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Can You Use Gun Oil On Hair Clippers? (A Match Made in Heaven?)

Romeo Mapfumo

January 21, 2024

Sometimes we need a quick solution to a problem. I’ve been in this situation, needing to oil my clippers and asking myself, can I use gun oil on hair clippers?

Is it safe, will it damage my clippers?

I had questions about this topic too, however, I have lived the experience and have the answers.

And I would be glad to share them with you.

So, take a look at the table of contents, and let’s get into it.

Can You Use Gun Oil On Hair Clippers

Can I Use Gun Gil On Hair Clippers

Gun oil is a good hair clipper oil if the intention is for it to be used in the short term.

Being highly refined makes it a very safe oil that will not react to any metal it’s placed on and will truly only act as a lubricant. 

There are other properties that male gun oil a good alternative to hair clipper oil these are:

Protects against rust:

Hair clippers used in wet damp environments, and stored in humid conditions can leave salt and moisture on your hair clipper blades  Moisture residue can attack the metal of your blades, causing corrosion and forming rust.

Rusting blades will perform poorly, they pull hair, more often and the blades themselves will begin to become dull. 

Overall the longevity of your hair clippers will decrease and hair clippers will look horrible, to say the least.

Gun oil from brands like Hoppe’s contains rust inhibitors which help to quickly displace moisture and protect steel at the molecular level. 

Reduces friction:

Hair clipper blades are constantly sliding across each other at high speeds, and this creates a lot of friction. 

This is ultimately why hair clippers need oiling in the first place, Hair clipper blades, if hair clipper blades are not lubricated, the heat from the friction will slowly wear out the blades. 

It is vital that any oil you use on your hair clippers provides sufficient lubrication for your hair clippers. 

Gun oil does this just great. It is highly refined petroleum-based just like mineral oil and it provides the same amount of lubrication. 

High tolerance to heat:

This oil while thin, is more viscous than other hair clipper alternatives such as mineral oil and baby oil.

However, this just means that gun oil has a high tolerance to heat. This is good as hair clippers tend to overheat rapidly due to friction as previously mentioned.

Having an oil that can resist heat means that it can work on lubricating without becoming deformed and changing shape.

Oils that cannot handle heat will be of no use as a lubricant as they cannot deeply work their way into hair clipper blades. These oils just sit on the blade and provide no deep lubrication.

Using gun oil means you can avoid those problems. Your blades will be efficiently oiled.

Negatives of Using Gun oil on hair clippers 

Gun is a great hair clipper lubricant however it should not be the long-term solution for hair clipper lubrication. 

Gun oil is mineral oil, but it’s slightly thicker.

This is what commonly happens when gun oil is used frequently over a period of time and this can cause severe damage to hair clippers.

When gun oil struggles to leave hair clippers, it can stay and slowly collect hair and debris over time. This is accelerated when proper hair clipper maintenance isn’t performed on hair clippers. 

Due to this, I would advise only using gun oil as a stopgap, especially if you are not comfortable removing and deep cleaning your clipper blades.

Below are some of the best hair copper oils I would recommend to you.

You can learn more in my guide on the best hair clipper oils.

How to apply a gun to your Hair clipper 

Here’s how you can apply gun oil to your clippers.

Here is a brief guide on how to oil your hair clippers with gun oil:

Step 1:

Turn your hair clipper on

Step 2:

Apply three drops of gun oil at the point where the top cutting rail meets the clipper. Apply the oil across that front rail.

Step 3:

 Apply a drop of hair clipper to either side of the hair clipper

Step 4:

Turn the hair clippers off and turn them upside down to allow excess hair clipper oil to slide out.

Step 5:

Remove any excess hair clippers from the blade using a cloth.

The last step is very important when using the gun as a hair clipper. Failing to remove excess oil from the blades will lead to damage in the long term. 

How Often Do You Oil Hair Clippers With Gun Oil?

You should oil your hair clippers every 3-4 uses when using gun oil as your lubricant, gun oil is not as thin and can become stuck in your clippers.

Due to this the recommendation of every 2 uses, would accelerate the possibility of the oil becoming stuck. 

While gun oil is a good hair clipper alternative, you should look to use proper hair clippers so you can oil your blades more regularly without having to worry about after effects. 

Conclusion

You came to this article asking yourself, can I use gun oil on hair clippers? The answer is yes but it really should only be for the short term while you look to buy a proper hair clipper oil or an even better alternative.

But when you do use gun oil it has great qualities for your hair clippers, These are:

1. Helps prevent rust 
2. Reduces friction 
3. High tolerance to heat. 

These are great qualities for any oil used on hair clippers. 

However, when oiling your clippers, you must make sure to remove all excess oil with a cloth, so little to no gun oil remains in your clippers. Also, be sure to always clean and oil your hair clippers every 2-3 uses.

Check out other related articles such as:

• is hair clipper oil toxic?
• can you use WD-40 on hair clippers?
• can you use coconut oil on hair clippers?

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