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Servicing your hair shears is as important as servicing your car. Let's think about this.. You purchased a new car and a very expensive car and you would never think twice about never servicing that car or taking it to the mechanic. Even the most expensive cars in the world need servicing, otherwise you may as well say a quick hello and goodbye to that car. That car in fact has no hope of getting you from A to B forever if you don't, fill it up with petrol or take it to the mechanic once in a while for a service or even cleaning that car too.
Same goes for your professional hair cutting scissors.. Your hair shears may have a lifetime warranty or guaranteed by the manufacturer that they will last forever, but does anything really last forever, if you don't actually take care of it at all?
If you have stumbled across our blog today and happen to own a pair of shears that you never have really taken the time to maintain then we are happy you have stumbled here, because this blog is for you.
So here it goes below we will discuss with you what maintaining your scissors is really all about.
Sharpening your scissors
When it comes to getting your shears sharpened, it can be dependent on how often you use your hair cutting scissors. As a rough guide we normally like to tell you to sharpen your scissors anywhere between 1-2 times a year. Some more expensive scissors may not need to be sharpened as often as others but all scissors need to be sharpened regularly.
When it comes to finding a professional sharpening service to sharpen your hair cutting scissors, it's important to get your scissors sharpened by a Professional blade smith that specializes in sharpening hairdressing scissors. We would not recommend a knife sharpener as their sharpening tools would be too harsh for your finer hairdressing blade steel. If you do not send your scissors to be sharpened by a reputable and professional hairdressing blade smith in your area then you can run the risk of your scissors being damaged or broken.
Unfortunately if a blade smith does break your hairdressing scissors, then you will find they will most likely not replace them for you and blame it on the quality of the shears themselves, So that's why it's important to find an excellent sharpener.
Cleaning your scissors
After every client we recommend wiping down your hair cutting shears carefully with a soft clean cloth to remove any water, hair, dirt or sometimes chemicals. If you are a hair stylist that does not have time in between clients to do this then it's important that you try to do this as often as you can throughout the day, especially if there's a time throughout the day that you are not using your scissors.
Most importantly you should be at least cleaning your shears at the end of each work day because chemicals from perms, colors, hair products or simply just water can cause corrosion over time to the blades steel. Corrosion can occur when chemicals and water are left on the steel for long periods of time and once corrosion starts that's when rust can set in and rust is nobody's friend.
Cleaning your hair scissors is not letting your hairdressing scissors soak in Barbicide, in fact that's actually the worst thing you can do for your shears. Using the solution to clean and wipe your shears is fine, but only small amounts of any alcohol cleaning solution is needed and less is in fact more..
Oiling regularly
Once you are satisfied with your cleaning job of your hair cutting scissors then your next step is oiling your scissors with your scissor oil. Daily oiling (and cleaning) is the best way to prolong the life of your hairdressing scissors.
When it comes to oiling your blades the main focus is to use one drop of oil around the tension screw on each side of the blade. Working in the oil with a cutting motion is the best way to ensure the oil works its way further into the screw. Once that has been done brush a drop or spray of oil on the inside of each blade and carefully spread that across the blades and be careful not to cut yourself. If you have used too much oil, then simply wipe the scissors down with a cloth.
Make sure you're using Scissors oil and not any other type of oil, as proper scissor oil has the perfect blend of ingredients to treat your shears and not to cause corrosion to your shears.
Correct tension adjustment
Firstly, What happens if your tension on your shears is off?
If your tension is too tight then you will find that your hair scissors will pull on your clients hair and that is not fun for anybody. If your tension is too loose then it can bend the hair instead of cutting the hair, and that may be a little embarrassing if your client were to notice. So having that tension will make your cutting experience more enjoyable.
So how do you check your tension?
Checking your tension is simple, pointing the blades down and holding the top of the handle in each hand at eye level and starting off with the blades closed. Release one of the handles to see where the blades meet.
If the blade falls completely open then the tension is too loose and you need to tighten it. If the blades move slightly then the tension is too tight. To get the perfect tension you need to keep playing around with the tension screw or ring until the blades close 2/3 the way or close to.
Another helpful fact to know is when you buy a new pair of scissors, sometimes the tension is not set correctly, so you should always do a tension test before you start trying out your new scissors on your client.
Storing your scissors safely
Having a scissors case is the first and best thing to have when you have one to multiple pairs of scissors. A Scissors case is a safe way to secure your shears in a close case to protect them from falling or getting anything spilled on your shears.
If you store your scissors in a trolley then it's a good idea to store your scissors and scissors case from a different drawer to any spray bottle, chemicals or hairstyling products. This is to make sure nothing leaks on your scissors to cause any corrosion. If you store your scissors in a cupboard also be mindful of the surroundings and the same rules would apply.
What to do if you drop your scissors
On no! you dropped your scissors.. these things happen more than you know so do not stress yet. Firstly you're going to want to access any visible damage to the blades, handles or tension screw. If they are not visibly broken then phew! What a relief.
Next you will check for any knicks in the blade by opening and closing your scissors slowly to see if the blade catches. If the blade does catch and you find a knick then we recommend contacting a Scissors sharpener to see if they can sharpen out that imperfection for you.
Try not to use these scissors now until after a sharpener has looked at them, this is to ensure the knick doesn't cause any hair pulls on your client. If you use your scissors with a knick in them, then you could cause further damage to your shears too.
Investing
Investing in a good quality shears or a set, is the best way to save yourself money in the long run but not having to constantly replace your shears if they are cheap and not the best quality. You also don't have to invest in the best and most expensive pair of shears either. That's why buying good quality scissors in sets can actually help you save. Here at Scissors Tech we have taken time to hand pick and only sell the best of the best for you, no matter your budget.
As we have said time and time again through our blogs is that no shear will ever need no sharpening, it will not self clean and to prolong the life of any hair cutting shears takes work. Just like you would expect to sharpen your kitchen knives to keep them sharp or servicing your car to keep it running. Nothing in life really last's forever, but you can get the most out of your hair cutting scissors by maintaining and prolonging its life.
If you have ever been told hair cutting scissors will last forever we would not believe it, but if your hairdressing career lasts 20-30 years and you have taken the time to really look after your shears, then we would believe that is possible. Forever can mean to some your whole career, but forever is a never ending story that not even the dinosaur species survived.
We hope that today we have got you excited about maintaining your shears or at least the confidence to know that what you could be doing now, can prolong your hair cutting scissors lives.
So happy cutting and happy maintaining!
