The Leaf Hair Blog
Complementing Your Scissors: 5 Essential Tools for Hairdressers
There is so much more to great hairdressing than the scissors. Here are some essential hair tools that all hairdressers should have!
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The Ultimate Hair Cutting Techniques Guide
Learning to cut hair is a continuous process - there are always new methods to try. But understanding the fundamentals is key to progressing onto expert techniques. Here are all the steps you should follow to create flawless haircuts. If you’re keen to get into the details download our free PDF guide. Understanding Shape and Form When Cutting Hair As hairstylists, your geometry lessons from school are extremely useful when learning to cut hair. Geometric shapes such as squares, triangles and circles should all be used when creating a cut. Typically one haircut is made up of a variety of smaller shapes, but they all come together to form one primary shape. By learning to cut using geometric shapes, your haircuts will have a strong outline and a flawless, defined shape. How to Part Hair for Cutting It is also important to part the hair when cutting as it is one of the biggest factors that changes the shape of the haircut. It also allows you to be thorough and precise when creating a haircut. There are many different patterns of partings, but the method you use will all depend on the haircut you are trying to achieve, and how you want the hair to move. In general, to get a clean section every time, take a fine-toothed or parting comb. Take both forefingers and place them on the tip of the tooth, placing your palm on the hair. Glide the comb, putting pressure on the tip, through the hair. You will then have a perfect, clean section to work with. Distribution in Hair Cutting You have your sections, but now you need to think about how you comb the hair in relation to the sections you have created. This is what we call distribution. You must consider the following when using distribution: Weight distribution of the haircut. Whether the line will be cut strong or soft. Whether the cut will move in the desired direction. Elevation in Hair Cutting Elevation is the way you lift the hair away from the head before making a cut. Elevation changes the silhouette of the haircut, by removing more or less weight from the perimeter of the cut. It is usually referred to in angles, such as 45° or 95°. What Are The Different Cutting Techniques? Now that you have prepared the hair for the cut, you can get your scissors ready. But there are many different techniques to consider, and again, each will have a huge impact on the final result of your creation. Blunt Hair Cutting Technique This technique is great for adding definition to the hair by creating a solid, sharp line. It is great for thicker hair as it adds focus to the fullness of the hair. Make sure your sections are thin, as thick sections will cause a lack of definition. Get your client to tilt their head forwards, and comb the hair downwards. Holding the comb just above where you want the length to sit, take your scissors parallel to the comb and cut a straight line. Point Cutting Hair Technique Point cutting softens the line of the cut, so you can avoid the harsh lines which we created with the blunt cutting technique. It is a very simple technique; first, cut a straight, dominant line. Hold the hair between your fingers, and point your scissors towards the head. Cut along the dominant line without changing the position of the scissors. Razor Cutting Hair Technique Razors are a fantastic tool which should be used more often - they allow you to seamlessly remove weight and length from the hair, much more quickly than normal scissors could. As always, ensure the hair is parted and sectioned. Working on the perimeters of the hair, hold the hair in front of the second knuckle, place the blade against the hair and lightly glide it over. Want to try out this technique? Our Black Edition Razor is lightweight and comfortable in your hand, to allow you to create the perfect looks with ease. Slicing Hair Cutting Technique This technique requires you to slice the hair in it’s natural fall to create texture and encourage direction, much like the razor cutting technique. The more pressure you use with slicing, the more weight you will remove. It is also important to do it on wet hair. All you have to do is point your scissors downwards away from the scalp, and slide it down the lengths of the hair. The more times you repeat this, the more weight you will remove. Download Our Free Cutting Techniques Guide Keen to learn more? Download our PDF that includes even more cutting tips and techniques that you can learn. Keen to learn more in the long-run? With LEAF Academy, you can watch tutorials from top names in the industry. Find out more here.
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Bangs, Bangs, Bangs!
Cutting Your Locks Post Lockdown If you're looking to give the hair a fresh look after coming out of lockdown without compromising the length you've grown over the Corona hibernation, look no further than cutting those bangs. From subtle face-framing to full-on curtain bangs, I will discuss 2 types of fringes that will help change up your look while still looking stylish. Shaggy 70s Bangs When cutting 70s bangs a là Stevie Nicks you have to go at it quite visually and remember points of the face you want to accent eyes, cheekbones and jawline. This style works with most cuts! It's great paired with a shaggy layered hairstyle, or if you want to rock chick up a simple one-length cut. It allows the hair to look great even when it's put up, allowing pieces to fall really helping to frame the face. When cutting, imagine tramlines starting at the recess of the hair or the peak to the end of the eyebrows going parallel back and remembering to never go below this, staying in between the sections. Part this down the middle and your first cutting section should be a right-angled triangle in the centre. Then, taking even sections on both sides of the parting, cut the hair straight down with no elevation.This allows you to see exactly where each section will fall. This first cut is the most important in regards to shape as it will define where the flow of the bangs will come from, you can start it at the eyebrows for a full-on look, I tend to never start it longer than the cheekbone but you could go a bit longer if you aren't as daring. Then follow the same triangle sections going back and cutting straight down. The width of the sections is totally up to you, and you can go smaller if you want a softer look. Or, go larger if you want a really choppy, snagged look. It's important that with the length of every section you take back, you leave the same length when you cut. Do not follow the guide on this one as you are cutting this freehand and the guide is your eyes. Keep going back until there is no length to cut. This will be quite far back with a long one length but not too far back for a layered style. This allows the fringe to fall into the haircut and blend nicely. If the hair is a little thicker or very straight I would recommend afterwards bringing the hair straight up and point cutting it just to help soften it up and slightly texture the ends. Style this roughly, possibly with a diffuser, letting the natural texture do its thing. Use a salt spray and loosely wrap the tongs around it if needs be, but refrain from holding it on too long. Less is more! Curtain Bangs Source: @annabelnugent on Instagram Think less Ritchie from 5ive and think more Dakota Johnson, Camilla Cabello or Jameela Jamil. Firstly decide where you want the length to sit. You can take it from above the eyebrow all the way down to the jawline depending on what you are initially comfortable with. Keep the hair nice and wet, part the hair in the middle and similarly to the sectioning of the 70s bangs, we will be working with right-angled triangle sections. Start at between the peak to the end of the eyebrows depending on how thick you want to cut, but remember to not take it any further. Now you're left with a large triangle section at the top. Section away or put up the rest of the hair. Part your triangle section down the middle to split the section in two, and taking one side over the opposite side of the face, cut parallel to the part. Depending on the thickness, you may be able to do this in one section, but if it is a lot, take it in two or three sections. Repeat the same for the other side and let the bangs fall naturally. Once you are happy with the length, start styling. Take each of the two sections, and depending on the length, use an appropriate sized round brush and hairdryer. Blow-dry the hair forward and toward the opposite side where you want the hair to fall. If the hair feels a little too chunky, then bring each section straight up and point cut deeply until it softens the ends, allowing it to fall effortlessly around the face. To see some more inspiring post Lockdown haircuts, check out Oliver's Instagram page: @oliverdrama.
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Professional Hairdressing Scissors - A Guide To Using Texturising Scissors
Texturising scissors are a must-have tool for all hairstylists. Not only do they add volume and texture to your haircuts, but they can also work in the same way as thinning scissors. Here’s everything you need to know about texturising shears. WE LOVE THE LOOK THAT TEXTURISING SCISSORS PROVIDE JUST AS MUCH AS YOU USE CODE 'TEXTURE' FOR 30% OFF STOREWIDE Texturising Shears vs Thinning Shears How are texturising scissors different from thinning shears? In most cases they are the same but some hairdressers might argue that texturising scissors have fewer teeth with wider gaps to create texture, whereas thinning scissors have more teeth with less space between them to remove weight from the hair. However, both types of scissor can achieve similar results. Texturising scissors can also reduce thickness, and both scissors can be used to soften the edges of a haircut for a more seamless finish. What Do Texturising Scissors Do? Texturising scissors, as mentioned, have fewer teeth with wider gaps between them. This design ensures that they can remove more hair than thinning shears. However, the end result of the haircut has more volume, and the shape of the cut is enhanced with added texture. As with most hairdressing tools, texturising scissors can be used in different ways to achieve different results. If you use them in a similar way to thinning scissors, they can be a useful way to work on really thick hair. You can learn how to thin hair on our previous blog post, which you can find here. How To Use Texturising Scissors An important first step to cutting hair with texturising scissors is to make sure the hair is completely dry. This ensures you can see how the hair naturally falls as you cut. The hair should also be cut into the desired shape and length. You are now ready to start cutting. Working in sections, take the ends of the hair between your fingers and make a cut. Be conscious that the more cuts you make, the more hair you will remove from the ends. For an in-depth look into cutting men’s hair, you can see how our ambassador, Charlie Gray, uses our Black Edition Texturising Scissor: What Hair Types Can Texturising Scissors Be Used On? Texturising scissors are ideal for thick hair. If used correctly, texturising scissors can also be used on fine hair without removing unwanted amounts of hair. Take your scissors and cut very close to the ends of the hair. This will add texture without removing too much weight. Be mindful when working on curly hair with texturising scissors. Removing too much hair on a curly head can damage the natural curl pattern and cause frizz. Generally, curly hair - especially coils - already have a lot of texture and volume. But if you decide to use texturising scissors on curly hair, keep them close to the ends, and don’t over-do it! The Perfect Bundle - Our Texturising Scissor Is Available In Our Subscription Our Complete Black Edition Set not only includes our Black Edition Scissor and razor, but also our amazing Texturising Scissor! We are proud to make our scissors affordable and accessible, which is why this set can be yours with a monthly subscription. For more information, you can find the whole set here. WE LOVE THE LOOK THAT TEXTURISING SCISSORS PROVIDE JUST AS MUCH AS YOU USE CODE 'TEXTURE' FOR 30% OFF STOREWIDE
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How To Use Hair Thinning Scissors
Thinning scissors can remove weight and add texture to your cuts. From how to use them to whether or not they damage hair, here’s our ultimate hair thinning scissors guide. What Are Thinning Scissors? Hair thinning shears have one blade with teeth and one without. If you look closely at the blade with teeth, you will notice that there are small, evenly spaced grooves. Whilst thinning shears are slightly different from texturising scissors, they both remove hair without losing the length or shape of the haircut. Thinning scissors work to remove weight from the hair, whereas texturising scissors add volume and movement to the style. If you're looking for some texturising scissors, why not try the LEAF 'Black Edition Texturising Scissor? You can check it out here: Common Misconceptions About Thinning Scissors A misconception that we often hear is that thinning scissors are a ‘lazy hairdressers tool’. It is true that you can use regular scissors to achieve a similar result by cutting in an upwards direction from the ends of the hair. However, this method is not only time consuming, but will never give you the seamless finish that thinning scissors do. Why snip away at individual strands of hair when there is an amazing tool that can give your client even better results? Another misconception is that you should use thinning scissors on curly hair. Whilst curly hair often needs weight removed, this should be done with layers instead. Using thinning scissors on the ends can ruin the curl pattern and give your client frizz. How Do Thinning Scissors Work? Hair thinning scissors have those evenly spaced grooves for a reason. They make it possible to cut less hair from a section than regular cutting shears. Just like any other type of scissor, using different techniques will give you different results. If you are working on thick hair, then you might use thinning scissors to reduce the density of the hair. However, you can also use thinning scissors on other hair types when you just want to soften the edges without losing the beautiful shape you have created. How To Choose Thinning Scissors As a rule of thumb, the more teeth or grooves on a pair of thinning scissors, the more subtly the look will be altered. If you are cutting thick hair, then a pair of scissors with fewer teeth would remove the weight more quickly. However, when working on finer hair or when you want to add that gorgeous texture, scissors with more teeth would be best suited for the job. How To Cut Hair With Thinning Scissors So, we’ve picked the right thinning scissors, but how do we use them? It is important to use thinning scissors on dry hair, as it is a lot easier to see how the hair naturally falls. Working in sections is also crucial to create an even look. Whether you are working on men or women’s hair, never use the thinning scissors near the root. This could create short, spiky hairs that stick up from the rest of the hair. With thinning scissors, we want to stick to creating a blended, seamless look. On longer hair, angle your thinning scissors downwards in the direction of hair growth. With each snip, keep the blades closed and glide the scissors down as if you are combing through the hair. The higher from the ends of the hair you start, the more weight you are going to remove. On short hair, you can pull the hair up from the root. Simply cut along the line of the shape you have already created. Be mindful of the number of cuts you are making, as too many can take off more hair than you intended to. For an in-depth look into cutting men’s hair, you can see how our ambassador, Charlie Gray, uses our Black Edition Texturising Scissor: Are Thinning Scissors Bad For Hair? If used incorrectly, thinning shears can do more damage than good. As mentioned, over-thinning the hair or starting too close to the root can leave your client with that spiky, static hair look. It can also damage the ends of the hair, leaving it looking stringy. How To Clean Thinning Scissors Sticking to hygiene standards is of course the main reason you will want to keep your hair tools clean, but keeping your scissors spotless will increase their longevity. The notches of your thinning scissors make them slightly harder to clean than regular scissors. But with some warm water and a cleaning agent, you can keep your scissors looking shiny and new. When deep cleaning, be sure to open the blades wide enough to get between every tooth. It is important to rinse the cleaning agent and dry the scissors thoroughly. For a quick clean between cuts, use a clean cloth to wipe down your scissors. Try The LEAF ‘Black Edition’ Texturising Scissor How would you like a scissor that can remove weight, but also create texture and soften lines? Our Texturising Scissor can make this happen! These versatile shears will let you explore your creativity with freedom and expression. And what’s more, they are available as part of our Complete Black Edition Set Subscription. WE LOVE THE LOOK THAT TEXTURISING SCISSORS PROVIDE JUST AS MUCH AS YOU USE CODE 'TEXTURE' FOR 30% OFF STOREWIDE
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Owning A Hair Salon During The Pandemic
With salons being forced to close their doors, it is undeniable that the pandemic has been tough. Find out more about our experiences and exclusive tips.
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The Hair Scissors Subscription You Didn’t Know You Needed
Everything you need to know about our Scissors Subscription.
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Why paper not foil is the future choice for highlights and Balayage!
Here at Leaf we are always searching for products and tools to make the hairdressing industry more sustainable. We believe that we have found the future, sustainable alternative to hair foil! Exciting!!! Now, you ask, what's wrong with using foil? Producing foil consumes about 1,400 gallons of gasoline and emits about 12 tons of greenhouse gases. It also takes up to 400 years to break down, making it one of the biggest contributor of waste in landfills. An average of 2 kilometres of tin foil a month are being dumped all over the world by salons. This becomes an expensive price to pay for the environment, especially when waste disposal is a global crisis. As salon owners, we want success in our business, but how do we make it sustainable and earth-friendly? What can we do about it? Are there better alternatives? Paper not Foil not only can replace foil but also help save the environment. It is made from 100% recycled industrial scraps and degrades. It is manufactured using a waterless technology that uses 96% less energy to produce than aluminium. Paper not foil is even better than hair foil because its chalk-like texture makes it easy to hold and contain hair. No need to fold the sides so you can also save time in the application! Just glide smoothly to remove, no need for painful pulling or snagging! Cut it any way you want, just like foil and reuse for up to three times and save money. This amazing product is revolutionary. Instead of using non-biodegradable foil, now you have the option of using PAPER! Be part of the solution and be pro-environment. Salon stylists and owners have influence over their clients since they chat and share stories, opinions, and advice. That's why we can directly influence client's over social responsibility. Let's do our share in promoting the environment and help build a sustainable future. Not only can this method help you save money but it can also strengthen your brand identity as a salon with and for a cause. Check out Paper not foil now in our store!
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LEAF'S STORY SO FAR.
LEAF Scissors has had an amazing few months. We launched officially in August and have gone from strength to strength since we launched. I wanted to take a bit of time to tell you about the history of the brand, where we are now & plans for the future! The idea for Leaf scissors first came to me just over a year ago. I saw that there was not a scissor brand in the market that had a sustainable aspect to their brand and I wondered if I could come up with something new and exciting that would give me the opportunity to not only build a new brand (Something I aspired to do anyway!) but also make a conscious impact on the industry and help in some way to make a difference to the environment. I'm a hairdresser myself so know the importance of having amazing scissors when cutting hair. I set about finding amazing high quality, Japanese steel scissors, which are hand made. This level of craftsmanship is so important to me as I believe that these scissors need to be of the highest quality and build to last. After some trial and design changes (Including deciding that I wanted them to be black )I fell in love with the scissors straight and went about making our first ever order. I ordered enough I thought to last 6 months for a new business. (3 months later we were out of stock!) I knew that I wanted to make a conscious effort to help the environment so I looked for a way to do so. I decided that planting trees is what I want to do. I researched and found ONE TREE PLANTED. ONE TREE PLANTED gave us a way of planting trees all over the world! we are so proud to plant 10 tress for every pair sold! I sourced high quality recycled packaging so that the scissors were in plastic free boxes and wrapping. As soon as I saw the logo on the box example, I knew I had made the right choice, The look and feel of the packaging led us to be inspired to do our scissor shoot (Who knew scissors could look so amazing.) We wanted plants and leafs to play a massive part in the look of the brand, & we were instantly in love with the photos of the product. Once the website was built we were ready to go! We officially launched in August last year and have not looked back since! Since the launch we have had some amazing successes already: - We have been featured in a lot of our favourite industry magazines (One to watch in creative head, Product features in HJ and Tribute and an editorial article in professional hairdresser) Thanks to all of the teams at the magazine's! - We have grown to over 700 social followers (Not bad for a few months) - We have 3 ambassadors across the U.K. with a combined following of close to 100K! (We're looking for more next year too) - We have signed up distributors in the U.K and in Greece and we are speaking to other countries in Europe now. - We sold all of our opening stock twice as fast as expected! All in all a pretty amazing start for such a young brand! 2020 brings with it some amazing new possibilities for LEAF. In January we are going to launch a new service and a new product! - We are launching Klarna 'pay in 3' in the new year to help hairdressers spread the costs. This will allow you to spread the payments of scissors across 3 payments so that it does not cost so much in one go! - We are also going to in January launch our next scissor, The Black edition Thinning scissor! (Thanks for your insta feedback on what products you want.) keep and eye on our instagram for more details soon! - We are also working on a truly exciting sustainable product for the hairdressing salons. We in 2020 want to help not just hairdressers but salon owners make a conscious difference to the world. more details on this exciting aspect to follow soon. We really are grateful for all of the love and support we have seen from everyone this year! We wish you all an amazing Christmas and a happy new year! Best Wishes Steve Founder of LEAF SCISSORS
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