How to choose the Tweezers you need!
Before you run out and grab the first pair of tweezers you see, take a few minutes to learn about the different types and what they should be used for.
TIP, TYPE & SHAPE
Perfect for fine-tuning short, hard to get ingrown hairs or splinters.
I’m starting with these because they require a cautionary note. The tips on these tweezers are really sharp and to use them safely, a number of things must be just right (i.e., perfect): the light, your vision, and the steadiness of your hand. In saying that, these are perfect for intricate tweezing as the perfectly aligned tips can isolate very short hair; or small, fine hairs; or even an ingrown one…
Ideal for removing stubborn and coarse hair.
Curiously, the straight tweezer is fairly under-appreciated. For starters, it’s much more forgiving than pointed tweezers (less likely to pierce or scratch your skin), and it functions as a very good all-around tweezer. It’s not only great for women who have been tweezing for many years, it’s equally well-suited to a young woman just learning how to use a tweezer. It will help you capture that stray hair (e.g.., around the chin area) and it’s also terrific for plucking several hairs at once—the larger surface of this tip does the trick.
Ideal for removing all types of hair.
Here you get the best of all worlds; the precision of a pointed tweezer and the (search and pluck) advantages of a straight one. Not surprisingly, it’s the most popular tweezer. You get a pointed tip for pin-point accuracy and you also get the ability – with a slight adjustment to the hand – to use a straight edge. This is the most versatile style; you get real precision as you reach for a specific hair – or for a splinter. You can get quite close to your skin and have no trouble pulling the hair out to its root. Compared to a point tip, with a slant tip you get more speed with just a little less accuracy.
Plucking Tips
1. Be sure to give yourself plenty of light — either natural or artificial light is fine. Use a magnifying mirror if you need one — seeingproperly is key. (Make sure you look in the normal side of the mirror occasionally as a check.)
2. Do make sure your skin is clean and exfoliated before you start using your tweezers. I’ve heard that baby teething gel can make the plucking hurt less, though I haven’t tried it.
3. Hold your skin taut with one hand and use your tweezers to pluck with the other, but never more than three or four hairs without stopping to check how you’re doing. It’s beyond easy to pluck too much — don’t do it. You’ll end up with sparse eyebrows that make you look permanently surprised. Or questioning…
4. If the hair should be going left, pluck it to the left. If you want it growing toward the right…you get the idea.
5. When you’re ready to start your brows, comb them up and then left or right.
6. When you’re finished, clean all your tools before putting them away; your skin will thank you. Be sure to wipe the tips of your tweezers with a little alcohol each time you use them and do have them sharpened when they need it.
