Elevate Your Grooming
Text on a peach-colored background reads, "Scissor Drills" in large bold font, with a line underneath. Below the line, smaller text reads, "To help refine your finishes and extend your career."
by Blake Hernandez
With the start of the new year, people often make resolutions to add new activities and habits to their life, and while this is good, we must also remember that perfecting the basics is the key to success. And with pet grooming, it’s even more important because incorrect usage of tools and equipment can lead to injury and a shorter career.

The following outlines some scissor drills that will help to improve your grooming skills and extend the working life of your hand.

A person with a tattooed arm and a smartwatch on their wrist presses the palm of one hand against the open palm of the other, forming a flat hand position.
1.) Place the back of your scissoring hand against the top of your thigh and hold your four fingers down with the opposite hand. While keeping the rest of your hand still, lift your thumb up and down. This will make a stronger connection between your brain and your thumb and allow you to minimize the muscles and joints being overused when scissoring with poor form. 
Two images stacked vertically showing a hand transitioning from an open palm position to a partially closed hand, with the thumb extended upward.
2.) Once you are comfortable with this, release your hand and simply use your brain and muscle memory to keep your scissoring hand still while moving your thumb up and down independently. Be sure to move your thumb in a straight line as you would when it’s in a scissor, not in circles. 
Two images stacked vertically of a hand with the palm facing up, transitioning to a more relaxed, partially closed hand position with the thumb extended.
3.) Continue to progress this drill by lifting your hand into the air while still moving your thumb. This will further train and condition you to only move your thumb while scissoring.
A close-up of a person's hand holding a pair of scissors with cream-colored handles, resting on their leg in a relaxed grip.
4.) Start these drills back over from the beginning while holding a scissor in your hand with only your thumb barely inserted in the loop, opening your scissor to full extension. When going through these drills again, remember that you are not working on speed or strength; you are simply building the direct connection between your brain and your thumb.
A close-up of a hand holding a pair of open scissors with cream-colored handles, positioned horizontally as if ready to cut.
5.) Check in and make sure that your fingers are not going through the finger loops. They should press against the sides of the loops rather than be inserted through. 
A side view of a hand holding scissors vertically with the blades pointing upward, showing the grip on the cream-colored handle.
6.) Next, find a wall and start doing these drills against the wall—but DO NOT touch the wall. The closer you can get without making any contact is how you steady your finish.
A close-up of a hand holding a pair of open scissors with cream-colored handles against a white textured wall. The blades are spread wide apart, and the hand grips the scissors firmly, positioned horizontally.
7.) If you are doing this drill and the tip of your scissor keeps hitting the wall, then you are probably struggling with putting holes in your finish. If your handle hits the wall on the bottom side, you are likely taking too long to scissor, as you are not deliberate with your sweep from hilt to tip.

Your thumb should extend all the way to straight in order to maximize every inch of your blade.

A hand holding scissors with blades open against a white background, positioned horizontally for cutting.
A hand holding scissors with blades open against a white background, angled downward in a cutting position.
8.) Finally, start stretching to elongate your range of motion by doing windshield-wiper motions from inside to outside.

These drills can be taken even further, like scissoring around a metal water bottle and hearing a *ting* every time you make a mistake, or even try scissoring off shaving cream from a balloon to train curved shapes and smooth finishes. Regular refinement of your scissoring form will not only help you achieve a finer finish, but will also provide longevity in your career!

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