What’s the Best Length for Hairdressing Scissors?
Hairstylists can be really cute sometimes, and sometimes downright funny. Take scissors shopping, for example: if long-blade scissors are trending this year, they’ll rush to buy 7- or 8-inch scissors. If short-blade scissors are in, they’ll grab 4- or 5-inch ones. Some feel powerful if their scissors are longer than others, and some feel cool if their scissors are shorter. But then—why do so many of those scissors end up unused? What should we call that?
Hairdressing scissors are tools designed based on the principle of leverage. Two blades are joined by a single screw acting as the pivot. When force is applied, the handles open and close, generating shear force along the cutting edges to cut through hair.
At Vern, our engineers and instructors at Vern Hairdressing Style College joined forces to research one question: what length of scissors is truly the best? Which length is most suitable for hairstylists, supports their technical performance, protects their fingers and health from injury, and helps them create the most beautiful hairstyles? With these goals in mind, we carried out endless experiments and tests—committed to giving hairstylists the very best scissors in the world.
So, what length are Vern Intelligent Combined Scissors? After thorough research and design across multiple aspects, here’s what we found:
1. Handle and Blade
The handle and blade must follow a golden ratio for the scissors to be truly perfect.
✅ The handle must be longer than the blade for greater efficiency.
✅ The handle length should equal the width of the palm, matching the international standard grip without hindering opening/closing, while also allowing flexibility for different holding techniques.
✅ The blade length should equal the length of the inside of the index finger, so the scissors can be used to their fullest potential.
2. Hair Stress and Shear Stress
✅ Stress refers to the internal resistance generated in an object when an external force is applied.
✅ Shear stress occurs when a force acts parallel to a surface. In simple terms, whenever an object is subjected to a cutting force, shear stress is generated.
We tested hairdressing scissors of different lengths at various points along the blade—cutting 1 hair, 2 hairs, 50 hairs, 100 hairs, a full bundle of hair, and hand-held hair slices of different thicknesses—to measure stress and shear stress under all these conditions and determine which length works best for hairstylists.
3. Overall Scissor Length
The scissors must be flexible enough to handle long hair, medium-length hair, short hair, ultra-short styles, high layers, mid layers, low layers, no layers, and all types of parting-based layering techniques. They should also allow for precise contour trimming on ultra-short hair and make it easy to cut around the ears, neck, shoulders, and back.
This solves the common problem of scissors being either too long or too short, which often makes certain areas difficult to work on.
4. Haircutting Movements and Techniques
The scissors should be suitable for horizontal cuts, point cutting, cutting with fingers as a guide, backhand cutting, one-snip cutting with fingers as a guide, freehand cutting, scooping cutting, precise trimming around the ears on ultra-short hair, bundle cutting, scissor over comb, flying cuts, tapping cutting, slide cutting, swing or tossing cutting, and twist-thinning techniques. The ideal scissor length allows every cutting motion and technique to flow as naturally and freely as moving your own fingers—that is the mark of the perfect scissor length.
5. Hairstylist Finger and Wrist Health
Doctors often publish articles warning that ganglion cysts commonly develop in the wrist, thumb, and finger joints, sometimes even leading to inflammation and pain in these areas. Hairstylists are particularly prone to such conditions, as their hands constantly support clients’ heads while shampooing. In addition, when using long-blade scissors where the blade is significantly longer than the handle, the leverage effect forces the stylist to exert much more strength through the handle in order to cut through the hair. Over time, this repeated strain can result in excessive hand fatigue and ultimately lead to injury.
Based on these findings, the Vern R&D team, through continuous research and extensive cutting tests conducted by our instructors, developed the 5.8-inch scissors with handles longer than the blades. This size is proven to adapt seamlessly to different hair slices, bundles, and every area of the head. It delivers superior performance across all cutting motions, techniques and hairstyles, surpassing other scissor sizes. The 5.8-inch Vern Intelligent Combined Scissors represent the perfect balance—not only for precise haircutting but also for protecting the hand and body health of hairstylists. They are masterfully engineered scissors—both intelligent scissors and technological scissors.
