Flowbee is advertised as “The advanced system that revolutionized the hair care industry.” It's been around since the mid-eighties and was heavily advertised right next to the likes of Hair Club for Men and Chia Pets. It's a unique hair cutting system that hooks up to a home vacuum cleaner. How glamorous a hair cut is that? It's claimed innovation is no-mess haircuts. What’s the upside? Mess-free and if used properly, allows for regular trims that are always the same length. The downside is that you must know something about hair cutting, lest your poor victim look like they lost a fight with a ceiling fan.
Here's a demonstration video showing you this rather weird invention.
Imagine receiving this gigantic Flowbee box by UPS at your doorstep and getting your first look at Flowbee. After ripping opening the packaging, practically the only thing you see is miles of dark rubber tubing concealed by bright yellow and clear plastic pieces. You just might have thought that the Flowbee people accidentally sent you car parts!
Nope, you've just received a one-of-a-kind device that makes having your home haircut even more humiliating that it already is.
Rick Hunt, a carpenter of all people, invented The Flowbee system. He actually got the idea when he noticed how efficiently an industrial vacuum sucked sawdust from his hair.
How are Flowbee's Sales?
Flowbee sets itself apart from other products. It seems to violate the “Wouldn’t it be great if “…principle. New infomercial products must fill a niche: Wouldn’t it be great if you could put a button on without having to sew it on? Wouldn’t it be great if I could make a perfect omelet right in my microwave? Wouldn’t it be great if my abs looked like that guys' on the cover of the Mens' Health mag?
The Flowbee doesn’t really do this. Instead it makes three very dicey assumptions about the American consumer.
1. A significant number of people cut their own hair or the hair of their family members.
2. These people really have a need to use something besides standard scissors and clippers.
3. The biggest perceived assumption-Most Americans are fed up with the mess that traditional hair cuts leave behind.
Incredibly, enough people bought into assumption three to make the Flowbee a winner. Guess who had the last laugh? Can you believe the Flowbee has racked up more than $25 million in sales? And that’s just in 2002 alone. Even to this day [tags]Flowbee[/tags] it's still on the market and selling at $70 plus postage and handling. That's a pretty steep price even now, not to mention back in the eighties.
Here's the Actual Instructions
According to the instructional booklet, all you have to do to become the next Vidal Sassoon is attach Flowbee to a vacuum cleaner. Then familiarize yourself with the plastic spacers. Snap one on to the cutting head and follow such helpful hints as:
1. Start with the top of the head.
2. Turn the Flowbee on and cut until you have achieved the desired length.
3. Cut the entire head a little at a time to yield the most gradual, even look.
4. You may wish to use a little scissor trimming around the edges after cutting with the Flowbee system.
They could also add, “You may wish to consider home schooling for your child, because his oddball Flowbee haircut will probably draw the attention of playground bullies and child welfare authorities.
I'm sorry... Now after I've made fun of the Flowbee I just realized that some of you own one and might want to find replacement parts. It looks eBay USA has many sellers that have what you need.
US $200.00
Flowbee for pets... You just might be wondering if you can share your Flowbee with your pet. It’s your lucky day…the answer is yes! But you have to purchase a special pet groomer attachment. Just make sure that your pet hair is all clean and not matted. Very important! Please make sure that your pet isn't smaller than the Hoover nozzle...safety first!
Related posts:
{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
Actually I found this website because I was looking for replacement parts for my 3rd flowbee. I actually love it and have cut my husbands hair for the last 18 years with it. I have NO talent at anything let alone cutting hair, but this has always done a great job for us and he was in the military so it needed to look professional.
Funny… I’ve been using a flowbee to cut my hair since highschool over 10 years ago. I even cut my friends hair in college to earn spending money. It’s actually quite easy and more versatile than clippers (though I wouldn’t use it for women’s long hair). I’ve given short sport cuts, longer shags, emo cuts, and everything in between (you can use the different blocks to do shorter on the sides, tapers, etc). Most of my 50 or so customers in college said it was the best haircut they’d ever had, and most wouldn’t go anywhere else. My roommate had a professional cut his curly dark hair a few months after I’d given him his first flowbee cut. He came back from the “pro” pretty embarrassed, because his curly fro was crooked. I had to get out the flowbee and fix it. Yeah, its a gimmick and a little odd, but it works great!
HAHA! That’s the funniest thing I’ve ever heard. Emu cuts? So it’s quite versatile after all! Yeah with curly hair you’d have a challenge unless you wet the hair down but I don’t think the Flowbee would work well with wet hair.
Well, not “emu” cuts–I wouldn’t claim it’s versatile enough to cut feathers, but “emo” cuts (long in front, short in back, and a clever taper in between) were no problem. And hair really kind of needs to be wet (though not dripping) if it’s got any length at all. So curly hair was more of a challenge for the “pro” my friend went to than it was for the Flowbee.
Love the flowbee! I’ve been using the flowbee on my shorter hairstyle for more than twenty years. It gives my hair the best haircut every time, whenever I need it…no appointments. Very easy to use and cost effective. I’m on my second flowbee now and I hope this product continues to be around for years to come. I don’t want to go back to depending on someone else to do what I can do myself…and better.
I used a flowbee for all my haircuts for about 15 years. I tried a barber for a few months and now I am going back to flowbee. Yes you can cut wet hair with a flowbee that is how I normally do it. The fFlowbee website has some replacement parts.