If you don't do upsherin

amother

Mon, Apr 01 2024, 2:11 am

How often do you cut your toddler boy's hair? And when do you start?

My 1.5 year old is starting to look shaggy and has a lot of hair in his face. I'm definitely not putting in any clips or ponies, so if it gets to that point where I would need to I would know I need to cut it. But I'm not sure about this in between time, and since pesach is coming up I know it's either now or waiting 2-3 more months. I don't want to cut it and regret it - his hair is really cute right now, despite him looking a bit overgrown. But I also don't want to not cut it and regret that when I can't. So I'm just wondering when others who don't do upsherin decide their little boy needs a haircut to see if that can help me out.

amother

Beige

Mon, Apr 01 2024, 2:14 am

I cut at one year when I thought it was getting a bit shaggy and would look better short.

There's no age rule though. The boy whose hair I cut at 1 yeat had the fastest growing hair of my kids. My daughter after him had hair that was about half an inch long at 1 year!

amother

DarkGray

Mon, Apr 01 2024, 2:43 am

I once worked at a non-frum camp and this little Israeli boy had the cutest curls! We thought they'd cut it at 3 but they didn't. The next year the younger one came and they both had those curls! I think when the younger one turned 3 they cut both of them. I guess they just couldn't bare to cut off those curls! Sorry, I know this is not helpful or relevant for you. My kids barely have hair to cut at 3, so I really can't help. Good luck and lots of nachas!

amother

Sunflower

Mon, Apr 01 2024, 2:48 am

I cut the bangs when they get too long.
I only cut a proper boy's haircut when he keeps a kipa on his head properly.

amother

Mon, Apr 01 2024, 2:56 am

amother Sunflower wrote:

I cut the bangs when they get too long.
I only cut a proper boy's haircut when he keeps a kipa on his head properly.

I'm trying to imagine this - so the hair over the ears and the neck is still long? In my imagination it looks pretty strange but I'm sure it didn't on your son so maybe just different ways of hair growing? Mine has the same amount of hair all around so if I just cut the bangs I think he would still look shaggy. Or maybe I just can't imagine it properly and it's a good in between solution..

Hashem_Yaazor

Mon, Apr 01 2024, 4:10 am

I used the largest number on our hair clipper to do my toddler's hair, maybe at 21-22 months?
It's definitely time for another one a couple of months later, though it's not horrible. I want to wait a week or so to get us through more of sefira.

ETA: ended up doing it tonight

Last edited by Hashem_Yaazor on Mon, Apr 01 2024, 7:12 pm; edited 1 time in total

Iymnok

Mon, Apr 01 2024, 4:25 am

Most of my friends who cut, leave it in a long cut till they're about 3.
Cut the bangs and neck. If the rest bothers you, use the longest clipper guard.
You could also go longer between cuts

amother

Mauve

Mon, Apr 01 2024, 4:28 am

Whats wrong with ponies or clips? Little boys look cuter with long hair. Once their hair is cut they look way more grown up. Then u end up expecting more from them.

cm123

Mon, Apr 01 2024, 5:05 am

I brought my son for his first haircut at about 1.5 when his hair started getting in his eyes. He gets a full mushroom haircut and looks adorable! I will say that he needs haircuts every 2-3 months, so there's definitely a lot of upkeep.

TravelHearter

Mon, Apr 01 2024, 5:10 am

Depending on how the hair is. One of my kids had the most gorgeous curls, it kind of grew outwards instead of down. It didn’t need anything to hold it back. We would trim it so it looked neat but didn’t fully cut it until 3 (no upsheren).

For straight hair, I would push it off as long as a I could, and then only cut a little so they still look like a baby. Style the front away from his face, trim it around the sides if you need…
It’s not about the age, it’s about how he looks.

amother

Mon, Apr 01 2024, 1:29 pm

ty all! I think I'll cut it but try not to cut too much so it can still have that long babyish look. Appreciate all the input.

amother

Cherry

Mon, Apr 01 2024, 1:51 pm

amother Mauve wrote:

Whats wrong with ponies or clips? Little boys look cuter with long hair. Once their hair is cut they look way more grown up. Then u end up expecting more from them.

We don’t do upsherin and I think baby boys with long hair don’t look cute. Or maybe they do but they look like girls, which I don’t think is cute for a boy. Never did ponies or clips.

tryinghard

Mon, Apr 01 2024, 6:11 pm

Trying to decide what to do, DH wants me to cut my two-year old’s hair but the curls are just too cute!

amother

Daylily

Mon, Apr 01 2024, 7:59 pm

I cut when I found myself pushing the kid's hair out of his face multiple times a day. My kids let their kids' hair grow till age three and the only reason I'm not utterly nauseated is because they're my dgc and I love them though I hate the way they look. Little boys with ponytails, like grown men with ponytails or man-buns, make me ill.

amother

Maize

Mon, Apr 01 2024, 8:13 pm

Totally depends on the kid. My youngest has stick straight hair, was born with a head full of hair and needed a haircut at 4 months old. Just looked messy otherwise. Curls and waves are a different story.

tryinghard

Mon, Apr 01 2024, 8:22 pm

amother Maize wrote:

My first son had curly hair and I couldn’t bear to cut it. My middle son’s hair was stick straight and grew right in his eyes so I cut it. This time we are back to curly, curly everywhere and I have so many people (think random non-Jewish woman at the library) saying “omg it’s too cute to cut!”

amother

Oxfordblue

Mon, Apr 01 2024, 9:03 pm

I start trimming as soon as it starts getting in his eyes. My 20 month old now has a precious mushroom cut. He has tons of thick blonde hair. It looks like a baby haircut, when my boys turn 3 and will start wearing a yarmulke then we do a more “mature” full cut.

amother

Oxfordblue

Tue, Apr 02 2024, 10:06 am

amother OP wrote:

For all of you that cut it yourself at this age, any tips?

He may get scared of the hair coming off. I hold him and my husband snips. We sing and distract him and sometimes put on a nursery rhyme video. Just go slowly. If you’re doing a full cut maybe YouTube to learn the right technique for a mushroom cut.