Haircut using hot scissors

[Leeloo]

What in the world? I just kept seeing references to this on youtube so I had to look it up and I thought I'd share: http://www.allure.com/beauty-trends/blogs/daily-beauty-reporter/2013/01/hair-cut-trend-jaguar-hot-scissors.html

[leslissocool]

Color me puzzled, but I thought heat opened the cuticle- not sealed it. Maybe that's just mild heat though, but straighteners also open the cuticle and damage at that temperature.


I know, in europe, it's been done for a very long time.

ETA: doesn't cold temperatures seal the cuticle? Wouldn't using cold scissor be more, well, effective?

[Night_Kitten]

I think there was a thread about cutting hair with hot scissors in a salon a couple of months ago posted by a member who tried it... If I remember correctly she didn't like the long term results much - she ended up with more splits eventually... I can't find the thread for some reason, sorry :s

[Anje]

Color me puzzled, but I thought heat opened the cuticle- not sealed it. Maybe that's just mild heat though, but straighteners also open the cuticle and damage at that temperature.
My interpretation is that this isn't about sealing down the scales on the length of hair (which will mildly raise and lower with temperature and chemicals) and more about actually melting the end of the hair at the point where it's cut.

Hair isn't plastic, though. I'm not convinced you can heat-seal it as you cut it the way you would a rope.

[Tota]

There's a salon very close to where I live where they've been doing this for years. I was intrigued for a while and then I forgot about it. Now I don't like the idea of anything this hot close to my hair :)

[leslissocool]

My interpretation is that this isn't about sealing down the scales on the length of hair (which will mildly raise and lower with temperature and chemicals) and more about actually melting the end of the hair at the point where it's cut.

Hair isn't plastic, though. I'm not convinced you can heat-seal it as you cut it the way you would a rope.

That's what I thought. Skin doesn't even really work that way, if I'm not mistaken cauterization destroys tissue. In hair talk, it would mean more damage in the long run.

[Leeloo]

Hair isn't plastic, though. I'm not convinced you can heat-seal it as you cut it the way you would a rope.

That's what I was thinking, but I don't know enough about hair structure to make an educated guess. The only thing I was thinking about is laser surgeries on skin and eyes that use heat to seal. But I don't know.

[Kaelee]

I found it dubious, and especially so when I read that a haircut with these special scissors costs $125 extra!!!!

Gimmick much? Because I know they don't cost that much to operate.

[Sharysa]

For Leslieissocool: From what I understand, cauterization is pretty much an emergency/last-resort method to staunch bleeding. If you nick an artery or have a really bad open wound, you'd run the risk of bleeding out within minutes or getting infected. In that case, scarring/damage is the lesser of two evils because the alternative is a very messy, painful death either way.

Although with modern technology that can cauterize much more precisely than older methods of heating up something metallic, the chance of damage is much smaller than it used to be.

On-topic: Ew, hot scissors for hair? My hair would REEK if I tried that. *lol coarse hair*

[Chiyoe]

Wow,
Did that article seriously just say it would add $125 to a normal hair cut... for temporary, theoretical improvement on split ends?
Eeyaaah... no thanks.

[Tangle or Curl?]

'cause having pointy objects near your head isn't enough, now they have to be hot and pointy :P

[jacqueline101]

I think it's interesting to see what people will do in the name of beauty. I think my plain scissors will do just fine.

[Leeloo]

[B] Ew, hot scissors for hair? My hair would REEK if I tried that. *lol coarse hair*

That would reek soooooo bad now wouldn't it! I didn't even think about that! How nasty

[Leeloo]

'cause having pointy objects near your head isn't enough, now they have to be hot and pointy :P

That was my first thought when I read the article! :scared:

[leslissocool]

For Leslieissocool: From what I understand, cauterization is pretty much an emergency/last-resort method to staunch bleeding. If you nick an artery or have a really bad open wound, you'd run the risk of bleeding out within minutes or getting infected. In that case, scarring/damage is the lesser of two evils because the alternative is a very messy, painful death either way.

Although with modern technology that can cauterize much more precisely than older methods of heating up something metallic, the chance of damage is much smaller than it used to be.



That's what I meant by tissue damage, if cauterization causes tissue damage/scarring nonetheless, I think it's a pretty safe assumption to make that it would cause damage to the hair which would result on splits. The opposite of what they say it makes.

Seems to be going against, you know, biology :lol:.

[Anje]

For Leslieissocool: From what I understand, cauterization is pretty much an emergency/last-resort method to staunch bleeding. If you nick an artery or have a really bad open wound, you'd run the risk of bleeding out within minutes or getting infected. In that case, scarring/damage is the lesser of two evils because the alternative is a very messy, painful death either way.

Although with modern technology that can cauterize much more precisely than older methods of heating up something metallic, the chance of damage is much smaller than it used to be.
It really varies a lot... I've seen a lot of surgeries (volunteered in the OR in high school), and some surgeons preferentially will use an electrocautery knife (they called it a "Bovie") instead of a scalpel. Incisions made with it would bleed minimally, so there was probably a substantial advantage to it in certain contexts.

And no, it did NOT smell good.

[prettyinpink]

I hear the scissors are only about 400 degrees F. So I wonder if we could save some $ and heat up our scissors with a hair dryer before each cut. What do you guys think?

[Gabriel]

This idea isn't new. People have used heat/fire to "trim" hair for ages. There have been threads here about different techniques too. I think one of the latest was about Hot Scissors (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=38317&page=3&highlight=scissors). The original poster actually updated that she ended up with more white dots and splits than she started out with.

Personally, it is not something I would ever try on my hair.

[Natalina]

"Hot scissors" sounds scary to me. I'm not used to using heat tools on my hair and I'm definitely not going to start now. I don't tend to get splits anyway, so spending more money on this thing would be useless. No thanks, but good luck to anyone who tried them though.

[LadyCelestina]

I'm confused,I see absolutely no way doing this could reduce split ends... We all know heat destroys hair,how would cutting it with a hot tool be any different to,say,using a hot tool to straighten it?

[HylianGirl]

That reminds of people who say you should flat iron after a deep conditioning treatment to "lock the moisture in". Total ********. I think they just do that so they can make the people get haircuts more often and therefore make more money, there's no way people who invented that are stupid enough to believe heat seals the hair.

[YamaMaya]

Yeah, I don't think I'll be trying this hot scissor thing. It seems like a gimmick, designed to dupe those less knowledgable about their hair. If I wouldn't put a straightener on my hair or use a blowdryer, why would I use heat to cut my hair? :rolleyes:

[bradlea]

I would love to see some actual photos of hair under a microscope, comparing a strand cut with regular scissors and hot scissors. The claims they make cause me to feel some intense skepticism and I don't really think the hot scissor strand would look any better, but still, I am curious. I believe there was comparison from a retailer linked on one of those old threads, but there was evidence that the image was quite doctored.

[Brileeka]

It sounds like a scam to me. I would think if anything that would make you get split ends again sooner.

[Kaelee]

I would love to see some actual photos of hair under a microscope, comparing a strand cut with regular scissors and hot scissors. The claims they make cause me to feel some intense skepticism and I don't really think the hot scissor strand would look any better, but still, I am curious. I believe there was comparison from a retailer linked on one of those old threads, but there was evidence that the image was quite doctored.

Anyone have a way to take such pictures? I'd gladly do it, but I lack the equipment. Shed strands are plenty and very much disposable. :agree:

[adrenaline]

This is the last updated thread I found, so I post here :) I've often cut my hair with hot scissors at the hair dresser, and I liked it a lot. Indeed my tips were less damaged after months than they were when I was cutting them with "normal" professional scissors. Unfortunately not many hair dressers offer this service and I used to drive to a city 50km away from my home city. So it was a bit laborious to do it further, but I can only recommend to cut your hair with hot scissors if you have a comfortable chance to. I'd like to buy my own hot scissors, but the equipment is sooo expensive (I've seen prices of 600 euro), so I probably won't.

[lapushka]

Where's the proof that it's that much better than regular cutting? I'd be afraid of the heat possibly hurting the hair.

[melindalucy]

Color me puzzled, but I thought heat opened the cuticle- not sealed it. Maybe that's just mild, (https://hairstyle-en.com/v-haircut-with-layers-for-long-hair-2021-attractive-v-hairstyles/) heat though, but straighteners also open the cuticle and damage at that temperature.


I know, in europe, it's been done for a very long time.

ETA: doesn't cold temperatures seal the cuticle? Wouldn't using cold scissor be more, well, effective?

They look way too long :)

[MusicalSpoons]

They look way too long :)

What looks way too long?