The old timer who changed how I think about thinning shears

Had a barber named Frank in his 70s watch me hack away at thick hair for 20 minutes at a shop in Cleveland last year, and he just said 'son, those shears are for blending, not for fighting.' He spent 5 minutes showing me how to use the tips instead of the whole blade, and now I get through heavy heads in half the time. Has anyone else had an older barber completely flip your technique with one simple tip?

2 comments

2 Comments

caseyl1812d ago

Yeah, I read some barber blog that said using just the tips saves way more hair on the floor.

garcia.quinn11d ago

Wait, are you sure that blog was talking about the same thing? Using just the tips isn't really about saving hair on the floor, it's more about control and avoiding that harsh line you'd get from a full blade cut. Frank probably showed you that the tips let you feather into the hair gradually, so you don't end up with a weird shelf where the thinning starts. The hair on the floor thing is just a side effect, not the main point. I've seen guys try to use the whole shear blade and they end up taking out way too much bulk in one spot, which actually makes way more hair fall. So yeah, the tips are king for blending, but it's about the finish, not the cleanup.