Hairdresser & Barber Tools
- Shears used to cut, thin and texture provide the key tool for hairdressers and barbers. Thinning Clippers, electrified or battery-operated cutters, also cut and trim hair. Professionals use trimmers for sideburns, facial hair and around the neck for women's and men's short hair styles. Professionals use both cuttings scissors and sheers as the main instruments for cutting hair. Razors also cut hair and barbers use razors to cut facial hair and trim beards and mustaches.
- Barbers and stylists use blow dryers. Professionals working with hair have their personal preference when it comes to dryers, since the blower both dries hair and assists in styling. High-end dryers use light materials for easy handling by the operator. Specialized dryers feature ionic technology and ceramic coils. Professional dryers also have multiple drying settings and approximately 1,800 watts of power.
- Barber and hairdresser irons include flat irons, a heating styling tool and various shapes and styles of curling irons. The hair length, texture and thickness require various sizes of flat iron plates for styling. Typically, plates measure one-half to two inches. Plate composition includes ceramic, tourmaline and titanium metal. Ceramic and tourmaline iron surfaces produce negative ions as the iron heats. The ion action smooths the hair, rather than dries out the hair shaft, as the stylist uses the tool style.
- Stylists and barbers also use brushes and combs. Bristle manufacture includes boar, acrylic and metal materials and brush manufacture includes both handmade and machine production. Barbers and hairdressers use several types of brushes, depending on the thickness, texture and hair length, including round, half round and vented brushes. Paddle brushes assist in straightening hair and cushioned brushes massage the scalp.
Professional comb styles include comb picks and the rat tail comb for styling and separating hair during cutting or coloring. The size between the comb teeth defines the use. Wide-tooth combs and picks take out tangles. Fine tooth combs, with small spaces between the teeth, smooth the hair. Teasing combs backcomb the hair to lift and picks elevate the hairs. Combs are made from bone, horn, plastics, metal and wood. - "Product," a term used to describe natural or chemical sprays, conditioners and treatments, are used by professionals in cleaning, cutting and styling their clients' hair. Stylists often suggest using protective product treatments to prevent hair damage as a result of hair dryer and iron use. Typical barber and stylist products include shampoos, conditioners, hard wax, shaping gels, pastes and waxes and texturing putty. Fiber creams assist disheveled styles and waxes create sheen and shine. Traditional hair sprays keep both men's and women's tresses in place.