Thinning Shears

Thinning shears are especially designed scissors that are made to cut ones hair without changing the style. At first glance thinning shears look like ordinary scissors, but if you look carefully you can see that they have 2 blades that look like combs. They work by allowing some of the hair to be shorter than the rest by allowing some of the hair to “rest” between the gaps.

Thinning shears are very popular with people who have thick or curly hair because it helps control the “poof” look of the hair which can be difficult to control with ordinary scissors. You can think of it as shears like the ones gardeners use to control the growth of garden hedge. They are also used to help layer the hair to prevent the choppy look. Generally its not recommended for people who have thin and fine hair. Using thinning shears takes some practice like any other tool. One of the basic things recommended is not use the shears too close to the roots. It’s always better to keep them approximately 3 inches away from the scalp. The maximum amount of recommended shear use is 3 times a year, because there is the risk of the hair looking “stringy”

Hair stylist will use thinning shears to fix issues like layering. So basically the purpose of thinning shears as the name suggest to thin the hair rather than to trim it. Thinning shears are used generally after a hair cut to remove excess bulk and giver the hair a nice, finished “layered look.  Most stylist will have 2 kinds of thinning shears in their salon The first kind has Smaller “teeth” that are thinly space and only cuts around % 30 of the hair when sheared and the other type of sheer is the one with larger and more widely spaced teeth or a notching shear.

The second type of thinning shear is the one that is used most for thick, curly hair to give it a choppy layered look. General rule of thumb when using shears is on longer hair one can do multiple snips and on shorter hair its best to do only one snip per section. There is wide array of thinning shears available in the market today. The days of a tool that looked like just another odd design scissors are long gone. The choices include custom made finger holds that are ornate made out of top quality “hammer forged” steel is available on the market. There are some with a so called “convex” design   which assists in the smoothest cut. They are also ergonomically designed to make the shears more comfortable for the person using them. So if one is willing to shell out a little extra money there are a lots of choices and designs available nowadays.