One of the first skills that an aspiring hairstylist learns in beauty school is how to correctly hold the shears. Holding the shears properly ensures an accurate cut, and this is an essential skill to learn if you wish to give a haircut that is even. This skill is extremely important if the haircut is blunt cut where a straight and even line is necessary.
A pair of hair-cutting shears consists of two blades. One is a stationary blade, which should not move while cutting the hair. The purpose of the stationary blade is to hold and grip the hair. The other blade is known as the cutting blade, and this is the blade that actually does the cutting of the hair.
All five fingers need to be placed on the shear. The ring finger goes through the loop of the stationary blade, while the pinky rests on the tang. The tang is the piece of metal that serves as a finger rest. The middle and index finger rests on the shank of the stationary blade, which is the length of metal between the finger loop and the sharpened blade. The thumb is the finger that actually does all of the cutting and is responsible for the opening and closing of the shears. The thumb goes in the loop of the cutting blade.
Once all of your fingers are in place, hold the shears so that the blades are parallel to the ground. Before attempting to cut hair, practice opening and closing the shears using only your thumb. Your other four fingers will be used to brace the stationary blade, keeping it from moving. This exercise may seem easy, but once you attempt it, you will see just how difficult it is to keep the stationary blade from moving.
After you have mastered the skill of holding the hair shears properly, you are ready to learn how to cut hair. If you have not mastered the skill of holding the shears properly, it will be difficult to give an accurate haircut. When both blades are in motion, the stationary blade will not be able to grip the hair; instead, the blades will “push” the hair when the blades are closed. This will result in a cut that is uneven. Learning how to hold the shears and operate them correctly is perhaps the most important part of learning how to cut hair.