Kim sat and watched as her brother had his hair clippered by Leslie, her mother watched intently as his over-long hair slid down onto the cape and then onto the floor. More and more followed as the clippers pushed easily up through the hair. Leslie looked back to Kim and smiled, knowing that she was to be next in the chair. Her mother had told her that today she would be having her hair cut nice and short. Kim sat and fondled her dark brown shoulder-length hair. Being thirteen she wanted to have her hair stylish, not short, but mum was about to have her way, as she always did. Kim’s hair was very thick and would be a lot easier to look after once it was nice and short, so her mum had told her.

"There you go, all done." Leslie undid the cape from around Kim’s brother. "Right, who’s next?" She motioned to Kim to take a seat in the padded chair, with a gentle pat.

Kim slowly rose to her feet and found herself walking towards Leslie, who was eager to help her up into position.

"That’s it, up you get." Leslie quickly snapped the cape around her small neck.

The brush had a soothing effect and Kim barely heard the chat going on behind her between Leslie and her mum.

"Yes, I want it taken down to a more manageable length, nice and short at the back and sides and a brush cut on the top, and you’d better leave a nice thick long fringe, say back to here." Her mother indicated two to three inches up from the hairline.

"What length do you want the top – 1/2 an inch or shorter?"

"No about 3/4 of an inch will be fine, can you do that?"

"Yes I’ll use a no. 7 and that will just do it I think." Leslie showed Kim’s mother the guard and she nodded in agreement.

The brushing stopped and Kim jumped as the clippers were turned on. Leslie fitted the no. 2 guide onto the clippers and gently pushed Kim’s head down so that her chin touched her chest.

"I’ll take the back and sides nice and short with this guide then that’s the worst off, and then clean the top up for you, Mrs. Brown, how’s that?"

"Yes that will be fine but don’t forget to leave a nice thick long fringe though. We must have that, nice and thick won’t you?"

"Of coarse, no problem."

The clippers pushed up underneath the young girl’s hair and slowly strands began to fall downwards to the floor. Once a path was cleared the job became easier to manage and fairly quickly the back was shorn. Kim could feel a coolness on her nape, it was strange but tolerable. It felt good in a strange way, clean. Leslie now worked on the sides, holding the hair out and clipping around the ears at the same time. Up and over, the hair was then released and allowed to slip down into Kim’s lap. Lots of it. The pile grew until Leslie pushed it onto the floor with: "That’s looking a lot better. Now let’s get the other side done shall we?"

The other side quickly followed the first and Leslie attached the no. 7 guide. Putting the clippers down Leslie combed Kim’s fringe, which was thin and hung a little past her eyebrows. Long strands were now combed forward, and as her mum instructed, a nice heavy fringe was cut to just above her eyebrows so that it framed her face beautifully. The fringe was nice and thick just as mother had asked. Leslie picked the clippers back up and turned them on again. Holding the fringe with one hand, so as not to cut it, Leslie pushed the clippers up the side and over the top, first from the left and then again from the right. The hair sprayed down onto the cape and slipped into Kim’s lap. Leslie then released the fringe, which was still intact, and then proceeded to push the clippers back through the long hair on top, reducing it to approximately 3/4 of an inch. Once the bulk was off Leslie blended the rest of the hair in at the back and sides. To finish off she carefully blended the fringe in to the now erect hair on top, which all stood up like a soft brush.

The new look was beautiful. The hair at the back and sides was cleaned up with the Stirling clippers. The cape was unleashed and the lapful of clippered hair fell to the floor. Kim ran her hands over her new cut. She liked it, perhaps mother did know best?