As a hairdresser, you have many different options for cutting your clients' hair. A suitable pair of scissors can be found for every cutting technique, but many pairs of scissors can be used for multiple techniques. Together with you, we will look at the techniques that we see a lot in hair salons nowadays.
Thinning
Thinning is a cutting technique in which the hair is thinned out and is therefore often applied to people with thick hair. This cutting technique is often used when the model has already been cut into the hairstyle and only the finishing touches need to be thinned out or small improvements made.
In thinning, you have three different types of thinning techniques:
Point thinning, where you cut the ends off and thereby let the ends blend into each other more calmly and fluidly without seeing real cut lines. With short hairstyles, this can often result in a cool and wild look.
Length thinning, where it is thinned out in length. This results in the hair falling more smoothly and making heavier hair lighter. This prevents the styling from quickly falling apart and often gives a slightly airier appearance to the hairstyle.
Depth thinning is used to add real volume to the hair. By thinning the hair about 2 cm from the scalp, the hair gets a boost and the hairstyle becomes fuller without becoming heavy. This cutting technique is especially used a lot for short hairstyles.
As you may have already guessed, thinning is not done with normal cutting scissors. Thinning scissors have a kind of teeth like a comb in the cutting blades, so that a straight cut line will not be visible. Nice examples of thinning scissors from our assortment are:
Slicing
This cutting technique is not easy and requires some time and concentration to master the technique. In fact, you cut the hair diagonally, which creates a soft and fluid line in the hairstyle. This cutting technique is widely used when making a side fringe. But slicing can also be used as a technique for thinning the hair. Just like with thinning, you can slice into the ends, the lengths, or the depth.
Because you 'cut' a large piece of hair without having much control over it during the slicing itself, it is important to have a good and sharp pair of scissors without micro-serrations. Many slice scissors are often sharper than regular cutting scissors. Nice examples in our assortment are:
Point cutting
Another cutting technique we would like to discuss has multiple names. One hairdresser knows the cutting technique as point cutting, the next as chopping, and the other as pointing. Whatever term you use, it all comes down to the same thing. With this cutting technique, you cut into the ends of the locks. In fact, you cut almost diagonally into the hairstyle, which brings out a playful cut without straight lines. The thicker the hair, the more diagonally you cut into the ends of the hair. If someone has thinner hair, after all, you do not want to cut off too much.
Here we do say: watch out, you are more likely to cut your fingers because you do not use the fingers as a ruler but cut 'freely' into them.
Modeling
With this cutting technique, thinning scissors are used. The hair is roughly cut away at the bottom with this cutting technique. You see this a lot with short hairstyles, where the thinning scissors are used to cut the locks upwards into the ends from underneath. The result is a fuller hairstyle in the coarsely cut locks and less above it.
A sub-technique in modeling is a so-called 'transition'. With this, you model the hair from the bottom, where you follow the curve of the head with the scissors. Comb the hair upwards and while you reach the ends of the locks, cut them along with the curve of the head.
In our assortment we have different types of thinning scissors. For the modeling cutting technique, we recommend the … & the … .
Channeling
With this cutting technique, you use a special type of scissors. Channel scissors have multiple 5, 7, or 9 channels in the cutting blade. The goal is that the differences in the cutting blade will have an effect on the cutting technique. You will notice that with this cutting technique, the hair falls in layers and thus will have more volume after cutting. Ideal for short hairstyles or a more playful look with longer hair.
The fewer channels in the cutting blade, the more visible the difference in length will be. Take a lock between the fingers or with the comb and use the channel scissors for cutting. Ideal scissors for this are the … & the … .
Passé
With the passé cutting technique, you use straight lines, which still give a smoother effect. With this cutting technique, you cut a straight line diagonally away. These are always small locks that you comb upwards between the fingers and then cut diagonally away at the ends. As soon as you let go of the lock, it will fall apart in layers and therefore give a fuller look.
This cutting technique is often used as a finishing touch to a haircut to bring a little more smoothness to the hair. The scissors you use for this are fine cutting scissors that fit well in the hand for a sharp straight line. Good examples of scissors for this cutting technique are the … & the … .
Contouring
Contouring also refers to a cutting technique where the ends of (often a short hairstyle) are cut away with the help of a comb. For a short hairstyle, place the comb against the head and take a lock of hair with it. Let the comb slide through the lock to the desired length of the hair and cut the ends away from the comb in a straight line. This accentuates the shape of the head and makes the hair fall neatly into style.
Here too, cutting scissors are used that are very sharp and maneuver easily along the comb. Examples of fine cutting scissors for contouring from our collection are the … & the … .
The most important of all
But no matter how many cutting techniques there are, it always starts with two important components. First, it is important that your posture is good. A hairdresser who stands incorrectly cannot sustain even the best techniques for long. A good posture is the basis of every good haircut.
In addition, it is important to have a pair of scissors that fits the cutting technique, but also you as a hairdresser. Your scissors must fit nicely in the hand, it must feel like a kind of extension of your hands. After all, it is the tool that you will hold the most during your beautiful work. A good pair of scissors is therefore of great importance.
Are you still looking for a new pair of scissors with which you can continue your work? View our entire collection of scissors here. Easily choose your new scissors online or get advice in our showroom in Leusden. We are happy to help you further!