Hair Scissors: Our Most Important Tool
When giving a haircut, one of the most important tools are your hair scissors. If you have an excellent set of haircutting scissors, it will make your job that much simpler. With proper care, your haircutting shears can last you a liftetime. Without proper care, however, you may encounter a few issues such as –
* hair catching or pulling while you are cutting
* the hair sliding or moving towards the tips of your scissor blades rather than cutting
* hair being pinched or bent when you close the blades
* the shears feeling rough when you are cutting
You can deal with each of these issues with a excellent washing. When you are using your scissers, little pieces of hair and substances can get around the screw and clog the pivot joint.
Cleaning Your Scissors
To clean them, wipe your hair scissors blades with a soft, dry cloth. Put a drop of oil between the blades and behind the set screw. Open and close your scissors several times to work the oil into the joint. The oil and the moving blades dislodge the hair bits that were stuck in the joint. Wipe the scissor blades with a soft dry cloth to clean off the hair and oil. Once you clean this area, the blades should be able to move freely, making it unnecessary for you to adjust your scissors. The oil and the proceeding blades disengage the hair parts that were trapped in the blades. Once you clean this area, the blades should be able to shift easily, making it unnecessary for you to modify your scissers.
If your hair shears still experience difficult after washing them, you may have broken your shears and may need to substitute them.
After washing your haircutting scissers, analyze them to see if they still need changing. If they proceed producing issues where the hair is taking, grabbing, or going, you will need to modify the pressure.
Adjusting Your Scissors
Should you discover that there is not enough tension and you need to modify them, carry your haircutting scissers firmly in a shut positon, and press them down strongly on a hard external surfaces. use a penny, a screwdreiver, or the modification device (that came with your scissors) to convert the twist clockwise just a little bit (equal to 3 – 4 moments on a time face). You want to do this very accurately so you never harm the swivel angle.
If you have the other issue where the pressure is too minimal, adhere to the same actions, except turn the twist ever so a little bit in a counterclockwise route.
Once your haircutting scissers are altered to the appropriate tension and you are sitll having issues, you may need to get them sharpened. Be sure to get them sharpened by a professional, someone who knows what s/he is doing.
With proper care, your haircutting scissers should last you a life-time.
-Sophie Li Wen
Tips and Tricks: Taking Care of your Hair Styling Shears
How to Maintain your Shears – Tips and Tricks:
- Clean them every day with dish soap/hand soap and warm water. This will clean any chemicals, hair, and dust stuck to the steel.
- Check Tension Daily: Make sure your tension is not too loose or too tight. If they are too loose, they will not cut; but if they are too tight, they will become dull much faster.
- Storage: Always keep your shears in a scissors case. We have seen far too many stylist with shears piled up in a drawer where they get easily damaged.
- Never use disinfectant spray on your shears, and don’t ever put them in Barbicide. These harsh chemicals will destroy the steel and cause it to rust.
Properly maintained hair styling shears will last you for years. Hair cutting shears are a hair stylist’s most important tool. As a stylist, you pay way too much for your shears to just let them become a victim to improper care.
Written by Shiro Shears
