New hair grooming enthusiasts are often asked to oil or lubricate their hair clippers and I’ve seen people do their level best to follow this suggestion.
But without proper guidance, this simple task could feel like a mountain to climb. Obvious issues like overpouring, uneven distribution and so on occurs.
These can lead to clogged blades, build up of stray hair, residue in the long run etc. Therefore, it’s essential for frequent groomers to know how to oil a hair clipper.
I’ll introduce you to my easy 4-step method along with tips, tricks, precautions and the impact of regular hair clipper lubricating - all in one go!
What Type of Oil to Use
This answer is simple but can be complicated if you insist. Long story short, you’ll need to apply hair clipper oil - it’s as easy as that.
You can buy hair clipper oil online, at convenient stores or even from your local vendors who sell hair grooming tools.
There are some hair clipper oil alternatives, these come in handy in case you run out of clipper oil and are in immediate need. Otherwise, clipper oil is the best bet for you.
Why Oiling Hair Clippers is Important
In case you think why you should oil your hair clipper, I have that answer for you right here!
- Reduced Friction: Oil in general helps in reducing friction between the blade teeth and ensures sharpness for longer periods of time.
- Prevents Heating: It’s unknown to a lot of people but a well-oiled hair clipper generally doesn’t overheat, or the heat levels are retained to a tolerable level.
- Prevents Rust: Rust is probably the worst enemy for steel blades and oiling does help in preventing it, among other precautions.
- Improved Hygiene: If your oiling levels are perfect and not excessive, it generally prevents residue or dirt build ups.
These are the more core reasons to oil your hair clipper whereas there are plenty more minor benefits that serve you in the long run.
Step-by-Step Guide: How to Oil Hair Clippers
This section should give you a brief step by step guide for oiling your hair clipper and it’s something you’d be able to carry out in the long run with minimum cost!
Step 1: Clean the Blades
Before you start pouring the oil in, it’s essential to clean the blades properly to prevent build ups. To do that, you must unplug the cord of your hair clipper and keep it turned off.
You may use a brush to dust away loose hair. There are other cleaning methods you can pursue to make it a neat and thorough one.
Step 2: Apply the Oil
After cleaning, you’ll need to hold the clipper horizontally. Then, pour in 2 to 3 drops of clipper oil directly onto the blade teeth.
Also, you may add 1 extra drop on each corner of the blades, but it’s mostly required for professional use since home groomers don’t require to carry out such intense oiling.
This is the baseline, you may tweak around, increase or decrease the quantity of oil based on your needs. But 3 drops is in general the most ideal quantity.
Optional Step: Greasing up the Motor
Certain heavy-duty hair clippers like Oster Classic 76 lets you apply motor lubricants directly over the motor heads.
Some hair clippers have detachable blades, thus it’d be easy for you to apply a couple drops of clipper oil (yes, same as blade oil) on the motor heads and run it for a few seconds.
In case your blade is fixed, try to remove it once every 2-3 months to oil the motor. It’s not mandatory, but I consider it a healthy practice to ensure longevity of your device.
Step 3: Distribute the Oil
Applying oil doesn’t complete the process, as you must evenly distribute the oil over the blade teeth.
It’s quite a straightforward thing to do. Right after applying oil, you’ll have to turn on your hair clipper for 10-20 seconds.
This will evenly distribute the oil over the blade. You MUST wipe off the excess oil using a paper towel or a napkin.
How Often Should You Oil Clippers?
Let me give you a general guideline for the frequency of hair clipper oil application. Follow this guideline to make a routine out of it.
I personally oil my clipper either after each heavy use or every 2-3 casual use. Casual use implies lining up, light trimming, precision grooming, blending etc.
Professionals might have to lubricate their blades multiple times throughout the day since their usage is more intense than home consumers.
Even more casual groomers can get away with weekly oiling - in case your grooming routine is weekly. Signs You Should Oil Your Clipper: Extra noise, housing heat up, hair pulling, visible dryness, lack of sharpness etc.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
It goes without saying that you shouldn’t apply too much oil as it’ll only be messy and end up clogging your blades.
Also, if you skip cleaning before the oiling step, it turns into a troubling affair. Same goes for using the wrong sort of oil.
Lastly, remember to run your clipper after oiling the blades, otherwise the oil won’t be evenly spread out and it’d cause clogged blades anyway.
Final Opinion
So in short, regular oiling = longer lifespan of not only your clipper blades, but also the motor and battery components.
To make things easy, you’ll need to try and make clipper oiling a regular part of your grooming routine.
It doesn’t really matter whether you’ve performed such maintenance routines before or not, it’s never too late to start now!
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