The Best Way To Clean And Care For Your Barber Tools

Today we will go through the very best way you can care and clean your barber tools. You can be the best barber with the best tools in the world, but if you don't know how to properly care, clean and disinfect those tools then that comes hand in hand with being the best.

Naturally we favor your barbering scissors as your most important tool, over other tools. So you will find we will offer our best advice on how to best take care of your barber scissors, because well.. we know our stuff on scissors!

In this blog we will teach or even just remind you how often you should clean your tools, how to clean them properly, why it's so important to clean your tools, things to avoid doing when cleaning your scissors, and so much more.

How often should a barber and hairdresser clean their tools?

How often one should clean their tools depends on the tool itself and we also have to think about spot cleaning, disinfecting a tool or deep cleaning a tool as well.

Generally spot cleaning would be wiping down your tools in between every client. Spot cleaning can be rinsing your tools (if possible) with water or spraying sanitiser over them. A spot clean will never be a deep clean and should never be the only cleaning you do with your tools but it should be done in between every client. Remember to always wipe off any water residue from your scissors and have them completely dry at all times.

A deep cleaning is a more of a thorough job and can be done either daily with your scissors and combs or weekly with your clippers and other hair tools. A deep clean would be to use your cleaning brush and isopropyl alcohol to delicately brush your scissors to remove any hair, dirt and left over product off the steel.

Nobody wants to see dirty stations or tools before they sit down for a haircut. So if you need to just use common sense with this one and clean your tools even more often or less then that is fine too.Just remember proper hygiene, and cleanliness with your tools throughout the day is important.

How to clean my Scissors properly

To make things easier for you we have included below our step by step process of the way we feel is the best way to clean those professionals with a barber shop or hairdressing scissors.

1. With a cleaning cloth or brush gently wipe down the blades to remove and excess hair or dirt
2. Use your disinfectant spray or alcohol on a cloth to wipe over the scissors to help break down any leftover products from the day that may still be present on the steel. Make sure to remove those finger insert and clean if needed there too.
3. The last step is oiling your scissors with proper scissor oil. use one small drop of oil on the blade closest pivot point of the scissors. To work in the oil, open and close the scissors 10 to 15 times. If you have used enough oil by opening and closing the scissors this will work out and catch up hair or dirt around the tension screw. This should be done daily.
4. Wipe off excess oil, store your scissors away in a safe and dry place.

Why it's so important to clean my tools

"KNOWLEDGE IS POWER" ..

When it comes to understanding the importance of cleaning your tools regularly and properly. If you value the dollars you have spent on your tools and want to see what you have purchased last through the ages, then the first step is to take care of them and clean your tools to protect your investment.

Certain types of products can cause the steel to corrode or rust over time, if they are not properly cleaned or wiped down regularly. Even a simple wipe while you're not using your scissors would go a long way if there is water on them. Water is the main cause of rust as you would know, and rust and corrosion have a nasty way of rearing its ugly head over time if you are not carefully cleaning those scissors.

By taking care of all the debris off of your investment with regular cleaning then you are vastly extending the lifespan of your scissors.

Also using scissor oil to use at the end of a clean is always important because scissor oil is made up of the right ingredients to care for your scissors to also prevent any damage or corrosion.

Clean hair clippers and clean hair scissors will cut and perform better for you. That excess hair never does anything for anybody.

How to and how often I sharpen my hair scissors

Firstly we recommend that you should always find a professional sharpening service for your hair cutting scissors and barbering tools that is located in your area. 

You should never try to sharpen your clippers or hair cutting scissors yourself or pull apart your clippers to clean them yourself either (leave it to the professionals).

You should be aiming to book in for a professional sharpening at least 1-2 times a year to maintain the razor sharp edge on your hair cutting scissors. It's a common misconception that some expensive hair cutting scissors will stay sharper for longer (which can be true) or not need sharpening at all, we know that all scissors should be maintained and sharpened regularly.

A professional hair scissors sharpener and a professional clipper blades sharpener should also be able to take apart your scissors and hair clippers to remove any dirt or hair that could be stuck inside the hair clipper or stuck in hard to get to areas on your hair scissors.

Sterilizing your tools

Your tools should be sterilized between each client.

They can be sanitized with cleaning alcohol clipper spray. After you have wiped cleaning alcohol or sprayed the alcohol on the clipper blade or hair scissors, it's always important to wipe and rinse off any debris from the metal to prevent corrosion.

How to check your tension on your hair cutting scissors.

Firstly, why do you need to check your scissors tension?

It's important to check your scissor tension because if your scissor tension is too tight then it can pull on the clients hair and can give you hand fatigue or even RSI related injuries. If the tension is too loose it can cause the hair to bend between scissors blades.

1. Hold your scissors out in front of you, with the blades in the direction up to the sky and the handle point to the floor.
2. Open the left blade 9-12 to make a perfect cross position.
3. Drop that same left handle/blade to see where the scissors close.
4. If the scissors close shut then the tension is too loose, if the blades hardly move or close half way then the tension is too tight.
5. Adjust your tension screw until the scissors close much further then half way or fall just before the shut.
6. Then finish off with oiling. (remember to oil you hair cutting scissors once a day)

Things to NEVER do with your scissors.

• Never ever soak your scissors in any antibacterial solution like Barbicide. This will cause significant damage overtime to the steel.
• Store your scissors in any wet area. Keep them far away from spray bottles and basin areas. this really goes for most of your tools!
• Scrub your scissors with a hard brush to clean them.
• Take your scissors apart to clean or sharpen yourself.. Leave it to the professionals
• Drop them.. it's no secret that dropping your scissors can cause them damage so when you are not using your scissors store them safely away in a scissors case.
• Never oil them or not use professional scissors oil. Instead please do.. Oil your scissors once a day with the correct scissors oil.
• Cut with the incorrect tension. The wrong tension can cause damage to your scissors and potentially pain to your clients scalp. The wrong tension can actually pull hair from the scalp.

Protecting and caring for your tools is always as important as investing in good quality tools to see you through your barbering and hairdressing career. Why invest all this money to then have your tools break, rust or fail on you because you failed to take care of them.

Now I'm sure if you have made it to the end of this article that you are invested in taking care of your tools, and that we can 100% vibe with.

Happy Cutting!