The Purpose
The Slide Cutting Technique is used to remove the bulk of the hair without losing the line of the cut. It must be remembered that this cutting technique is not to be confused with slicing and feathering. This technique creates softness and movement within a structured haircut.

Recommended
This method is advised for medium to coarse hair. If your client has fine hair and lots of it, this technique can be used to create movement and lift.
The Technique
This technique should be performed on Dry Hair and your scissors must be sharp. Wet hair has less bulk, cutting dry one can see the end result. The scissor should be held about one third open. If the scissor is held too far open it will catch the hair and cut too deep. One third open gives you the optimum cutting angle and will enable a smooth stroke to the cut. The blades of your scissor should be held 25 to 30 degrees in relation to the hair shaft, this will vary slightly with the size and type of your scissor. Don't start cutting too close to the scalp and take care not to cut into the base line.
This technique requires practice and the correct scissor.

The Scissor
The best type of scissor for this technique is what we call a high precision scissor. These scissors have a full convex or clamshell blade with no visible separate edge. This type of scissor has become increasingly popular in recent years, better quality scissors costing between $400 and $600. High precision scissors have finer edges for soft cutting and to perform all open blade techniques well. The fine edges are also easily chipped from drops and poor handling procedures, medium precision and general cutting scissors are less likely to be damaged this way (but will not slide well). If you are using open blade techniques frequently you should have a high precision scissor in your kit. Keep in mind that a stainless steel high precision scissor is not designed to do heavy work (cutting thick sections, scissor over comb) and requires regular servicing to maintain them at an optimum level. Cobalt alloy scissors are especially suitable for heavy slide cutting performance as they tend to hold more hair between the blades without pushing and so can cut deeper. Do not use long blades versatility of movement that a smaller pair does, long blades are better used for other techniques. This series of articles will discuss many hairdressing cutting techniques and how they relate to your scissors, some of them you may never have heard of or seen before! The information on technique and purpose comes from interviews with some of the world's best hairdressers.

Article Resource: Adrian Schlemmer

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