When physical distancing from your barber begins to show

People were going to see it anyway, P.E.I. MLA Matthew MacKay mused in a lighthearted Facebook post last week, so he admitted: he dyes his hair.

With his salon now closed due to COVID-19, be prepared to see some grey, he said.

And around P.E.I., expect to see some longer, shaggier hair. As we remain cooped up inside our homes, our hair is still running loose. Out the sides, up the top, down the back. 

And not a barber or hair salon open to do anything about it. Things could get messy.

If you're not ready to embrace the bedhead chic, and feel tempted to take matters — or scissors — into your own hands, two Charlottetown haircutting experts have a few suggestions. 

The first rule applies to most things involving sharp objects — don't do it after a couple glasses of wine, said Paula MacIntyre, co-owner of Blue Note Hair Studio.

"You can probably be a better singer and dancer but nobody's a better hair cutter after a couple of drinks," she said.

Zack Squires, owner of Kingdom Made Barbershop, said you can learn just about anything on the internet, including how to cut your own hair. Study up first, he advised, and start small.

"I would say less is more starting off. Start off with a small trim and what are you comfortable with that maybe work into some more detailed haircuts after that."

MacIntyre agrees. Trimming the hair on the back of your neck or around your sideburns isn't too difficult, but the higher up you go, the more skill it takes because that's where you get into layering.

"You can sort of pull off sideburns, but any higher than that and you could risk giving yourself a Dumb and Dumber haircut," MacIntyre said.

If you want to trim your bangs, the first thing you need are the right scissors — the smaller and pointer the better.

"It's the fine point of scissors that really do this kind of work," she said.

"Kitchen shears are just going to sort of push your hair around and mash your hair a little bit. So avoid that."

There is no need to wet your hair first, she said, and take tiny bits off at a time. 

When you're looking in the mirror and about to take that first snip, don't look up.

"Remember you might not like it above your eyebrows so make sure your eyebrows aren't up while you're looking up into the mirror," she said. "Relax those eyebrows down a little because that's when things go wrong."

Squires said you'll likely do a better job if you relax and don't get nervous. Even cutting the back is possible if you set up a mirror behind you as well.

And if you end up butchering your hair, nobody's likely to notice, because you'll be stuck inside anyway, Squires said.

"We're not going anywhere."

Squires and MacIntyre are looking forward to cutting hair again, and they're expecting plenty to work with when they open again, whenever that will be.

"We're social creatures, hairdressers, and we fall in love with our customers and so we're just going to have so much to talk about when we get back in," MacIntyre said.

"And spring is the time when people make bold moves so I imagine we're going be crazy busy. Well maybe it'll be summer when we get back. I don't know."

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