Mona mutters…I’ve heard a rumour that cutting hair with heated scissors is better than with regular hair scissors (for example, the Jaguar TC Theracut). I’ve been able to find ladies journal articles recommending sealing split ends with a flame from a hundred years ago, but I can’t figure out how either method is particularly beneficial. Is it beauty science or BS?
The Left Brain’s heated reply:
Mona, this is one of the most intriguing questions I’ve seen in months. Somehow I missed the whole “hot scissors” trend and my jaw dropped when I saw Jaguar’s claims and the associated pictures on their website. In a nutshell, they claim that if you cut hair with heated scissors (or a razor), the ends are essentially cauterized so they are left with a glass like smoothness.
Split ends heat sealer?
I have to admit that the Jaguar Theracut website looks very convincing. It explains how the process works works, how it’s different than conventional hair cutting, and what the overall benefits are. You can see what I mean from these pictures that I borrowed from their website. (If Jaguar complains I’ll gladly take them down.) Here are the “with” and “without” pictures:
These images are amazing. So amazing, in fact, that they trigger my Skeptic-Sense. One of the credos of the skeptic is “extraordinary claims require extraordinary proof.” And these photos are extraordinary because they contradict our understanding of basic hair biology.
Extraordinary claims
Why? Because they show that hair fibers can be “melted” to form a smooth surface when cut. This is very unlikely given that hair is not a polymer that can be “melted” like plastic. The claim is so extraordinary that a single data point (this website) is not sufficient to convince me that it’s real. If all they claimed was that their treatment made the cuticle smoother, a simple electron micrograph would be enough to be convincing. But when they’re claiming to do something to hair that seems contrary to our general body of knowledge, my BS alarm goes off. After all, anything can be Photoshopped these days. As a good skeptic, I can’t totally dismiss this data I’d expect to find some kind of corroborative data from other legitimate sources like the Journal of the Society of Cosmetic Chemists or the Textile Research Institute. To date, I have been unable to find any other studies that confirm this “melting” phenomena.
The Beauty Brains bottom line
If this product really does cut hair as it claims, it should provide a significant reduction in split ends. But I’m still skeptical on Jaguar’s claims until I see more data from the scientific literature that backs up these claims. If anyone know of any, please let me know and I’ll be glad to reconsider my position. In the meantime, I’m calling BS on this one.
Have YOU ever had your hair cut with hot scissors? Did you notice a difference? Leave a comment and share your experience with the rest of the Beauty Brains community.
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{ 21 comments… read them below or add one }
I know nothing about these scissors and have never heard anything about cutting hair with hot scissors or hot knives or hot whatevers… but I wonder, if it melts and seals the ends of the hair shaft as it cuts it, wouldn’t it also melt and seal ALL the ends of the hair TOGETHER? I’m imagining strands of cold wax being cut with a hot knife/razor/scissors, and that entire cut “surface” all melting together and turning into one solid clump.
I’m not sure if I’m making sense with my words… it all makes sense in my mind but I’m having the hardest time articulating exactly what I mean.
Thanks for looking into it! I dislike saying, “if it doesn’t fit what I hold to be true then they must be lying,” but it just doesn’t sound right to me. For starters, why don’t the hair samples cut with the ThermoCut have scales? It’s all logical for synthetic extensions, but I just don’t understand the mechanism for natural human hair to “seal” with the application of 110*C+ heat and their sworn expert statement and proof is absolutely useless from a scientific perspective.
I really, really wish they’d give an enlightening response.
Also, if heating the ends sealed the hair, then you should be able to get the same result just by using a flat iron.
I too am skeptical of their claims. If we look at their logic, would a curling or flat iron also “seal” the hair cuticle too? We all know what kind of damage they do to hair!
If the thermal theory holds true, wouldn’t it then be reasonable to assume that flatirons would seal split ends?
The pictures seem… unconvincing. If you look at the shafts of hair themselves, they are hardly the same; one of them is smooth, while the other one rough (I’m not talking about the cut parts). Could it be that the hair itself is different, or that one of the hairs is treated/synthetic? Or that the one on the worse condition has been selected to look terrible, plus cut with blunt scissors? There is a wide variety of options here.
Also, would a melted surface be so smooth? I’ve no idea, but it does seem unlikely.
I was curious and went to the site to look at the photos. Look at these two photos. In the damaged hair shaft you can see the layered cuticle of the shaft. I also see the cuticle on other photos of the damaged hair. But when I look at the photos of the treated hair shaft, I could not find any which show the waves which are the cuticle.
Since I can’t find any which show this I wonder if the treated ends are actually of hair at all.
Right now, the photos do not convince me.
Additionally, the scales on the “damaged” hair are facing UP- meaning we’re not seeing the end/tip of the hair at all. We’re looking at a piece on the other end, probably ripped out and broken off near the root.
From what I understand, split hair problem is caused by bacteria, not so much the ‘torn’ ends. Thoughts?
You’re cutting off split ends when you cut hair so I don’t see the benefit even if it did work..
Anthony, the idea is that the ends are left smooth and therefore are less likely to split again.
The evidence, however, does seem to be a bit patchy right now.
I also wonder: even if the ends *were* sealed shut, is there any reason to believe that would make them considerably less likely to split? I mean, what if the factors like friction, products, heat from styling, light are what determine splitting far more than the initial smoothness of the ends?
As a Hairdresser of 17 years who has studied physics and worked as an electrical technician (in another life), I would be very reluctant to heat my very expensive tempered steel scissors! I say BS.
@Doe – No, split ends are not caused by bacteria. Never heard of that before. Where did you hear it?
Split ends are caused by physical damage to hair. They start as little breaks in the hair and split their way up like a zipper.
My mom used to cut and style hair for a living before she got married. So I asked her as she’d have experience. Here’s what she said.
“No, it’ll fry your hair. It’ll remove the split ends temporarily, but because the ends will be fried in a few days they’ll start to split and break off a lot more.”
So there you have it, from someone with real life experience.
If you click the link from the NYTimes in the post above (about shampooing) you’ll find that heat + split ends has been around for a while (though they recommend using a candle – eek! – instead of hot scissors)
whoops sorry my bad – the link was from elsewhere
Here it is:
http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?_r=1&res=9904E5DA143EE233A25753C1A9639C946997D6CF
Would it bring more damage to hair? Flaming the split ends? If this is in an old technique, is it really ok?
This hair cutting meathod has been used for a lon time in europe. It really does work. I met a girl who just moved to America from Kasakhstan and she had been looking for a place that cuts hair with those Hot Scissors for a long time, but couldnt find one. She said she would pay $100 just to have her hair cut with them. Also i have an uncle who just moved from Europe. He is a hair stylist and he says they really work and he recommend them. i would definitly try then if i could find a place that uses them….
http://www.thermo-cut.com/gb/wirkung/aufbau.html
i had my hair cut with hot scissors ,and i loved it , go for it ,you will like them a lot :0