The fastest way to get hair out of your clippers is to brush it out with the small cleaning brush that came with your clippers, working the bristles between the blade teeth and around the housing. For hair packed deeper into the mechanism, you’ll need to detach the blade assembly and use compressed air or a quick alcohol rinse to flush out what the brush can’t reach. Here’s how to do all of it, step by step.
Brush Out Surface Hair First
Every clipper set comes with a small stiff-bristled cleaning brush, and it handles the majority of loose hair. Turn the clipper off and hold it teeth-down so gravity works in your favor. Sweep the brush across the blade teeth in short, firm strokes, angling the bristles to get into the gaps between each tooth. Then work around the housing, buttons, and any crevices where hair collects.
If you’ve lost your cleaning brush, a firm toothbrush or a dedicated barber’s blade brush works fine. The goal is just to dislodge surface hair before it gets pushed deeper into the mechanism during your next use.
Remove the Blade Assembly
The hair you can see on the surface is only part of the problem. Fine clippings work their way behind the blades and into the motor housing over time, clogging the mechanism and slowing performance. To reach that hair, you need to take the blades off.
On most clippers, the blade assembly snaps off without tools. Press your thumbs against the teeth of the blade and push away from the clipper body. The entire blade unit should pop free. Once it’s off, you’ll likely see a mat of compressed hair sitting underneath, sometimes packed so tightly it looks like felt. Brush or pick this out thoroughly.
Some clippers use a magnetic cover over internal moving parts. Remove that cover and use compressed air or your brush to blow out the hair trapped inside. Short bursts of canned air work better than long blasts, which can push hair further into the motor. If you don’t have compressed air, a few sharp taps of the clipper body (teeth-down) over a trash can will shake most of it loose.
Separate the Top Blade for a Deeper Clean
For clippers that haven’t been cleaned in a while, brushing with the blades attached won’t be enough. With the blade assembly removed from the clipper body, you can separate the top cutting blade from the bottom plate to access the hair trapped between them.
Lift the two arms of the tension spring off the blade cam follower (the small plastic piece that moves the top blade side to side), then slide the top blade out. You’ll find a surprising amount of fine hair packed in the space between the two blades. Brush everything clean. One important note from Wahl’s guidelines: don’t remove the blade screws on the bottom plate unless you’re replacing the tension spring. Reassembly with the spring under tension is tricky, and it’s easy to misalign the blades if you take the whole thing apart unnecessarily.
Flush Stubborn Residue With Alcohol
Fine hair mixed with skin oils and product residue can form a sticky buildup that brushing alone won’t remove. A quick rinse in 70% isopropyl alcohol dissolves this buildup and flushes out remaining clippings at the same time.
Pour a shallow amount of alcohol into a small bowl or tray. Turn the clipper on and dip just the tips of the blades into the liquid for 10 to 15 seconds. The vibration of the running blades shakes loose any remaining hair while the alcohol cuts through oil and residue. You’ll see fine clippings float off into the liquid almost immediately. Remove the clippers, turn them off, and let the blades air dry for a minute or two. The alcohol evaporates quickly and won’t damage metal blades.
This method doubles as disinfection. Professional barbers use a similar approach between clients, sometimes substituting a commercial blade wash (sold as “Barbicide” or similar clipper sprays) for the alcohol.
Ultrasonic Cleaners for Heavy Buildup
If you’re dealing with clippers that haven’t been cleaned in months, or you maintain multiple sets, an ultrasonic cleaner can save time. These small tabletop units use high-frequency sound waves to create microscopic bubbles in a liquid bath, which blast debris out of every crevice without any scrubbing.
Fill the unit with water and a mild detergent or a metal-safe cleaning solution. Place the blade assembly (removed from the clipper body) into the bath and run a cycle for 3 to 5 minutes. Heavily clogged blades may need a longer cycle. Don’t submerge the clipper body itself, and avoid harsh chemical solutions that can damage blade coatings or plastic components. After the cycle, rinse the blades with clean water and dry them completely before reattaching.
Oil the Blades After Every Cleaning
Removing hair is only half the job. Cleaning strips away the thin layer of oil that keeps the blades running smoothly and prevents rust, so you need to re-oil every time. The standard method is a five-point oiling pattern: place three drops of clipper oil across the teeth of the blade (one on each end and one in the center), then one drop on each of the two back rails where the top blade slides against the bottom plate.
Turn the clipper on for 10 to 15 seconds after oiling so the lubricant spreads evenly across the cutting surfaces. Wipe off any excess with a cloth. Use only clipper oil or a light machine oil. Cooking oils, WD-40, and other household lubricants can gum up the blades or go rancid.
How Often to Clean
If you cut hair at home, brush the blades after every use and do a full cleaning (removing the blades, flushing with alcohol, and re-oiling) whenever performance starts to drop. For most people, that’s every few haircuts or once a month.
Professional barbers should clean blades after every client, both for performance and hygiene. Research on clipper blades in clinical and grooming settings has found bacteria like Staphylococcus aureus, various fungi, and other skin pathogens living on blades after use. These organisms thrive in the warm mix of hair, skin cells, and oil that accumulates between blade teeth. Bacterial folliculitis, those irritated red bumps that sometimes appear after a haircut, is one of the more common consequences of using dirty clippers. A thorough deep clean once a week keeps buildup from reaching a point where it affects blade alignment or motor performance.
Signs Your Clippers Need Cleaning Now
The clearest signal is the clippers pulling or snagging hair instead of cutting cleanly. This usually means hair is packed between the blades, preventing the top blade from moving freely against the bottom plate. You might also notice the motor sounds louder or more strained than usual, which happens when debris increases friction. Blades that feel hot faster than they used to are another giveaway, since packed hair acts as insulation and increases heat from friction. Any of these symptoms typically resolve completely once you clear the hair out and re-oil.