Black, Rainbow and Titanium Scissor Finishes
By SalonScissors editorial team Updated
A coloured hair scissor is an ordinary scissor with a very thin coloured coating on top. The colour is the look; the coating’s name tells you what else it does.
How we chose: One pick per finish from our range, chosen on maker specs, listings, hands and price. We sell them and haven’t run cutting tests. Prices checked 15 October 2026.
What are DLC, titanium and rainbow coatings?
| Finish | What it is | In our range |
|---|---|---|
| Black DLC | Diamond-like carbon: a hard, low-friction carbon coating, usually 1–5 µm thick | Kasho Silver Offset BLACK |
| Titanium | A titanium-based coating applied in a vacuum; gold titanium nitride is the best known | Joewell TR handle, Kamisori Shadow |
| Rainbow | Usually a very thin titanium-based film whose colours come from the light | Mina Rainbow II, Ichiro Rainbow, Juntetsu Hanami |
| Rose gold, black, pastel | Coloured coatings our listings don’t name further | Ichiro Rose Gold, Mina Black Diamond |
Oerlikon Balzers, a coating company, gives DLC’s thickness and calls it very hard with low friction. Its titanium nitride is gold-yellow and also used purely for decoration.
Rainbow is the odd one. On titanium-coated stainless, Zahner explains, the colours are interference colours, made by light bouncing between the two surfaces of a very thin film. That’s why a rainbow blade shifts colour as you turn it.
Does a coating change how a scissor cuts?
A colour coating doesn’t: the steel and the edge underneath do the cutting. DLC is the one to know about. Kasho says it gives its Silver BLACK “high hardness, high corrosion resistance and low friction” for a smoother cut.
Where does the coating go?
On the handle
Some makers name the handle as the coated part. Joewell describes the TR’s handle as blue titanium and rubber coated. It’s the part your fingers rub all day.
On the blade
Our rose gold and black listings describe the colour as a coating over the blade. Sharpening grinds the very edge back to bare steel, so a thin silver line along the edge after a service is normal.
Three finishes up close
Joewell Titanium TR
- Colour
- Dark blue and black
- Coating
- Blue titanium and rubber, in Joewell’s words
- Where
- Joewell describes the handle as coated
- Steel
- Super Alloy stainless, with a Convex Shape blade
The coating is on the part your fingers hold, so it takes the most rubbing. Keep the handle clean and dry.
Kasho Silver Offset BLACK
- Colour
- Black all over
- Coating
- Diamond-like carbon (DLC)
- Where
- Kasho calls the series DLC-coated
- Steel
- Kasho says it matches the regular Silver line, which we list in ATS-314
Kasho says the DLC gives high hardness, corrosion resistance and low friction for a smoother cut.
Mina Rainbow II
- Colour
- Rainbow, blade and handles
- Coating
- A polished rainbow finish; our listing doesn’t name the process
- Where
- The whole tool, as pictured
- Steel
- Stainless steel, grade not given
The budget way into rainbow, in right or left hand from 4.5” to 7.0”.
Do coloured finishes wear off?
Slowly, and in predictable places. A coating this thin can scratch, and it wears first where metal rubs: the rings, the finger rest and the inside faces where the blades meet. Sharpening takes the very edge back to bare steel.
Day-to-day wiping won’t lift it. Zahner says vapour-deposited colours are “very stable” and the titanium coating is hard. Knocks, metal polish and harsh chemicals are what spoil a finish.
How do you look after a coloured finish?
Common questions
Will the colour wear off my scissors?
Not quickly. Expect some wear at the rings and finger rest over time, and a thin silver line at the edge after sharpening. Wiping and drying won’t lift it; polish, knocks and harsh chemicals will mark it.
Is rose gold real gold?
No. It’s a coloured coating; our rose gold listings describe it as a coating over the blade.
Is DLC worth paying for?
If you want black and like a harder, slicker surface, yes. In our range the Kasho Silver Offset BLACK costs A$210 more than the plain Silver Offset.
Are coloured scissors as good as plain ones?
Yes, if the scissor underneath is. The colour sits on top, so judge the steel, edge and handle in the listing first.
Next step
Found your finish? Browse the black, rainbow or rose gold range, or read the care guide for the rest of the routine.