Don't Laugh - I Flowbee My Boys!

We'd been talking about first haircuts, my friend and I, sharing notes, as usual, about the day to day minutiae of parenting twins. "My boys got certificates for their first haircuts, " I told her, explaining the whole kiddie salon scene of car stations and nooks full of toys. "Nope, " replied my friend, "we Flowbee'd our boys instead."

You did what to your boys? Is that even a verb? Sheepishly, my friend went on to explain that her husband had been (proudly!) using a Flowbee to cut his hair for well over a decade and was now thrilled to be able to use it on their young sons. (See him in action, here.) For the uninitiated, the Flowbee is a gag gift hair cutting system whereby you attach a special hose to your vacuum cleaner and basically vacuum cut your hair. Voila! No mess, no hassle.

In my attempt to visualize the whole process, I laughed. Oh, please. I'm an Aveda Concept Salon kind of gal. I want the whole salon experience of aromatherapy and relaxation, not the noisy whirl of a vacuum

cleaner. And my boys had emerged from their first hair cuts looking adorable, despite their tears. We were all set for regular visits to the kiddie salon. No Flowbee for us.

A few months after this discussion, we happened to be at my friend's house on Flowbee Day. Her husband was getting ready to Flowbee their boys and offered to Flowbee my boys as well. I decided to give it a try. "Your boys can go first," I suggested.

So here's where I out myself as a Flowbee believer. That Dad then effectively vacuum cut the hair of four boys within the space of 15-20 minutes. Sure, my boys were a little intimidated by the noise at first, but they quickly became used to it. It was fast - no hour long visit to a salon. It was cheap -  we saved 15 bucks per child. There were no hair shavings stuck to the kids - nobody complained about feeling itchy. It was safe - I'd have never trusted myself to use scissors. Best of all, there was no mess. All the hair trimmings were neatly contained inside the vacuum cannister. So simple! Apparently, the Flowbee is also an effective pet groomer as well. I turned and studied the family's two dogs. Seriously, in less than a half hour, we could have groomed 4 toddlers, 2 dogs and probably a couple of us adults.

Soon after, I went on-line and bought my husband his very own Flowbee. (He doesn't give a hoot about image so I thought I'd give him ownership of the thing.) But before you become a total believer and go out and buy one I have to say that the system has not replaced my boys' trips to the hair salon; it simply supplements it. Despite the prestigious As Seen on TV seal of approval, the Flowbee does not seem to give a precision cut. My boys are now 3 years old and they occasionally get Flowbee'd in between trips to the salon, like on days when my their hair seems to have grown three inches overnight and we can't get to a salon right away. Besides, I enjoy vacuuming and this is vacuuming with a twist. I like it...for my boys, that is. But for me, until the Flowbee manages to offer a bergamot infusion for my hair, I'm going to stick with the Aveda salons. 

Cross posted on Silicon Valley Moms Blog and Chalk and Cheese Chronicles.