About Blending/Thinning
Shears
Blending Shears vs. Thinning Shears: Key Differences
Maybe you’re wondering what the differences are between blending shears and thinning shears, and the truth is, it all comes down to the techniques you use on the hair. Both share many similarities, however, the blade is very different in both tools.
It might be obvious, but blending shears are used to blend hair. They are the perfect tool to create natural texture with little to no hard lines that really affect the results. Blending shears are designed to help you remove a moderate amount of hair without having to worry about leaving visible lines or empty spaces. Blending shears tend to be more delicate, so you can work confidently on your blending even with thin or fine hair.
Thinning shears, on the other hand, tend to have more teeth on the blade. Thanks to the number of teeth, you can easily remove hair and create a negative space in no time. They allow the hair to slip along the blade while the teeth cut it.
Types of blending shears
Not all blending shears are equal. Each has their own purpose and should be used according to the end result you are looking to achieve. Let’s compare the different types of blending shears:
Signature Series InvisiBlend Shear
This shear not only helps you create a seamless blending, but this shear is your go-to when you want to create invisible texture or blend hair without creating any hard lines in the hair. This shear will make the texturizing and blending process easier, faster, and more comfortable for you.
The InvisiBlend Shear has 23 razor sharp convex teeth and an overpolished blunt blade. When you close these shears the teeth push the hair along the overpolished blunt blade as it cuts, resulting in a soft blended texture without leaving hard lines. You can use the reversible hand position to move the shear around and place the teeth right in the place you need them without worrying about wrist pain.
Essential Series 30-Tooth Blender
This blender shear is perfect for stylists with little experience and for those looking for more forgiveness while blending or texturizing hair. This shear features a reversible handle design, allowing you to easily cut hair in any position without placing strain on your hand, wrist or shoulder. The convex blades effortlessly cut through hair without pulling hair or snagging. With only 30 teeth, the Essential Blending Shear is very forgiving and can be used to extract a decent amount of weight, making it great for blending, texturizing and even cutting soft blunt lines.
Signature Series Reversible Blending Shear
The Reversible Blending Shear was designed to allow you to flip the shear to easily cut in any direction you need. Its ergonomic design and dual finger rest protects your comfort to work in a neutral position without twisting your wrist.
It’s perfect for creating amazing texture with a natural look. This shear has 42 curved teeth in a “V” shape to catch and remove more hair in less time. This shear is excellent for scissor over comb work, cutting soft blunt lines, and creating visual texture.
Why flip the shear over? When using a blender the hair will tend to flow whichever way the teeth are pointed; point the teeth down to the floor and the hair will want to flow toward the head, point the teeth up toward the ceiling and the hair will want to kick up, on the side of the head–point the teeth toward the face or toward the back of the head and the hair will want to flow in that direction. You can remember this by saying “where the teeth go the hair flows”. This is true anywhere on the head.
Are there different thinning shears?
Thinning shears are designed to help you achieve a consistent and natural texture in little time.
The Signature Series 14 Tooth Point Cutting Shear has a forward set thumb while the Classic Series 14 Tooth Point Cutting Shear has an offset handle. The right option for you will depend on your personal preferences.
A key feature of these thinning shears is that the teeth are on the top, while the blunt blade is placed on the bottom. This helps to reduce strain on your body while cutting and facilitates more comfortable positions.
Are thinning shears harmful for the hair?
Many stylists, especially newer ones, might feel nervous about using a thinning shear. However, if you use them correctly, there is no reason to worry.
The key is to understand that the amount of hair that is going to be cut is determined by the space between the teeth. If you use them too much in a single section of hair it will take away a large amount of hair, and of course, you won’t get the results you expect.
How to use:
With the section held in your fingers, you close one time parallel to the fingers instead of closing over and over perpendicular to the fingers like you would with a regular shear. They can also be used to point cut in the same motion as normal–perpendicular to the fingers–and they give a much more soft result than regular shears.
Benefits:
The idea behind the 14-tooth blender is to give the same end result as point cutting does but with one close of the shear instead of many many closures. The benefits of this are to save time, save everyday shears from dulling, and save the body from excess movement.
They save time by cutting one time instead of many, many times with a regular shear.
They save regular shears from dulling because you are no longer using them for point cutting and no longer closing them over and over and using just the ends of the blades which dulls the ends of the shears much faster
They save the body because you have way fewer closings of the shear per haircut which relieves a lot of extra thumb movement and wrist and elbow movement in an elevated position which engages muscles in the shoulder and all the way down the back.