I just bought my first DIY hair clipper but I don't want to make a hairy mess on the ground and make it easy to clean up. I've considered the following options:
A trash bag – A trash bag is difficult to lift and then throw in the bathtub or the toilet
A small vacuum – This is the fastest solution but it can clog it up very fast and break it
In the bathtub – This is the best option but I do not have a mirror to look at the back of my head
Any other suggestions?
You can do it over the sink in front of the mirror. If you don't keep the sink dry, it is relatively easy to scoop up all the hair from the sink afterwards using paper or disposable cloths. If you use toilet paper, you can throw it in the toilet after cleaning. When you've removed most of hair, you can flush the little hair that is left.
Avoid flushing large amounts of hair into the bathtub or sink, as this will clog it. And do not throw trash bags (or anything of plastic) into the toilet!
Get a large sheet of plastic, or use an old tablecloth or any cloth that's large enough, stand in the middle and then use the clippers. Brush yourself off when you're done, then fold in the sheet and empty it. Easiest to empty with plastic, but this method means you can clip your hair anywhere you like in the home.
Use a large (queen or king) bedsheet spread out on the floor under your chair. This gives you a lot of space, and a sheet is generally heavy enough to not ripple if there's any air movement around it. After you're done, wrap your sheet up, take it outside, and shake it out. Birds need fibers to make their nests, so you can feel good about contributing to bird homes if you like.
Put newspaper paper in and around the sink. Put newspaper paper on the floor so it covers about a 3 foot radius from where you will be standing. When done, just slide the outer newspaper to the center while raising the outward edge slightly to help keep any hair from sliding off. Then fold it together just once or twice and shove it in the garbage.
If you don't have any newspaper, other paper/cloth like materials should work fine as well.
Do not get hair down the sink or bathtub drain! This will eventually clog it! So make sure to cover the drain with the newspaper.
I've never been to a hair cut place where they used a vacuum to clean up the hair initially. They always just use the broom and dustpan approach. So don't use a vacuum initially, but probably would be OK to make sure you didn't miss anything after your primary method of removal.
Amen to Holroy, first answer above. I've been cutting my own hair for several years and do it over a dry sink and use a hand mirror and the medicine cabinet mirror to look at the back of my head. With each pass of the clipper, I gather the cut hair and let it fall into the sink. Periodically I scoop hair from the sink and toss it into a waste basket. When done, I use a hand broom & dust pan to get any which fell on the floor, and then run the water to flush any little loose hairs out of and around the sink. It usually goes smoothly with nothing left to clean up.
The solution to your problem is dependent on the level of cleanliness you require and on your hair style. Fact is, if you are trying to clip your hair in a contemporary residential bathroom there is no solution that will prevent hair bits from winding up somewhere. The best you can do is maximally contain what you can with the expectation that you'll be doing some cleanup. With that said I recommend making sure everything is dry when you start. Dry dry dry. And don't get anything wet until you are 100% done. Use the towel, or sheet, or newspaper as you see fit. Then vacuum.
Here is how I do it which keeps the hair out of the bathroom: first I clip my hair with my head in a laundry sink. That's in the sink. I bend over the sink and clip my hair. When I'm done with that stage I take my close-trimmer and a mirror to clean up the back. I currently do this in my dog's kennel area. I've done it in garages, basements, back porches, anywhere but inside. I've gotten really adept and trimming the back of my head.
Once I'm done I go back to the laundry sink and scoop the hair bits out and throw them away. I clean it up by washing the few leftover bits down the drain. I've never had a drain problem. Then I sweep the floor in the kennel area. Then I take allot my clothes off and brush myself off very very well and then get in the shower. When I get in the shower I sit on the floor. I do this so that when the water hits my head the heat that bounces off stays contained at the bottom of the shower. If I stand up hair bits get scattered far afield.
This is how I keep the hair out of my bathroom. I recommend that you stand in your bathtub. You will need a mirror that you can suction cup to the wall and a hand mirror. But seriously, if you have hair all over the floor of your tub it will be a task to get it down the drain. And it will be stuck in crevices in the shower curtain or other places.
