The Art (and Awkwardness) of a Virtual Haircut

SAN FRANCISCO — More than 20 days into San Francisco’s shelter-in-place orders, with hair salons and barbershops closed, I was resigned to growing out my bangs. But my husband, Matt, who had gone almost two months without a cut, began threatening to shave his head.

For weeks, he had been trying to hide his floppy, overgrown strands in video calls by wearing large headphones and sitting back in the shadows. But those were only half measures. Hair does not care that we are sheltering in place for who knows how long. It just keeps growing.

That’s when I learned about virtual haircuts. Caitlin Collentine, my hairstylist at Wabi Sabi Beauty, emailed with the offer. For $55, she said, she would walk us through the cut over a video call.

It was not the most far-fetched service to attempt online reinvention since the coronavirus pandemic has spread in the United States. In the past week I have heard about a virtual Iron Man race, a virtual Easter egg hunt and virtual speed dating, while my colleagues have reported on virtual forest baths, backyard ultramarathons and “cloud clubbing.” Even plumbers in Ohio and Florida have virtually helped customers fix their own malfunctioning pipes.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/13/technology/coronavirus-virtual-haircut.html