Lifehacks, Tips

How to Choose the Right Hair Cutting Scissors

The importance of having a great haircut cannot be overemphasized enough. Hair gives the frame to your face and with a perfect haircut, it provides balance and enhances your best facial features. This is why you should always look for a new hairstyle so that you can look youthful and trendy while also having a positive impact on your personality.

Today, many people don’t usually keep long and flowing hair. Hairdressing which has become an art is transforming the lives of most people. Thankfully, you can find many styles and cuts that can be life-changing. If you desire to sustain your youth, perhaps you should have a haircut. But, you can only get the best haircut if you use the right hair cutting scissors. This article will discuss haircut scissors you can use to achieve the best look. 

How many times should you get a haircut?

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The question that hairstylists keep hearing is how often their customers should do a haircut. It’s a good practice to cut your hair regularly to prevent split ends and breakage.  

Most hairstylists recommend having a haircut at least every six weeks, though many people prefer to do it just a couple of times each year. Here is the deal, the frequency of having a haircut usually rests on your hairstyle. For example, if you have medium hair, it’s adequate to trim your hair at least once every four months. 

The health of your hair also determines the frequency of having a haircut. If your hair is healthy, perhaps you might not experience breakage and splitting. As a result, you can have haircuts less often. The opposite is true, meaning if your hair is damaged, you should have haircuts every eight weeks.

It‘s in your best interest to visit a salon and hear advice from professional hairstylists about how often you can have haircuts. Nevertheless, you should always take care of your hair by oiling, combing, and preventing it from exposure to chemicals that can damage your hair. Certainly, you need a haircut if your hair is messed up and damaged.

Haircutting scissors

When you visit a salon, you might have seen hairstylists using different types of tools. Most hairstylists own a complete set of hairdressing tools to allow them to give their clients the hairstyles that they expect. These include clippers, scissors, brushes, combs, mirrors, and many more. 

Among all these tools, scissors are the most important tools that every hairstylist relies on. Hence, there is no shortcut to choosing the right type of hairdressing scissors. This will make sure that you have not only precision in cutting, but also the risk of hair damage is significantly reduced. 

Knowing the types of hair cutting scissors is quite interesting because each one has a unique design to match specific hairstyles. The key tool for each hairstylist is hairdressing scissors. The following are some types of hairdressing scissors hairstylists might use to cut off your hair:

Thinning scissors

thinning-scissors

The looks of thinning scissors are similar to those of regular scissors. They both have loops to accommodate your thumb and index finger and you can find such scissors for right-handed and left-handed hairstylists. The major difference is in their blades, thinning scissors have a top blade with widely spaced teeth. These teeth can cut off portions of hair without affecting the hairstyle and are only used on thicker portions of hair. Below is the classification of these hairdressing scissors:

  • Texturizing and blending thinning scissors. These scissors are known for giving the best results and can cut up to 70 percent of your hair with just a single or double cut. You can use them on any type of hair since they have a combination of texturizing and blending. 
  • Chunking thinning scissors. These scissors are commonly used to remove chunks of hair. They also create notches and are suitable for cutting off curly and thick hair, and the blade has teeth of between seven and fifteen. They usually remove up to 80 percent of hair with a single or double cut. 
  • Finishing thinning scissors. The scissors have more teeth than the above types of thinning scissors. They are designed to remove fewer hair strands and you can use them for blending and finishing. 

Razor scissors

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If you want to use texturizing scissors, these are the ideal ones. They are not the same as the thinning scissors because their base features a single loop to accommodate your index finger and have a single blade at the top. These scissors also don’t make the cutting motions, so you have to hold the hair of your client with one hand and create the textured cuts using these razor scissors. Likewise, you can have natural textures if you vary the length of the hair.

Regular scissors

regular-haircutting-scissors

These scissors can create a basic haircut. They are similar to the ones that most people have in their homes, though they have different lengths. The length of these scissors is usually between 4.5 inches and 6.5 inches. Hairstylists need to select the right shape and size so that they can have control and comfort to create the style they intend to do.

Tips to choose the best hairdressing scissors


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As you can see from above, hair cutting scissors are the crucial tools for every hairstylist, making it important to choose the right one. While some people want to cut off their hair by themselves, it can sometimes have dire consequences. By doing this yourself, it’s possible to damage your hair. This might save you some money, but you should do it if you have the right training. If you desire to save some expenses by avoiding going to the salon, you should attempt cutting off your hair only with the right hairdressing scissors. But you should prepare to have more than a single type of scissors to have the perfect results.

Remember that the quality and finishing of any hairstyle depends on the type and quality of hairdressing scissors you use. There is a danger in using low-quality and dull-bladed scissors as this can affect the styling. Even worse, it can cause significant damage to your hair. On the other hand, high-quality hairdressing scissors are a great investment because it will last longer and you can achieve the desired hairstyle. The following will guide you on how to select the right hair cutting scissors: 

Size of hair cutting scissors

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The type of haircut you want to do will determine the size of the hair cutting scissors. Hairstylists and barbers usually use longer scissors because they have to align with the comb’s edge while cutting large parts of the hair. Shorter hairdressing scissors are suitable for touch-ups and you can use regular scissors to cut small parts of your hair so that you can have a perfect finish. 

You can measure the length of the hairdressing scissors from the tip of the blade to the tip of the longest finger hole. Therefore, when measuring the size of these scissors, you should think about the length of your palm. This means the blades have to reach a few inches after your index finger.

The loops of hairdressing scissors should usually be large enough so that you can place your finger in and out without a problem. Hence, put your finger and thumb and see if you can use them comfortably. Don’t even use scissors with very small loops as you risk developing sore spots. And, if they are also too large, you might fail to control them, which can lead to hurting the individual having a haircut or even yourself. Therefore, you should only buy hairdressing scissors that perfectly fit you.

Type of blade

The type of haircut you want to achieve also determines the type of blade you use. Haircutting scissors usually are in these two categories:

  • Beveled edge. Scissors with this edge are lighter because they are manufactured using mixed metals. One or both blades have small serrations to prevent the hair from slipping through the blades. You can use these blades for detailed cutting or for cutting dry hair. However, you cannot use them for slice cutting because the blades tend to jam. 
  • Convex blades. Convex blades are made up of stainless steel and they are very sharp. Because of their sharpness, you can use them to have a clean and smooth cut. The blades are hollow inside for smooth cutting. Now, you can use these blades for slice cutting and almost any other kind of haircutting. These blades require professional sharpening and maintenance for durability.  

Scissors handles

Handles are another important feature of hairdressing scissors and each has its benefits. However, the most important consideration should always be comfort. This means it should be easy for you to place your fingers through the loops and do the haircutting process. In addition to this, the shape of your hand and cutting style will determine the suitability of the handle you use. The following are some types of handles:

  • Level handle. This handle has a basic design and the handles are equal and straight in size. 
  • Offset handle. These handles have a longer finger handle with a shorter thumb handle. This allows you to perform a smooth and natural haircutting motion. It’s also suitable for hairstylists who use their ring finger and thumb when cutting hair. 
  • Crane handle. This one has a longer handle similar to the level handle. They also have an angled thumb handle. This design prevents a lot of pressure from being exerted on your wrist and shoulder and helps you to have precision haircutting.

Scissor material

The scissors material can affect its durability. Years before, most scissors were made up of stainless steel, but there have been some changes recently. Most of the latest models are produced by combining steel with other materials, such as molybdenum and cobalt to strengthen them. 

Nevertheless, the handles of hair cutting scissors are made up of steel to prevent them from hurting you. The scissors made from a combination of molybdenum and steel provide greater strength while those produced from cobalt and steel are sharp for extended periods.

Scissors screws

It’s easy for many people to forget the importance of screws on scissors. However, screws are critical parts of scissors because they hold the blades together. Therefore, go for the hairdressing scissors which are easy to adjust. Most scissors are easy to adjust, especially the ones with flat or normal screws, but you might still need a screwdriver. 

The good news is that the latest models of scissors have adjustable screws featuring a small knob that you can turn to adjust. Further, the screws should be made up of high-quality materials because they are continuously used, so they go through wear and tear.

Maintenance

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If you get hair cutting scissors that are easy to maintain, it will save you time and effort. Scissors require regular tightening, loosening, and sharpening of blades. But the frequency of doing these tasks usually depends on how often you use them. 

Apart from these routine tasks, you should also consider cleaning and tidying your scissors because their sharpness can be affected by the collection of dust and dirt. Use mineral-based hairdressing scissor oil and store them in leather bags to keep the scissors in perfect condition. 

It is sometimes quite overwhelming to do all the above maintenance tasks by yourself. If this is the case with you, possibly professionals can service the scissors every three to six months on your behalf. However, take the scissors to experienced and well-trained experts to sharpen them to avoid distorting them as a result of incorrect sharpening. 

Pricing

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While you are spoiled for choice when it comes to hair cutting scissors, they are also priced differently. This makes it difficult to determine the right type of scissors to buy. But you should always buy the best scissors with great quality and performance regardless of their prices. It’s tempting to go for cheap and low-quality hair cutting scissors, but the blades are not long-lasting and their performance is not satisfactory. Therefore, purchase hair cutting scissors from reputable suppliers that only provide the best quality and ongoing customer support.

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