Clipper oil or blade cleaner - which do you use first?

I've been going back and forth on this. Some guys say hit the blades with oil first to loosen the hair, then spray cleaner. Others say cleaner first to remove all the gunk, then oil after. Last week I tried cleaner first on a clipper that was jammed with thick hair. It took me 45 minutes to get it running smooth again because I had to clean it twice. What order do you guys use and does it really matter that much?

3 comments

3 Comments

lewis.drew1mo ago

Hey man, I think you got the order backwards actually. Oil first then cleaner is a bad idea because the oil just makes the cleaner less effective at getting the gunk out. I learned this the hard way working at a shop in Austin for two years, we did about 20 haircuts a day and had to keep our Wahl clippers running all the time. What worked best for us was hitting the blades with some compressed air first to blow out the big chunks of hair, then spraying the blade cleaner on and running it for a few seconds, then wiping it down, and finally oiling after everything is dry. The 45 minute problem you had sounds like you skipped the air step and went straight to cleaner on a packed clipper, which just pushes the hair deeper into the blade gaps. Try the air blast trick next time, it saves you a ton of time and keeps the blades from heating up so much.

jade_hernandez1mo ago

The compressed air trick is the REAL game changer honestly. So many people sleep on that step but it makes a MASSIVE difference in how long your blades stay sharp and cool. I started doing that with my own clippers at home and now they don't even get warm anymore even after doing a full head of thick hair.

oliver_ward141mo ago

@jade_hernandez compressed air even works on my lawn mower blades lol