When I had a business style cut, I had to slick it or spike it everyday or it looked like a cotton puff on my head.

[Guest Andreas]

I suspect that it's always going to be harder to get the cut that you want if you keep going to the same hairdresser that's done your haircuts since the dawn of time - or at least since before you decided to present as male. If your hairdresser has known you as a Receiver Of Girly Haircuts for any number of months or years, it may be hard for that person to make an instant switch of gears and give you a plain guy cut. Even if you're paying them specifically for that, they will likely have fallen into a habit with your haircut, and may end up asking you a lot of those demoralizing "Are you sure?" kinds of questions, even if they do end up giving you the right cut after all. It's probably better to just go to a new haircut place and present to them only as male. Even if they think you're only twelve (I get that a lot!), twelve-year-old boys still get masculine cuts.

[Guest JayJaye]

I found a trans-friendly stylist. Her husband is FTM. So that works. She also works downtown and does hair for a lot of corporate men.

[Guest Fooly]

I recently got a haircut, what I did was to print out 3 photos of men having the kind of short hair I prefer and just said "I want this! " and she seemed cool with it. It ended up nice I think, even if she gave me the feeling of 'girls can have short hair too, girl power yeah!' when talking lol which felt a little annoying but I guess it cant be helped so its ok

[Guest Liam]

It ended up nice I think, even if she gave me the feeling of 'girls can have short hair too, girl power yeah!' when talking lol which felt a little annoying but I guess it cant be helped so its ok

When I cut my hair short, the woman cutting my hair asked if I had just broken up with a boyfriend. I was just like "um... no." And when I told her how short I wanted it, she turned to someone next to her and said, "This girl wants her hair 2 inches long! Not 2 inches cut off of it, but 2 inches long!" It was extremely embarrassing. Now I cut my own hair, though, so I don't have to deal with that crap.

[Guest Keane]

I suspect that it's always going to be harder to get the cut that you want if you keep going to the same hairdresser that's done your haircuts since the dawn of time - or at least since before you decided to present as male. If your hairdresser has known you as a Receiver Of Girly Haircuts for any number of months or years, it may be hard for that person to make an instant switch of gears and give you a plain guy cut. Even if you're paying them specifically for that, they will likely have fallen into a habit with your haircut, and may end up asking you a lot of those demoralizing "Are you sure?" kinds of questions, even if they do end up giving you the right cut after all. It's probably better to just go to a new haircut place and present to them only as male. Even if they think you're only twelve (I get that a lot!), twelve-year-old boys still get masculine cuts.

Lol, before I got my hair cut short, I hadn't gotten a hair cut in several years, just had my mom cut a few inches off every year or so or do it myself. So I haven't been going to this place super often

I went to a different hairdresser close by and she made me look like a 40 year old woman........ XD It wasn't fun.

When I got my hair cut last week she actually talked to my mom about it wen it was her turn, she was like "Um, your daughter kind of asked for a boys haircut, do you know anything about it?" and my mom lied and pretended she didn't know. The lady also said that kept asking her to cut it shorter and shorter, which is a LIE, I asked her to fix one thing and she ended up having to cut the rest of it >_> Sorry, just needed to rant XD

I can't cut my hair myself with clippers or whatever because I kind of like having hair thats not too short, but not shaggy either, because if my hair is too short then my scrawny neck is more obvious. I'm not passing yet, mainly because of my voice and boobs, so I'm *definitely* going to find someone in Boystown to do my hair when I start to go for my support groups.