Kamisori Black Diamond Lefty Shears

Your hairstyle or haircut is a valuable part of your style and appearance and truly affects the way you feel about yourself. While getting a haircut every 6 – 8 weeks at a professional salon is recommended, sometimes a quick trim on our own can do wonders for a person’s head of hair.  While it may seem any pair of scissors will do for a quick trim, using a pair of sharp, professional hair scissors is very important.

Even though it seems beneficial to wash and brush your hair each and every day, this repeated action can actually cause hair damage. UV rays from the sun, pulling a comb or brush through and styling products and tools cause hair to become weak and break or split. This is when it is necessary to trim your hair follicles, even if you are trying to grow it out.

Many people think using a pair of scissors often used for office-related projects will do.  Because of the intended usages of these non-hair scissors, they are often dull or have residue buildup on the blades. When this happens, the hair will possible be bent over the blade and broken, rather than cut sharply and evenly between the blades.  The duller the scissors, the more uneven the cut will be. Regular office scissors are also designed to cut through thicker objects such as paper and even cardboard or plastic. Hair follicles are might finer than any of these materials and require a different shape of blade in order to get a clean cut. If you are going to trim your hair yourself, getting a good sharp pair of dedicated hair scissors is highly recommended.

Dedicated hair scissors can be found at any drug store, many department stores as well as high-end hair product stores. Depending on the quality, hair scissors can range in price to a few dollars to several hundred.  A small price to pay when you consider the damage an old pair of dull scissors may inflict on your daily appearance. This regular hair maintenance is very important to keep a healthy, happy head of hair.

Finely kept sharp hair scissors cut hair buy snipping each strand at the exact point at which the scissors are placed.  Quality hair shears will make such a sharp snip that you’ll be able to hear it!  You’ll also be able to cut a section of hair easily and accurately.  These are signs that your scissors are sharp and safe to use.

If you allow the hair shears to become dull, they will bend the hair over the scissors and tear it, rather than finely cut it.  This will result in a poorly executed, uneven cut that will damage the ends of the hair.  Not to mention, it can pull the client’s hair and be quite painful.

It is vitally important to sharpen your hair scissors often, and well.  You should always employ the skills of a professional when sharpening your shears because they will do the best job possible.  It’s likely that you spent a lot of money on these hair scissors, so you’d hate to ruin them by trying to sharpen them yourself.

The least expensive hair dryers tent to use a metal or plastic heating element and this leads to a very intense, very uneven heat.  It essentially “cooks” the hair by boiling the water out of it.  Higher standard dryers are typically made with a ceramic drying element; similar to what is used in space heaters or other home heating technology.

You may have seen a hair drying boasting that it is an “ionic dryer.” On a cheap hair dryer (that’s not ionic), the heat will diffuse positive ions, and because hair cuticles are naturally neutral, this causes them to open and result in frizzy and poofy hair.  A high quality ionic dryer will  produce negative ions which “flatten” the neutral cuticle and trap moisture in so the hair stay sleek and shiny.

Just like in straightening irons, the settings on a hair dryer can be very beneficial.  Many come with a “high” or “low” option but it is also important to look for a “hot” or “cool” setting. Recently, dryers have been made with a “cool shot” or “cool blast” option.  This is perfect for finishing touches or to dry any finishing sprays or products.

A recent addition to hair dryers are all of the attachment options.  A person with thick, curly hair can avoid and hint of frizz with a diffuser.  This attachment diffuses hair between the ringlets to dry it faster, but more gently.  And using a nozzle or air stream tool is great for those who dry their hair with a brush.

The last important factor when buying hair dryer is the warranty.  Just like everything else, the warranty sometimes comes from the manufacturer and sometimes from the retailer.  The more expensive brands tend to have the better return, refund and repair options available so be sure to check it out before you invest in a dryer

**Always, always, ALWAYS use a hair repair shampoo and conditioner. Look for a shampoo and conditioner that’s made for use with heated styling tools or offers some sort of “repairing” benefits.

**Use a thermal protection spray every single time you clamp the hot plates down on your wild mane.  It’s worth it and will really help your hair in the long run.  It locks in moisture and prevents the “frying” that is sometimes associated with using a hair straightener.

**Save up some money and invest in a high quality hair straightener. The ideal straightener will have tourmaline (or tourmaline and ceramic) plates, will feature adjustable temperatures, and will use ion or far infra red technology.

*Lesser quality plates will chip and damage hair, and are known to heat unevenly, meaning they may burn some parts of your hair while leaving others unheated.  If you don’t choose an adjustable heat feature, you may actually be at risk of damaging your hair beyond repair.  Most girls need a temperature setting between 370 degrees Fahrenheit and 390 degrees Fahrenheit.  If you don’t need it any hotter, don’t set it any hotter and expose your hair to higher temperatures.  It’s not worth it.

*The ion and far infra red technology do an excellent job of decreasing frizz and making hair shiny and moisturized.  Many girls use a hair straightener to reduce frizz, so if you get one made for that, you’ll spend less time actually applying heat to your hair.

Another visible feature of hair scissors is the thumb ring. Different styles of shears place the thumb ring at different angles and stylists choose based on comfort and preference.  Newer styles of hair scissors often come with an adjustable or “swivel” thumb ring to allow the stylist to adjust the ring for comfort and ease.
There are some aspects of hair scissors that are less obvious to the user.  For example, the blade style.  Two popular styles of blades are the convex and bevel varieties.  The convex style is newer and reportedly smoother than the bevel style.  Convex blades open and close with less force and are used on nearly all training scissors.  This style is required when slide cutting. The bevel style of blade has been available for much longer and it tends to require more force to open and close.

Shears are available in a wide range of styles, varieties and prices.  It is necessary to consider all of the above factors before selecting a pair of scissors to purchase.  A stylist should view this purchase as an investment in themselves and in their career.

Hair cutting professionals use high quality hair cutting shears or professional hair scissors.  The reason for using these hair scissors  and not the cheapest craft scissors at the dollar store is clear:  the better the scissors, the better the hair cut.

Professional hair scissors should be made from a high quality metal that is free from nicks or cuts.  It is important that the blades are sharp, and while they shouldn’t need sharpened after every use, a hair cutting professional should pay attention to how many cuts he or she can perform between each sharpening.

In order to keep their hair scissors in good shape, remember a few simple rules for their care.

Rule one: Always, always, always clean the hair scissors after each use.  Rinse them with soap and water to prevent bacteria and germ build-up.

Rule two: Sterilize the hair scissors with a non damaging formula.  It is not necessary to sterilize the hair shears after each use, but before doing so, be sure that the formula is gentle enough to prevent harm.

Rule three: Store hair scissors in a dry place.  To avoid moisture, keep the scissors in a holster or in a place where they are sure to stay away from water or any wet environment.

Rule four: Don’t be afraid to oil hair scissors if they are in constant use.  Proper and occasional oiling can prevent rust and maintain proper movement in the shears.

And finally, rule five: Never, ever use hair shears on anything except for hair.  These tools are called “hair scissors” for a reason and using them on anything else can damage the blades and prevent them from doing their job.

For those interested in being a part of this trend, keep in mind that a bob, and a growing out bob, looks better with an asymmetrical cut. Ask your stylist to cut it slightly longer in the front and a bit shorter in the back.  This hair cut is really the best of both worlds.  It’s short enough to be trendy, but long enough to wear in a casual pony tail or a fancy up-do.

To achieve this look at home, be sure to invest in a pair of very high quality hair scissors.  A pair of cheap shears from your local discount store isn’t going to cut it (pun intended).  This particular hair cut tends to be easier to do when the hair is damp, but not dripping wet.

Starting with small sections, comb out your hair and grab a part of your hair between your index and middle finger.  Measure your hair to the desired length and carefully snip off the excess using extra sharp hair scissors.  Repeat this process until you have cut all of your hair.  To make sure both sides are even, part your hair and carefully pull section that are directly across from each other on either side of your head and compare their length.

For those of you who are a little more daring, you could try a more complicated technique.  Comb all of your hair forward and cut it to the desired length, doing small sections at a time.  Be sure you keep a spray bottle filled with water nearby to use whenever you hair starts to dry out.  You may need to enlist the help of a friend to trim the back of your hair, but this technique will help you achieve the “shorter in the back” look that is so popular in bobs.

Of course, you can always visit a stylist and have him or her do the cut, then maintain it on your own at home, or revisit the salon every 4-6 weeks for upkeep.