Hair clippers can be viewed as a variation on a hedge trimmer, corn harvester or hay mower. All these motorized implements separate and clip in a straight line by use of a multibladed bar moving back and forth. The particular details that apply to a hair trimmer have to do with size, portability and attachments to vary the cutting length and for safety. Think of tiny scissors mounted in a row to clip in unison.
Types
Whereas hair clippers rely on the side-to-side, in-line blade to shear a surface, shaving units usually oscillate or rotate on a curved or round surface in order to clip close to rounded and uneven surfaces on the face. Early hair clippers were powered by motors that had to be plugged into an electric outlet, while more recent, self-contained units are lighter and work on rechargeable batteries.
Factors
The point of early electric clippers was to remove hair quickly and evenly, as many servicemen can attest. Clippers also are used for initial hair removal before a head is closely shaved. How much hair is removed with scissors and how much with electric clippers varies by stylists. For the do-it-yourself mom at home wanting to give her children haircuts, electric clippers remove hair with less effort and time spent than with scissors and hair can be sculpted into styles or layers.
Attachments
By using of a variety of spacing guard attachments that can by snapped on the head of the electric clippers, hair can be cut evenly, similarly to adjusting the height of a lawn mower for the length of grass wanted. Narrower attachments can even be used to clip nose and ear hair. With the development of inexpensive universal type motors and lightweight plastic body and components, clippers are used by many to cut hair for their family and friends.
Variations
While razors for shaving have developed into a wide variety of shapes and sizes for ease of use, the standard hair cutting kit is not far removed from the original larger and heavier clipper unit used by barbers since 1930. Tiny clippers have been developed to cut only nose and ear hair at one extreme, while heavier clippers, similar to the original design, are used for animal grooming and sheep shearing.
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