Why Do My Shears Pull Hair? (And How to Fix It)
If your shears are pulling hair… something’s off
You know the feeling.
You close your shears and instead of a clean cut…
the hair bends. Or folds. Or gets pushed.
Sometimes it even pulls just enough that your client notices.
And now you’re thinking:
“Wait… is it me?”
It’s not.
If your shears are pulling hair, something is wrong—and it’s usually fixable.
Let’s walk through the real reasons this happens.
1. Your shears are dull
This is the most common reason.
Over time, even high-quality shears lose their edge. When that happens, instead of slicing cleanly, they start to push hair.
That’s when you get:
- Folding instead of cutting
- That “chewy” feeling
- Slight tugging
Fix:
👉 Get them professionally sharpened
If you’re cutting full-time, this usually needs to happen more often than people think.
2. Your tension is off
Even perfectly sharp shears will pull hair if the tension isn’t set correctly.
Too loose:
- Hair bends or folds
- Inconsistent cutting
Too tight:
- Extra resistance
- More strain on your hand
Fix:
👉 Adjust your tension
A good rule:
The shear should close smoothly—not fall shut, not fight you.
3. The shear itself isn’t great quality
Some shears are just… not built that well.
You’ll see things like:
- Softer steel that dulls quickly
- Inconsistent tension systems
- Blades that don’t align perfectly
So even when they’re “sharp,” they don’t stay that way, or they never feel quite right.
And that shows up as:
👉 pulling, folding, or uneven cutting
4. They’re not right for how you cut
This one surprises people.
You can have a good shear… and still have issues.
If the blade type, size, or design doesn’t match your cutting style, you might find yourself:
- Forcing cuts
- Adjusting your technique
- Getting inconsistent results
Over time, that can feel like the shear is the problem—because it kind of is.
How to know which one it is
Here’s a quick way to narrow it down:
-
They used to feel great, now they don’t
→ Probably dull -
They’ve always felt a little off
→ Could be quality or mismatch -
They feel different day to day
→ Likely tension
The bigger picture
A lot of stylists just deal with this.
They work around it. Adjust. Push through.
But clean cutting shouldn’t feel like a fight.
When your shears are right, everything feels:
- smoother
- faster
- more controlled
You don’t think about them, they just work.
When it might be time to upgrade
If you’re constantly:
-
adjusting tension
-
getting them sharpened super often
-
or still not loving how they cut
…it might not be a maintenance issue.
It might be time for something better suited to you.
Final thought
Pulling hair isn’t normal—and it’s not something you should just “deal with.”
Fix the root of the problem, and your entire cutting experience changes.
Here are some reasources for you if you are looking to get your shears sharpened
If you are pretty sure your shears have had their last sharpening and you are ready for new shears 👉 Take the Shear Match Quiz here