The Best Beard Scissors: Choosing Length, Tip and Edge

Beard scissors look like small hairdressing scissors and are nevertheless built for something else. Beard hair is thicker, wirier and grows in several directions at once – scissors that cut cleanly in head hair only push it along in front of them. This guide explains what matters in length, tip and cutting edge, and how to work with them.

What makes a pair of beard scissors

• Shorter than hairdressing scissors. Usual lengths are 9 to 14 cm. Short scissors can be guided close to the face and controlled better in the mirror; 16-cm hairdressing scissors are too unwieldy for that.
• Slim, fine shanks. They give a view of the cutting edge – decisive when you are setting contours.
• A very fine grind. Beard hair has a larger diameter than head hair. A cutting edge that is not really sharp bends the hair instead of severing it – the result frays and feels stubbly.

Pointed or rounded?

• Pointed models reach the contour exactly: cheek line, neckline, upper lip. Anyone shaping the beard themselves needs pointed scissors.
• Rounded tips are the choice for everyone who mainly trims – and for anyone cutting without a steady hand or without good lighting.

Anyone buying just one pair and working a lot on contours takes the pointed one. Anyone mainly trimming is safer with the rounded one.

Choosing the length to match the beard

• Around 10 cm – for stubble, moustache, contours and individual hairs. Maximum control, a small cut per movement.
• Around 12 to 14 cm – for a full beard and longer beard hair. The longer cut saves movements and produces a more even line when you work with the comb.

Smooth or micro-serrated cutting edge?

On a micro-serrated cutting edge, one of the two blades carries a fine ribbing. It holds the hair instead of letting it slip away – helpful with straight, fine or freshly washed beard hair and for everyone with little practice.

A smooth cutting edge, by contrast, glides along the hair. That is the precondition for soft cutting techniques in which the half-opened scissors are drawn through the ends. For home use, micro-serration is usually the more forgiving choice.

Beard scissors, nose hair scissors, thinning scissors – not the same thing

• Beard scissors – shorten and shape the beard.
• Nose and ear hair scissors – considerably smaller, with blunt or outward-curved tips so that the mucous membrane is not injured. They are no substitute for beard scissors, and conversely pointed beard scissors do not belong in the nose.
• Thinning scissors – thin out without shortening. With a very dense full beard they can take away volume without touching the length. How that works is set out in Using thinning scissors properly.

Trimming the beard: the sequence

1. Work dry and clean. Wet beard hair is longer and contracts as it dries – anyone cutting it wet regularly takes off too much.
2. Comb it through, in the direction of growth. Only then do all the hairs lie on one line.
3. Comb over scissors. Lay the comb flat and cut off the hairs that stand through it. That keeps the length the same across the whole area without your having to measure.
4. In small steps. Better to go twice than once too deep – nothing grows back on demand.
5. Contours last. Only fix the cheek line and neckline once the area is right.
6. Check the symmetry. Stand straight in front of the mirror, not at an angle – seen from the side, every side looks longer.

Care: why beard scissors seem to go blunt early

Beard hair is hard, and wax, oil and skin sebum end up in the beard. Both take their toll on the cutting edge:

• Wipe them with a dry cloth after cutting, and with a little alcohol if there are residues.
• Do not leave them lying wet and do not put them in the dishwasher – even stainless steel does not take that indefinitely. What the designations mean is set out in Rustproof, nickel-plated, stainless steel.
• Occasionally a drop of oil on the screw. Scissors that become stiff are usually not blunt but dry.
• If the scissors still pull at the hair, the cutting edge is done. Smooth beard scissors can be resharpened – whether that is worthwhile is clarified in Having nail scissors sharpened. A micro-serrated edge, on the other hand, cannot: sharpening would destroy the serration.

What to look for when buying

• An adjustable screw. The shanks must not wobble sideways, and the action should be adjustable.
• Neatly finished tips. They should meet exactly – check that against the light.
• Stainless steel, ideally from Solingen: How a pair of Solingen scissors is made shows how to recognise the workmanship – and what “Made in Solingen” means in law is set out in Made in Solingen.
• Left-handers should reach for genuine left-handed scissors, not a mirrored handle shape – the reasoning is given in Scissors for left-handers.

Matching beard scissors

• Dovo beard scissors, satin finish, Made in Solingen
• Dreiturm beard scissors Micro inox matt, Solingen
• Niegeloh beard scissors Titanium, pointed · Niegeloh beard scissors, rustproof
• Beard scissors 10 cm · Beard scissors 14 cm
• In addition: Dovo beard comb · Dovo Klipette nose hair trimmer · Beard care case, 3 pieces, Solingen

Categories: Beard scissors · Nose and ear hair scissors · Hairdressing scissors · Shaving supplies · Nail care for men

Read on: Using thinning scissors properly · Nail care for men · Cutting hair at home

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