How Servicing Your Hair Scissors Can Help Maintain Them

It is a common misconception that if you purchase an expensive pair of Hair Cutting Scissors then they are made well and won't need servicing. Well we are here today to tell you that this idea of Hairdressing Scissors not needing any kind of servicing or maintaining is just crazy really.

We are firm believers that all Hairdressing Scissors need their regular maintenance to prolong the lifespan of those shears.

It would be a no brainer to service a Car, Boat or Caravan. Without servicing these motors or scrubbing dirt off the exterior so they don't rust, these are all important steps you need to take to get the most out of your investment. Hair Cutting Shears are much like knives or a car in that, the blade edge needs to stay sharp, the mechanics of the hair cutting shears (pivot point) need oiling, cleaning and water and dirt need to be cleaned and dried off the steel so it does not rust.

So what are these magical tips to servicing your shears and to prolong their lives? Well I'm happy you asked, because if you keep reading that's exactly what we are going to answer for you today.

Scissor Sharpening 

Do you love the feeling you get cutting your clients hair with a new pair of scissors? We love it because with freshly sharp hairdressing scissors you can cut hair smoothly without causing any hand fatigue, also the precise and crisp cuts you get with sharp cutting tools is the best feeling.

If your scissors are not brand new and you have found that they just are not sharp as you like them to be, then that's a clear sign to book them into a professional sharpening service in your area. It's so important to find a sharpener that specializes in hairdressing scissors as other sharpening services like a knife sharpener, use different tools and techniques that are too rough on scissors steels.

We would recommend getting your scissors sharpened at least twice a year, but this all depends on the type of steel your shears could be made from so they may need more or less sharpening than twice a year.

Depending on how often you use your scissors remember that all scissors need sharpening so that includes you Thinning Scissors, Barber Scissors and all your other scissors.

Cleaning and Oiling your Scissors

Proper daily cleaning your hair scissors is really an important step to do in between haircuts throughout your day. Throughout the day your scissors can be exposed to chemicals like Perming Solution, Hair Color and Hair Products. These chemicals can be harsh and can lead to corrosion if left on your scissors, so it's important that properly cleaning these chemicals off regularly after cutting your clients hair. Another huge contributor to steel corrosion is your good friend H20 (water). So regular cleaning throughout the day to remove any water or chemicals with your clean cloth, is the best way to ensure corrosion won't occur.

As often as you can throughout your day and especially at the end of your day it is important to wipe down any excess water or hair from the day with your cleaning cloth. If you like to use Scissor Isopropyl Alcohol or Barbicide to sterilize your haircutting scissors this is fine too, just be sure to wipe it dry after too. The only thing we would tell you not to do is to let your scissors soak in any cleaning alcohol or Barbicide for long periods because this can cause significant damage to your scissors over time.

Oiling your scissors with Scissors Oil, would be the last step after cleaning them so using a small drop of hair shear oil you want to drop a drop of oil on each side of the inside scissor blades and closest to the tension screw. You then should be working in your oil.

Checking your Scissor Tension

Once your scissors are squeaky clean this is a great time to check your tension. The best way to check your tension is to hold your haircuting shears out in front of you at eye level. Make sure you're holding the haircutting shears handle in your hand and the blades should be pointing downward towards the floor.

Once you have your scissors in the ready position, let go of the handle without the pinky rest and see where the blade wants to fall. If the scissors open completely, then the tension is too loose. If the blade falls slightly open then the tension is too tight. The ideal tension to have is when the scissors close or open about 1/4 to a 1/3 open/closed.

If your a visual person and would like to see this demonstrated then please go visit our YouTube Demo HERE

Why is it important for the tension to be set correctly? well we are happy you asked..

If the tension is too tight you can cause damage to the shears and wear them also it can pull on your clients hair which is not pleasant. If your tension is too loose you can fold and bend the hair instead of cutting the hair, which is not a good look for any hair stylist.

Where to store your Scissors safely

Your hair cutting scissors deserve a home or a safe place, it's an important part to making sure your hair scissors are kept safe and sound while you're not using them.

A great way to keep them safe is storing your Hair Cutting Tools in a Scissors Case. The Scissors case is not waterproof so remember to store your case and hair scissors away from water bottles or wet areas. 

Make sure you don't have any loose scissors dancing around in your protective case either and remember to properly store them in your case. Having your hair scissors safely buckled in the case will protect those hair scissors if you drop the case.

Now that you're a Maintenance Pro..

You heard that right! We think now you can go off into the world with confidence in being able to properly maintain and service your Hair Scissors. As we have said time and time again, to prolong the life of your haircutting scissors they will need the work put in by you and now you can see what proper maintenance looks like, you could probably agree that it's not so difficult.

Proper Cleaning, Professional Sharpening, Storing the scissors correctly and checking the tension is all you need to remember to get the best out of your professional hairdressing shears. Lucky for you we do include for you a top quality scissors case and maintenance kit which includes your soft cloth when you purchase a new pair of shears. If you are in need of a maintenance kit or a scissors case please feel free to reach out to one of our friendly customer service representatives that can help arrange one for you.

So remember to keep those scissors sharp, correctly tensioned and clean to enhance your cutting performance.