A professional hair stylist since 1978, Laurie Punches has owned and operated a successful beauty salon in Santa Barbara, California. She has taught hair-cutting seminars and workshops to various age and interest groups throughout the United States.

She earned a B.F.A from Westmont college and completed an additional semester in the teacher education program. She also attended Kristoffers Beauty College as well.

Her professional background in cosmetology and desire to teach the non-professional have given birth to this new approach to the six basic haircuts. Combine and alter these basic cuts to create just about any hairstyle imaginable!

“How to Simply Cut Hair” Best Sellers List

Due to the popularity of her hair cutting series, Laurie was invited as a special interest guest on multiple national TV and radio talk shows, as well as news special interest segments that spanned over four cross-country tours.

Her unique, simple, and easy learning method caught the eye of a variety of national publications. The results of the positive reviews by both critics and editorials catapulted the “How to Simply Cut Hair” Books and DVD series to be awarded North America’s Best Seller in its category.

Laurie has given career talks in high schools and rehabilitation groups, as well as missionary and couple training sessions. How to Simply Cut Hair has also been considered for textbooks in home economics classes and beauty schools. She has been acclaimed as ‘the Betty Crocker of hair’. Laurie Punches’ simple approach to hair cutting does not just teach you a few haircuts, it teaches you the six basic cuts, which allows you to create just about any style. How to Simply Cut Hair was designed so that you can learn, grow, create and build confidence in your knowledge combined with your experience. You will only be limited by your imagination.

On a Personal Note

Growing up in Wisconsin in the 1960s, as one of seven children, I had a lot of great memories; however, my memories of my barber shop and home haircuts were not among them.

As a little girl, I was protestingly marched to the local barber shop with my brother and sisters for a sinisterly butchy-looking haircut called a ‘Pixie’. Our only other alternative was my mom’s home haircutting kit, ruled by a razor and guide combs, in which our scissor-cut bangs were uneven and only shortened by each corrective snip. These hideous styles would accentuate my awkwardly shaped body and facial features and emphasize my toothless smile.

As I entered 7th grade, my parents divorced, and we lived on a modest family budget. My brilliant idea was to learn how to cut more in fashion hairstyles while simultaneously saving money for the family. At that time, The Beatles were fashionable with their shaggy haircuts, and I decided to take my little brother Skip into the garage with a stool and a pair of dull scissors to begin shaping his stubby hair into a longer, fashionable hairstyle. On my first try, I accidentally nipped his ear, sending him to the hospital for stitches.

Even with an uncomfortable hospital visit, my little brother loved his new haircut and style, undeterred, Skip ventured time and again into our garage for my artistic dabs. Soon I was cutting not only my brother’s hair but also my sisters’ and my stepbrother’s hair, along with my mom’s and stepdad’s hair. Eventually, I cut hair for the neighbor kids and even their parents.

Though I didn’t know exactly what I was doing, I unleashed my intuition with creativity accompanied by sensitivity and communication as each person would describe their vision of themselves. I was like Michelangelo crafting his David; I could see the desired results and just ‘do it’.

Later, after earning money as a carhop at Dog N Suds, I graduated one year early from high school to become a nanny in Thalwil, Switzerland, for children of a traveling missionary family. When the kids were in school, I would apprentice at a local hair salon by shampooing hair to earn tips. The European Coiffure way of cutting hair was by feel rather than measurement, cutting for effect rather than perfection, yet each creation was unique and exquisite.

I returned from my European adventure and moved from Waukesha, Wisconsin, to Santa Barbara, California, for a Liberal Arts college education. I continued to cut student’s hair to cover my expenses.

My following became so large that I scarcely had time to complete homework assignments. As a freshman, a 5th-year student caught my heart, so I dropped out of college to pursue a scholarship in the field of Cosmetology.

In beauty school, my client base grew so large that the school denied me any time off because they would lose money.

Eventually, I opened a successful beauty salon in Montecito, California, for 5 years. The business was great, but my marriage was suffering. The rigorous schedule and hours led to a divorce which dictated my sale of the hair salon. Now, as a single mom, the need to make a living, and the desire to be a stay-at-home mom, coupled with a non-compete clause from the salon sale, I had to get creative. So, I began to teach people to cut hair. The great interest and many success stories lead me to write this series of books, “How to Simply Cut Hair.” It has been my passion to simply teach the art of haircutting to those who desire to learn.