Can You Use Sewing Scissors to Cut Hair?

  • Author: Sourav Biswas
  • Published: September 21, 2022
  • Time to read: 5 min.

If you sew for a hobby or even for a business, it would be impossible for you not to have sewing scissors. Let’s say you would like to cut your hair by yourself, it may come across your mind to use the sewer scissors that you already have on hand. The million-dollar question is ‘can you use sewing scissors to cut hair?’. Well, I’ve got the answer for you.

Yes, you can use sewing scissors when cutting your hair. However, you may not get the best result since the design of regular scissors is different from sewing scissors. Also, you are on the verge of damaging your hair since sewing scissors need brute force when in use.

In this article, you will learn about cutting your hair with sewing scissors, what would the result be, and whether is it really possible. I will also discuss the difference between hair scissors with sewing scissors.

Cutting Hair With Sewing Scissors: Is It Really Possible?

Now, there is nothing stopping you from using sewing scissors on your hair. If you do decide to use it on your hair that is up to you. As long as you have a scissor that has a smooth and straight mouth, you are good to go.

If you need to use scissors that have a tooth-like saw blade that provides a zig-zag pattern on hair, well you may not get the best result with sewing scissors.

Your sewing scissors may not be the best option for your hair. There are plenty of scissors on the market that have different functions. With this said, it is still best to use scissors that are meant for your hair.

For DIY haircuts if you don’t have any other choice, then you can go ahead and use your sewing scissors. However, there are some consequences that go with it when using it in your hair, which I will talk about in the next section.

Using Sewing Scissors on Hair: What Would Happen?

Imagine that you are using two stones to cut through a paper. As may imagine, you may not get the best end result. You can even try this out and you would see a rough result. If you are going to use sewing scissors on your hair, this is the result you can expect.

The blades of a sewing scissor are rock-solid and blunt. It is designed to cut through different materials with brute force. When you use it to cut through your hair, it will pull and bend every strand. It will then result in damaged hair and split ends can develop.

These types of scissors are not designed to be sharp enough to cut through your hair flawlessly. No matter what type of scissors you use, as long as they are not meant for hair, it can result to damaging your hair. You will have uneven balance, irreplaceable damage, and split ends.

Difference Between Hair Scissors and Sewing Scissors

By now, you should know that hair scissors and sewing scissors are different. It may be a bit challenging to differentiate the two but there are big differences between them. The following are some of the significant differences that you should know between the two types of scissors.

The Sharpness

The sharpness for each type of scissor is different and it’s intended to do its role successfully. As mentioned above, if you use sewing scissors in cutting your hair, it can create uneven cuts and even permanently damage your hair. Also, you would need the pressure to cut your hair since sewing scissors are blunt and you would need force to actually cut the hair.

Another thing that you would notice is when you pick up hair scissors, you will have two sharp blades. Once you use it accordingly, you will find out that the hair will stay put when you are cutting it. You can cut through every strand of your hair in a straight line without leaving any split ends.

Steel Quality

Carbon is usually the material used for making fabric scissors. Aside from that, they are also coated in nickel for rust prevention. The said materials are acceptable when you are cutting fabric. However, if you use it on your hair, it will drag and pull it causing damage.

Blades Size As Well As Angle

Our hair is light and fine when you compare it to fabrics, which means our hair doesn’t need much cutting. So if you line up a pair of sewing and hair scissors, you would notice the angle and size of the blade.

The angle of the scissors should lay for the fabric to cut the way it should, the same thing goes for the hair. Unlike fabrics, hair is not as steep so scissors that are made for cutting fabric would have a steeper blade than ones that are made for cutting hair.

For hair cutting, you would only need a small but sharp blade to get the job done. Fabrics are bulky so you would need scissors that are broader in size so that you can cut through them seamlessly.

When you use sewing scissors on your hair, you will notice that it doesn’t cut through the hair but rather pushes it up. It would hold a bunch of hair between the blades which will lead to a bad cut and plenty of split ends.

Handles of the Scissors

The handles are also very different when you put these two types of scissors side by side. Sewing scissors are usually designed to be large and sometimes a bit hard to hold. Once you get used to them, you will quickly realize that manufacturers make them that big so that you can easily cut through the fabric with force.

Hair scissors that are made for cutting hair usually don’t have oversized handles. The reason for this is you don’t need brute force or attack your hair when you are cutting it. You would need gentle force when you are cutting your hair.

Final Thoughts

The bottom line is using your sewing scissors on your hair can damage it and leave plenty of split ends. Yes, you can use these types of scissors but it will lead to unpleasant results. Who would want a bad haircut right? So, if you want to get the perfect haircut that you have in mind, best to use hair scissors instead. Better yet, you can go to a salon and spend a few dollars to get your hair done.