What’s the Best Hair Cutting Scissor For You?

By far, the most important word in the title is you! From a young age we’re told not to put ourselves first. It’s not ‘me and my friend’ your mum would remind you. But right now we’re telling you to forget what mum told you. It’s all about you now. And don’t forget it. You’re an adult now and the number one item on the list of adulting is holding down a job. You’re a successful stylist so you deserve the best hairdressing scissors.

It’s not about the best scissors for the stylist next to you or the salon down the road. You only need to concern yourself with the best professional hair cutting scissors for you. Check out the list of things you should consider.

What to Consider When Buying Haircutting Scissors

There’s plenty to think about when it comes to buying a new pair of scissors.

Your Hand Size

We’re all built differently. You might have a small palm with slender fingers so you’ll want a smaller pair of scissors than a stylist with a larger hand and wider fingers. Hairdressers with small hands need small scissors, around 5.5 or 6 inch are best. If you have slim thumbs and fingers they may move around inside the scissors too much that you don’t have full control of the scissors and don’t feel comfortable. But Matsui scissors come with spare plastic finger inserts in a range of sizes to prevent this.

Brand of Scissors

Some hairdressers like a particular brand. And that’s understandable. It’s likely you reach for the same brand of tinned tomatoes at the supermarket and the laundry detergent you think smells the best. It’s a habit, and it’s what you know and trust.

Others aren’t so picky. They’re happy to grab the detergent that’s on special and throw any old tin of tomatoes in the trolley because they aren’t brand loyal. They’re willing to mix and match. One brand of cutting scissor and another brand of thinning scissors. Like the tinned tomatoes…but different. You know what I mean.

But what the newer brands of scissors offer is innovative features. Brands like Matsui incorporate new features in their scissors to improve comfort, ergonomics and performance. Some older manufacturers have made few changes in the past 20 years. Sometimes you’re best to try a new brand of scissors to see what they have to offer that your old brand doesn’t.

Variety of Scissors

You might have a penchant for cutting scissors and are the proud owner of several pairs but eventually you will need to widen your circle. You will need to let others join your exclusive belt such as a pair of thinners you can call your own rather than borrowing a pair that aren’t just right for you.

Also, owning the best hair cutting scissors for thick hair might be great for those clients with blessed tresses. But what about the clients whose hair is thinner than thin? Those scissors may not be your best option.

Using multiple pairs of cutting scissors can extend their lifespan and save you money. It might seem expensive to buy multiple pairs but if they’re lasting twice as long between sharpenings and have double the lifespan, you’re in front.

Also, it’s ideal if you can pick and choose which scissors you use depending on the client. If a client comes in straight from work on a building site and looks with hair that hasn’t been washed in a week, you don’t want to use your good scissors on his hair. There’s no quicker way to blunt your scissors than cutting a head of hair that’s full of dust and dirt. Save your good scissors and pull out your old pair from the drawer.

New Vs Old Hand

The best hair cutting scissors for a hairdresser who has been working for the best part of a quarter of a century may need a more ergonomic pair than a stylist who is just starting out. When you experience hand or wrist pain, you know it’s time to look after your hands better. You might be wise to try scissors with an offset handle if you haven’t already. There’s also swivel handle scissors to give you maximum movement in the hand while cutting.

The scissor you choose will depend on the years of experience. A swivel handle scissor is best used by a stylist with several years of hairdressing under their belt. Someone new to the hairdressing game can struggle to keep a swivel handle under proper control and cut efficiently.

Professional Use

The difference between the best hair cutting scissors for home use and salon use are worlds apart. A home pair of scissors will make an appearance once a month to trim a family member’s mop. They won’t meet the demands of a pair of scissors being used all day every day in a salon setting.

Fancy Hairdressing Scissors

The favourite finish on hairdressing scissors is very much a personal choice. You might think you’re well past the neon pink scissor stage in your life and would like to join the ranks of the rose gold shears ’ hairdressers. Others are more traditionalists and like to stick with the steel finish or sleek it up with matte black. Choose a pair that suits your personality and hairdressing style. You’re allowed to have some fun because let’s be honest adulting all the time can have its drawbacks.

You might be surprised to learn that the titanium coating of coloured scissors require more pure steel to get a consistent finish. Coloured finish scissors need a high quality of steel for the coating process to be successful while cheap steel scissors can easily be polished to a shiny steel finish.

Your Budget

One of the worst parts of adulting is you have to think about money. You’ve realised that mum was in fact right, there is no magic money tree out the back. If you want to buy something that costs way more than a tin of tomatoes, you have to consider your finances.

The scissors you choose might come down to what you can afford. It doesn’t mean it should force any hairdresser to buy a non-professional pair of hair cutting scissors. But it might determine the brand you pick.

A stylist who has been hairdressing for many years is more likely to choose a more expensive brand than an apprentice just starting out. Scissor Tech has a great range of apprentice hairdressing scissors to choose from that include salon and barbering kits.

Luckily, hairdressers today can take advantage of buy now pay later providers such as Sezzle and Splitit so they can pay off their investment as they work. Professional hairdressers need professional scissors but they don’t come cheap. They make the best hair cutting scissors from world-class Japanese or German steel. With hairdressing scissors, you get what you pay for.

Your Level of Care for Haircutting Tools

Let’s face it, we don’t all look after our things with the same level of care. Your mum might have spent hours telling you to look in the school lost property for your hoodie or pick up your toys off the floor before they get broken. If being an adult hasn’t changed your ways, you might not clean your scissors at the end of the day, you throw them in the drawer and you don’t worry too much about dropping them on the floor.

You might watch the meticulous stylist next to you as she washes and dries her scissors to remove every trace of hair and chemicals, wouldn’t dream of dropping them and only stores them in a case at night. It’s likely you will need to replace your scissors more often than the colleague you’ve silently named ‘neat freak’. You’re probably less likely to buy the most expensive pair of hairdressing scissors if you lean towards the lazy or clumsy side.

Shopping for Haircutting Scissors

It’s important you consider all your needs and wants before you hit the virtual hairdressing scissors shop. You want to decide on scissors that suit you and your career. But don’t worry about making a mistake, we’re all still learning in life!

Scissor Tech allows you to exchange your scissors for another pair or ask for a refund within seven days of purchase. We understand how personal scissors are and that’s why we think it’s so important that the scissors you buy are the right ones for you. You’re always welcome to speak to an expert at Scissor Tech to answer any queries you may have. Happy adulting!