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How long do you leave tools in Barbicide

The iconic blue of Barbicide has always been constant in the beauty industry and popular among hair stylists. Barbers and stylists claim Barbicide as one of the staples in any industry establishment. Barbicide is used for cleaning up the tools especially hair cutting shears. It is a process of just a few minutes and is used by many hair cutting experts.

One question frequently asked about the use of Barbicide is “What is the right method of using barbicide?” So in this article we want to provide you with a guide for proper use, to make sure you and your business are practicing proper infection control.

The first and foremost thing to do in your infection control process is clean your tools, by removing all physical debris as it is hygienic. You can use plain soap in this process and water. Then you can move on to using Barbicide to disinfect.

Following are the easiest steps of using barbicide:

1.Mix it:

The appropriate mixing ratio of Barbicide is one of the most important things you can do. The proper ratio to use is 2 oz. (or ¼ cup) of Barbicide concentrate mixed into 32 oz. of water that is about 4 cups. This is the correct dilution, so you can destroy all the pathogens. One good thing is that this can be used by every hair stylist whether amateur or professional.  All non-porous surfaces in your salon should be disinfected. Single use items like nail files or neck strips can also be thrown away after each use. Once you have mixed your solution there are several ways you can disinfect. It is always said by the professionals that “If you can, immerse it. If you can’t, spray it.”

2. Immersion:

For items like especially hair cutting shears immerse them in Barbicide for ten minutes. Not more than that. Time should be noted correctly as it makes a big difference. Those ten minutes (contact time) will ensure all the pathogens on the label are eradicated. Once the contact time is complete, remove the implements and rinse them with water. Store the tools in an air tight bowl or container until you are set to use them again.

Once the solution comes in contact with implements you need to change it 24 hours later, or sooner if contaminated.

3.Spray it:

Another easy way to do the cleaning with Barbicide is that you spray your hair cutting shears with it and leave for just ten minutes. Managing time during this process is very important. After leaving your meta shears for ten minutes, wipe up with clean cloth.

With these basic steps for using Barbicide you will be prepared to keep your hair salon clean and disinfected. Make sure you know how to use Barbicide. Barbicide offers both spray bottle options and Barbicide wipes to make surface disinfection simple, easy and fast! It is important to remember when using the spray Barbicide, it is important to use the EPA labeled bottle and maintain the 10 minute contact time. That is, the surface being disinfected must stay wet with disinfectant for 10 minutes before drying or wiping. When using a Barbicide wipe, it is even more convenient as that contact time is cut to 2 minutes.

Some of the important things to keep in mind:

Use Barbicide of good quality and do not forget to follow directions on the label.

It’s important to clean your hair cutting shears on daily basis. If not, then at least twice a week.

TO CLEAN AND DISINFECT TOOLS like brushes, combs, clips, clipper blades, shears, razors, nail implements, washable nail files and especially hair cutting scissors:

First of all remove all visible debris.

Scrub tools with warm water and soap. You can use just a plain soap for this.

Rinse thoroughly and pat dry with a towel.

Fully immerse and soak in Barbicide solution for 10 minutes to disinfect.

Rinse and pat dry with a towel.

Store in “Clean” storage container

Cleaning your hair cutting shears will keep you away from all the diseases as it is hygienic. You can use this easy process on daily basis to keep yourself and your customers healthy and happy.

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How to Clean your Haircutting Shears

Taking good care of your hair cutting scissors is important to make sure they are always ready to give you the support you need to perform well on the job. It is very usual that every professional hair stylist has a kit containing number of different types of hair cutting shears. No matter what, cleaning up the hair cutting shears will always be the most important part of the career of a hair and it is the most worthy investment of their life. Hair stylists can have just as destructive an impact on your reputation if the hair cutting scissors of low quality. Understanding the different types of hair cutting shears is necessary.

Here are some tips to all professionals out there to be followed regularly to maintain your hair cutting shears well:

1. Clean up your professional hair cutting shears every day:

It is important to wipe up your hair shears after every haircut, but a lot of hair salons stylists just put theirs into Barbicide as a shortcut method but it is a very unhygienic move for plentiful reasons, since small and minute pieces of hair can still get trapped in your hair cutting shears causing many diseases. Although they are sterilized, even then they are not clean. This should be the most important thing to be taken in to consideration that Barbicide can actually harm your hair cutting shears by removing all grease if you leave them in for too long.

Instead of using Barbicide-drop method, hair stylists can clean hair cutting shears with warm foamy water after after sanitizing your tools. Just wipe away the blades from the cutting edge and keep in mind to check the place where the blades of your hair shears connect, that’s the main place where hair is most expected to get trapped. Dry off the blades before you close them and store them in a dry place to avoid corrosion. Some beauty salons like to dry their hair cutting scissors with a hair dryer, but this is not a good idea as it can warp the blades and ruin their set, which can have horrible effects on your next haircut!

2. Use oil to clean up hair cutting shears weekly:

Experts prefer using oil to clean up as it is also very important for you shears on weekly basis. The greatest way to remember that you need to lubricate your shears is by always doing it at the end of the day before you leave for home. That way the lubrication has time to set into your hair shears as it does its work before you come the very next day and sanitize and clean them for your next haircut.

Do the cleansing with sanitizer, soap and water and apply few drop of oil around the pivot screw. That’s the correct way of cleaning your haircutting shears. Open and close the blades quite for a few times so that the lubricant gets all the way over the shares and inside the blades and picot screw. Take off extra lubricant by using a cotton bud down the blades of your hair shears and store them in a case or pocket.

3. Sharpening of your hair cutting shears on regular basis:

Important point to be taken in to consideration is that shear sharpening is for experts only because a single mislead can lead to permanent ruining of the blades. Finding your hair shears to be pushing or pulling hair is a worry, cherry on the top can be the trouble faced in cutting its tips. If this is the case then hair sharpening is what you need. Hence, if you need shear sharpening then the best option is to visit certifies and fully equipped hair shears. Ask around your circle and use social media groups to know about the best hair shears around your area. If you have treated your hair shears really well then there must not be any requirement for sharpening unless you have served a good number of customers i.e 600 or 700. This number keeps decreasing on the hair scale if you have been frequently cutting dirty, damaged, thick, treated or coarse hair. If you are looking for the quality hair shears sharpening that can stay strong even after hundreds of the haircuts then visit at ishears. iShears provides you with the best quality keeping customers’ satisfaction at our priority.

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Why you should use the Swivel Shears

Every artist knows the value of using the wide range of hair cutting shears for different hair styles. The swivel shear is very popular among all the professional hair stylists as they are the most comfortable shears to use. There is a very specific value to this type of hair shear. The benefit of swivel shear is really all about the ergonomics; the position of our wrists, arms and shoulders matter a lot while cutting hair. If the hair stylists do not take this in to consideration, they will suffer from the severe injuries. It is about using the wide variety of hair cutting scissors and to make sure you are using the right tool at the right time.

Swivel-style grooming hair cutting shears feature a swiveling thumb hole that can be twisted at an angle to make it convenient for you to chop hair in a more natural and comfortable hand posture.

Rather than stretching or twisting your thumb to fit into a fixed-position thumb hole, you can leave your thumb straight and adjust the position of the hole instead.

An angled thumb hole makes it easier to retain your thumb straight when you shear, which in turn decreases the strain on the muscles and ligaments in your hands and wrists. It also lessens the need to keep your hand at a positions that are awkward angles and can put extra stress on your shoulder.

While the thumb hole is relatively easy to adjust, the tension is strong enough to keep the hole in place when you scissor. You don't have to worry about the shears spinning around in your hands.

Most experienced hair stylists can adjust to swivel shears without any problems, though it is recommended to take extra care the first few times that you use them.

Who Are Swivel Shears Made For?

Swivel-style shears are a great option for older hair stylists who are suffering from repetitive motion injuries, for younger groomers who are seeking to avoid those problems as they age, or for any groomer who wants to scissor more comfortably.

One way to tell if fatigue is becoming a problem is if your shears seem too heavy. Hair stylists who think they need lighter shears are often experiencing discomfort from scissoring at awkward angles.

Different positions to use Swivel Hair cutting Shears:

Position No. 1

Begin with supporting your elbow with the palm of the opposite hand. Start with the blade pointed up and the thumb turned so that they is perpendicular to each other.

Position No. 2:

Use your index and middle finger to push the blades so that they are positioned horizontally and helps to cut on especially the crown area

Position No. 3:

Reach around the handle with your index or middle finger to pull the scissor back so that it faces the opposite direction. You would want to use this position to cut through the neckline.

Position No. 4:

It is just like position #1, but with the blades pointed forward away from the hair stylist.

Position No. 5:

This position is the opposite of position #4, the blades are pointed back at the hair stylist. It includes curling the index finger around the blades pulling the blades back at the stylist.

The incredible swivel hairdressing scissors are flawless for those hair stylists that are looking for more freedom and want to avoid any injuries. Offering all of the incredible quality you would usually expect from these quality swivel scissors available at iShears.com to make your life easy.

With a light weight and smooth action, the swivel handles, and polished finished blades really give this hair cutting shears an exceptional feel and making them the most comfortable scissors. These scissors are ideal for precision can cutting with standard blades for smoother cutting and a longer lasting edge.

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Improve your Performance with High Quality Hair Cutting Shears

Hair cutting shears are necessary and in order to buy the best one, you need to keep one thing in mind that it must be comfortable while using. Hair cutting shears are of no use if they cause you uncomfort, hand fatigue and also develop any chances of carpel tunnel syndrome or RSI. Different kinds of hair cutting jobs require different kinds of hair cutting shears and this is the reason why you may have seen hair dressers with a lot many different hair cutting shears. There are few things to keep in mind while purchasing one for yourself in order to improve the performance of your work.

1.       Choose yourself a perfect size of Hair Cutting Shears:

For choosing the perfect size you need to be very clear about the scissors that fit you, it may be short or long. The size can be measured from the length of the tip to the end of the finger hole. The finger resting place is not counted while measuring.

So the best way to measure and finding out the best of the hair cutting shears is to put the scissors on the palm with the finger hole on the base of the thumb with the tip of the scissors blade on the last section of your middle finger.

2.       Choose perfect blade:

While choosing the scissors, the blades must also be kept in mind. So when we talk about the blade of the scissors, that means that the blades are convex and beveled edged. You can spend a reasonable or a very good amount in buying it because they are the crux of hair dressing. You can decide which are the perfect and comfortable ones while choosing the blades.

Upon further research, it is reported that the hair cutting shears blades that are beveled edge blades and are made up of a mixture of different metals are usually light weight. The scissors that are made in Europe comes with the micro serrations design of the blade on both the sides. These type of blades are the latest and very unique. It fits to the new entry level hair stylists. It provides the major help while cutting down dry and slow detailed hair without causing them any harm. For the cutting you can’t use it because it may block the hair between the blade sides but the polished beveled edge blade for slicing is your one and only perfect option.

The Convex Blades, also known as the Japanese Style, are hollow ground on the inside that makes them the sharpest one resulting in to giving you the smoothest cutting action and perfectly cutting hair. Their price range might be a little bit higher with requirement of a professional hand to use it but a proper set of care and the constant service giving can end into providing them a longer time span to survive.

Hair scissors differ on the basis of the hands that use them and the shape and size that fits in that hand, the best. There are quite a many types of handles and the main types are

Level or Even Handle: These are the ones that are common and symmetrical

The Offset Handle: These are the ones that has one side longer than the other so it is no difficulty when you have your hands open and the arm and elbow are also in lower position while performing a haircut.

The Crane Handle: This is the handle physically appears to be an offset. It has its top handle in a straight position which eventually allows the lower elbow position easily.

The Twister or Flex Handle: It minimizes the hand tiredness and arm tiredness.

It very obvious that many left-handed stylists get used to the regular scissors, but the market also offers specially designed left handed hair cutting scissors for them to make the cutting is more natural, with no need for extra force. It’s always astute to practice the correct metal scissor configuration for your dominant hand.

High-end shears come with steel blades, but there are other fabrics used, especially for the handles.

Try to check the tension on your scissors by fully opening the scissors and then let the blade drop freely towards fully closed. In case of correct tension, it should stop nice and easy at the ten-to-the-hour position.

If we speak about how often you need to sharpen your scissors, it’s better to know that this depends on how much you use them, what type of cutting you do, how you take care of it and the type of blade you are using. Some check the scissors every 3-6 months, whereas most do it once a year.

The most important question is what do you need for the scissors is the most important question when choosing one? If you do thinning, you would need thinning scissors, whereas for the slicing you would want convex blades. So basically every professional hairstylist needs The Right Shear for the Right Hair.

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Features of 7 inches hair cutting shear

It is very important to choose the right size of hair cutting shears so that you feel comfortable that you would minimize hand fatigue and the chance of having carpel tunnel syndrome. Most of the hair stylists have numerous pairs of hair cutting shears for doing different kinds of hair styling job. If you are an amateur to hairdressing or barbering, you should not spend lots of money and time on your very first shears as you will want to upgrade your pair fairly quickly as your style and skills grow with time.

What size hair shears will suit me?

Many hair stylists prefer short shears according to the size of their hands, while the others prefer long. To some degree it depends on the type of cutting that you are doing. The length of your shear is measured from the very top of the blade till the end of the bigger finger hole. Just do not include the finger rest.

To discover your ideal and suitable size, place a pair of hair cutting shears on the palm of your hand with the finger hole touching the base of your thumb, the tip of the blade should be in the last section of your middle finger.

Right or left handed?

Many left-handed stylists start their professions with right-handed hair cutting Shear and they are told "you'll get used to it", which is absolutely wrong because then they do not give their best results. However, the reversed blades in left-handed shears make the cutting more natural and mean left handers don't have to use extra force which helps prevent hand and wrist pain.

It is always recommended by the experts to use the correct shears configuration for your dominant hand. However, if you're left handed and have been using a right handed shear, it can be hard to change. If this sounds like you, then iShears.com is always ready to offer FREE TRIAL service.

Following are the most used types of 7 inches hair cutting shear:

1. 7” ergonomic hair cutting shear:

A 7” ergonomic hair cutting shear at iShears.com features a powerful sword blade, especially useful for dry cutting and condensed cutting techniques. Can also be used on wet hair. It has the following features:

Crane Handle: This handle is especially made for ergonomic ease and precision control.  Keeps elbow in the right position versus an opposing grip shear that forces elbow into a raised stressful position. Forward Set Thumb: It provides you a more natural and neutral position for abridged repetitive wrist and shoulder stress.

Convex Blades: Start out sharper and hold edge longer than typical machine-beveled blades.

Pivot Point: Eliminates metal on metal grinding extending the life of the shear. Added Flexibility: Keeps the wrist straight and the elbow down in all cutting positions.

Comfort and Control: You can only use your index and middle finger for steering the blades of your shears instead of stressing out your whole body.

2.  7” Dry hair cutting Shear:

7” dry hair cutting shear at iShears.com has sharp and precise blades which is perfect for cutting over comb. It allows you more dynamic cutting positions while reliving pressure on the body.

Every professional hair stylist has to be very careful that when you start shopping for hair cutting shears, you will find that you can easily spend several hundred dollars on one pair of shears. People will give you differing opinions on which brand of shear is best, with many people quoting “You get what you pay for”. But as an amateur, you can spend worth $15 to $20 for a pair of basic shears with which to learn your technique. iShears manufactures the best quality shears for you hand size in reasonable prices that you will not find anywhere else.

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How Do You Make Your Hair Thinner

There are numerous ways to make your hair thinner, add texture and remove bulk from hair, but the most convenient way out is with using the right hair thinning scissors. Thinning shears are a tool that appears just like scissors but instead of chopping off a section of hair, thins it by taking and cutting some strands of hair while leaving others. Thinning shears are made to thin heavy or curly hair that helps avoid the puffiness. They are also useful to add texture and blend layers. You will find the best thinning shears online at ishears.  You will also find all the best quality shears with some guidelines about “Features you need in a professional hair shear”.

People who have thin and fine hair, should not use thinning shears. Shears specifically intended for thinning have cuts built inside of one portion, with the other side left smooth. These teeth helps hairstylist or barber to cut down less hair with each slice than they would cut with regular shear.  This way they texturize the hair to give a neat and well-presented style. Shearing the ends can allow the barber to make the haircut softer and blended, while directing the thinning shears into the mid-way of the hair can reduce bulk. The preferred technique will obviously depend on the texture and volume of hair you’re working with.

Texturizing Bulky Ends

One best recommended use of thinning shears is to add texture and shape to massive, heavy and blocky ends. The right way of using this technique is that the barber can take one section out of your hair at a time and tug it away from the body or face. He holds the ends of the hair in between his fingers, using the other hand to take the thinning scissors and apply them horizontally against the ends of the hair. The hair can be cut a little inward starting from the outer corner, thinning and shaping the ends as needed. This technique can be applied through each section of hair, cutting an inch at a time from the outer corner, until it has all been thinned and texturized.

Thinning Out Hair

The other way of thinning is to use your thinning shear on the wider section of the hair rather than using it just on the ends. This can be beneficial for thinning out a dense or unruly hair style, giving it a more distinct shape. To achieve this, hair is once again partitioned into sections. If working with long or puffy hair, it’s always better to use hair clips. Thinning one segment of hair at a time, the barber or the hair stylist can use a comb to grip the hair stable and work through it while removing the extra bulk or weight with the thinning scissors. As the barber grasps each section of hair, the thinning shears can be pointed with the tip towards the ceiling, cutting the hair about mid-way up each section. The same hair portion can then be thinned down with the tip facing downwards. By working according to these opposite angles with the upward and downward motion of the thinning shears, the hair can be thinned with a natural uniformity and consistency. Comb through the hair after finishing each section to check if the chosen texturizing effect has been attained, repeating the steps if necessary on any part.

Some useful texturizing tips

To accomplish fine ends, you can make sections out of hair using your hands rather than using a comb. Slice away at the ends for a more natural and neat texture.

Calm down at first if you are snipping into the mid length shaft of the hair, or it could have too strong of an impact on the existing hairstyle.

Be sure to use the texturizing shears on the hair beneath the crown. The layers may end up too small if you do thinning from the top towards the crown.

You can use multiple of techniques for thinning in order to have a very well-styles look. Luckily, thinning your hair by using thinning shears is a very convenient and stress-free procedure that is actually fast and simple to learn.

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Different Sizes of Hair Cutting Shears for Different Hair Styles

Choosing haircutting shears for different hair styles is the most important part. All professional hair stylists prefer different sizes and brands of hair shears that suit them best. Of course a hair stylist chooses best size of the shear according to his hand so that he can have all control over his scissor while doing the hair. The more comfortable your shear is in your hand, the lesser your hand fatigue is. So basically, you can measure the length of your scissor from the edge of the blade till end of the longest finger hole not counting finger rest attached to the shear.

Hair stylists’ professional haircutting shears should not be either too small or too big for his hands that would affect the motion of hair cutting. Also, the techniques used by professional hair stylists are different. For a proper haircut and major adjustments, the blade should be long and sharper; whereas, for chopping hair in little increments, regular professional haircutting shears can be used along with using fingers instead of comb. Following are mentioned the sizes of the shears:

1. 5.5" Point Cutting Shear:

The average size used by most of the hair stylists is between 5” to 6”. This size is used for point and precision hair cutting. All you need is to know the technique and size of shear you’re comfortable with. 5.5” cutting shear has a use for over 60% of hairstyles as it is the standard size. Amateur hair stylists do practice mostly by using this size of hair cutting shear.

2. 6” Slide Cutting Shear:

For slide cutting, when cutting on the skin, a stylist can use longer shears to chop longer sections that gives a neater and cleaner look simply. In addition to this, that a forward thumb handle set helps while cutting the hair on the skin keeping the hand away from the body due to its advanced design.

Slide cutting needs combing again after cutting each section of hair to see what you have accomplished. To avoid the hassle and wastage of time, longer blades are used by professional hair stylists that allows you to slide your shears in to the hair without difficulty of moving with your hand uncomfortably.  

3). Cutting Shears:

Cutting especially around the face with short blades can be dangerous for client’s face as the shear is close to his/her face. In this case a longer blade will help the hair stylist to cut hair easily by cutting large chunks in less time and lifting the hair away from the face.

4. 7” specially designed for special and unique hair cutting:

This size of a shear is used by professionals for one length cutting such as bob haircut.

While doing a bob haircut, the hair is first combed down against the neckline after which the longer blade allows you to make fewer chops to make the neat look reducing the time. Combs pick up the larger segment of hair than your fingers which is why you would be able to cut clean and detailed with your longer blade shears. Much less efforts are required for these types of haircuts as it is much less time consuming. Another advantage of a 7” blade shear is its weight as it allows the hairstylist to do the work perfectly.

The size of your blade totally depends on the unique style you want to try and also the sharpness of your shear. You will find all sizes of good quality professional hair cutting shears at iShears.com according to your requirement and size of your hand. iShears.com not only manufactures best of the best quality but also a reasonable range of price which is affordable for everyone.

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7 Tips for Choosing the BEST Shears Kit for Your Salon

A professional hairstylist can only make a difference with a good pair of shears as for shear is the most fundamental part of his/her career. This important tool in your kit can only show the quality of your work. Every hairstylist should have a perfect shear knowledge to help him/her understand which tools are best to use and why. Research is the key to select the best of all shears.

To know more about the type of shears you want to be in your shear kit, keeping in the budget you have in your mind, follow the following seven tips:

1)      One-size fits all pair of pairs should not be the case:

Every stylist has a different and unique way of hair styling which is why his/her requirements would be different from others. You need to first know about the type of shears that best suits you.

2)      Ergonomics:

Your comfort and control are two of the most important things to be considered when selecting your shear kit. Wrong shears can result in to hand and arm pains. Try before buying your shears. Consider finger rest, blade length, and shear’s size and handle while choosing best suited shears for yourself.

3)      Sharpness of the shear blade:

For precision hair cutting and cleaning around the face, you should have a sword edged shear so that the blade will lift away hair easily.

4)      Using Offset handled shears:

Cutting in a wrong wrist position will cause pain. It’s better to use slightly angled handle that keeps your wrist in a right position make hair cutting fast and stress-free.

5)       Stainless Steel is the best option:

A top quality pair of shears is manufactured from excellent quality stainless steel having two types: 440 and 420 (or J2) stainless steel types are used in good quality shears. 420 Steel type is resilient to rusting which is why it is very soft. While 440 Steel type has three categories – A, B, and C. 440 C is deliberated to be as the strongest steel and is also the most expensive because it has more quantity of carbon and chromium in it.

6)      Keep at least three sets of shears in your kit: These three types of shear pairs are most important to be used in your daily  hair cutting routine:

A blending or thinning shear helps in texturizing hair, mostly used in lessening the weight

 A longer shear with sword blade is used for perimeter an precise hair cutting for example one length bob cut

 Barbering shear is used for everyday haircuts

7)      Think before making an investment in shears: There is never a fixed amount to spend on shears, but try to invest however, as much you want to guarantee that you’re providing the finest service possible for your customers that will automatically increase comfort for yourself.  

Though choosing the perfect pair of shear kit for your salon is not an easy task. But instead of wasting money on shears without any research, it’s better to invest wisely and the shears you’re buying should be worth your time and money. You will find a great collection of good quality shears on iShears.com so choose your everyday shear kit of best quality for better results.