Most people may know about the taboo of cutting one’s hair during Chinese New Year, but some may be quite surprised to find out that there is also a lucky day to get a hair cut too. The Longtaitou Festival (Dragon-Head-Raising Festival) is a Chinese tradition, the name of which translates to, “dragon lifting its head”.
The festival falls on the second day of the second month in the lunar calendar, which happens to be Feb 24 this year, and was an important date for farmers, as it was believed that the dragon would bring rain when it lifted its head to the skies.
One tradition that stems from the Longtaitou Festival is getting a haircut. There is a Chinese folk tale that states, “Shaving dragon hair on February 2 in the lunar calendar, every day a good spirit.” The date refers to the lunar calendar, and basically says that anyone who gets a haircut on this day will receive good health and prosperity in the coming year.
Right now it could be a bit difficult to take your kids to a barbershop given the circumstances, but that doesn’t have to stop you from getting a haircut and getting some good luck on top of it!
If you’ve never dawned a pair of shears and cut your kid’s hair before, fear not, we spoke with Luca (Li Le), the CTO of My Hair Salon in Sanlitun. With 13 years experience in both kid and adult hair dressing, Luca is full of experience, and has some easy tips for at-home haircuts on this special day.
How would you suggest parents prepare before cutting their kid’s hair?
Younger kids tend to be really nervous about cutting hair, it’s better to start a conversation before the haircut to calm their nerves. Also choose a date when they are not stressed or cranky. During the haircut, parents should make kids busy, such as give them their favorite toys or let them watch their favorite cartoons, to distract them. For younger ones, sitting on a parent’s lap might be helpful to keep them stay still.
Better choose a bright place to cut kid’s hair and put old newspapers on the ground. Let your kids wear a raincoat or wrap a towel over the kid’s shoulders to avoid falling hair.
Are there some simple tools that parents can use at home for kid’s haircut?
-Teeth scissors （牙剪, yájiǎn）
-Straight scissors （平剪, píngjiǎn）
-Hair cutting clipper (电推剪, diàntuī jiǎn, the lower the number, the shorter the haircut)
-Comb （梳子, shūzi）
-Brush（刷子, shuāzi）
Can you give some simple tips on cutting short hair?
Make sure that the hair is dry when you cut it and start from the bottom up. Usually we choose hair cutting clipper, because it will make haircut neat. If you choose clipper, clip from the the neck straight up and place it at a 90 degree angle from head.
When you cut the hair around the ears, make sure to use smooth, even cuts on the clipper, again from the bottom up and place it at a 90 degree angle. Here I don’t suggest to use normal scissors since cutting hair around ears is easy to miss some strips along the way.
How about long hair? Is there any simple tips?
For long hair, I suggest parents use teeth scissors （牙剪, yájiǎn）and straight scissors （平剪, píngjiǎn）. Here I’ll give some tips on how to trim long hair, it could also work for cutting medium to long hair. Please note that teeth scissors can be useful to make haircut natural and straight scissors are to make it neat.
Comb the hair first, then section the hair into top and bottom sections, or three sections depending on the hair. Cut the hair from the very bottom section to the top section. Make sure to cut the hair straight across, parallel to your fingers. Unless you want a unique style, otherwise please try to make the cut even. After you trim the long hair, it’s time to check and trim unruly hairs.
Photos: Weibo.com, hip2save.com, liveabout.com
