280. Need A Haircut? Get the TRIM JIM Cut, by Union Carbide, 1971

In this age of the great COVIC pandemic, the world desperately needs a cure, a vaccine to put our fears to rest—and end this agonizing, extended community quarantine, that  continues to leave us isolated, hungry, pennyless—and in need of haircuts. Back in the early 1970s though, when long hair ruled supreme, there was a handy plastic contraption that one could carry in one’s jeans' pocket for quickly trimming and styling hair—without going to the barber shop.

In 1971, UNION CARBIDE introduced the TRIM JIM Safety Haircutter. It is a handy two-bladed do-it-yourseld plastic  hair trimmer that you use to trim your locks, simply by running the TRIM JIM through your hair, much like comb.

You can cut your hair longish—to achieve the HARE KRISHNA Look. Or thin it to get that EXECUTIVE Look. 

The TRIM JIM was so convenient when launched in the Martial Law years as long-haired boys opted to cut their own hair personally, than have it cut by scissors-wielding military people who were then hot on the trails of these long-haired nonconformists. ROTC cadets, too, brought a TRIM JIM along, in case their crew cut was still deemed to lush and thick.  A quick TRIM JIM cut will do it—for just 4 pesos!

Despite its much-heralded convenience, the results of using a TRIM JIM were unpredictable.  Unsteady hand pressure can cause uneven cutting. Sometimes, a single run of TRIM JIM with new, sharp blades can result in instant bald patches.Contouring hair like sideburns was difficult.

But then again, it’s true what TRIM JIM claims. The TRIM JIM cut is your own personal signature-- you get truly a different breed of cut!