High-quality cut manicure cannot be performed without tongs for manicure. With their help, the burrs are carefully removed, dry skin on the side rollers is removed, the cuticle is cut off. The speed of work and the long-term effect of manicure depend on the quality of this tool. On sale there are many models of tweezers, which, at first glance, differ only in price.
Although the products of famous brands are actually more expensive than household manicure tools, you can easily make the mistake of choosing the necessary accessories. It is better to choose a famous brand. As a rule, a well-known company will not save on steel quality. Its products undergo mandatory control and receive reliable packaging that protects during transportation and storage.
The structure of the tongs for manicure
Tweezers are two metal parts having handles and cutting edges. They are screw fastened and equipped with a spring for adjusting blade compression. This concludes the similarity of professional and household tools.
For a month of intensive work, the tweezer blades worth two hundred rubles lose their former sharpness, and the spring breaks. And this is at best. They may rust and stop shrinking; they may break off the corner of the blade. The appearance of such a tool will be lost.
Professional tweezers are made of stainless steel, so they do not rust. The cutting edges also remain operational for a long time. The springs, in addition to being stronger, can have varieties that do not require replacement. This is a spiral, for example. If the spring has the form of a metal strip, it is fastened with a screw and can easily be replaced in case of breakage.
Two types of tweezers
In special stores for beauty salons, you can find tools from two price segments. These are professional manicure forceps, which are made of medical steel, costing from three to five thousand rubles and cheap tools at the price of up to five hundred rubles.
Often a good tool is sold unsaturated. It should be taken to the workshop and sharpened. Cheap tweezers are already ground and ready to go. Their price allows you to use them until the sharpness of the blades is lost, after which they are replaced with a new tool. Some manicurists take cheap tweezers to the workshop, and this even brings good results. But after several sharpenings, they become so thin in the working part of the tool that they quickly break down - either in the workshop or in the salon.
Overview of professional and household brands
You can name several brands of quality tweezers that will last for many years. This is a Japanese handmade tool by KAI from five to twelve thousand rubles, depending on the model. They will not become dull for a long time, because the KAI brand has been known for quality for more than a hundred years. No less reliable nippers for manicure "Staleks" Kharkov plant of medical instruments. They are made of high alloy steel and will last a long time.
Handmade Yoko tweezers are made of cobalt steel and are also in demand by professionals. Their price is about a thousand rubles. German Mozart nippers are distinguished by long cutting surfaces - 12 mm versus the usual 5 mm. Their price is two thousand rubles. Some companies make scissors for manicure. They are held like scissors, but their cutting blades are made like tweezers. The Mertz company produces several sizes of such tools.
Inexpensive household tweezers are made by Singer and Zolinger firms. Unfortunately, they are most often faked. Therefore, you can buy tools only in trusted stores or at major exhibitions.
Blade size: which is better to choose
Beginners take a tool with small blades, because their hand is not yet full and half-centimeter blades leave wounds on the side rollers. Not all brands produce products with small blades. For example, Singer manicure tongs are almost always available with five millimeter blades. If you need a smaller size, it is better to choose the Zolinger company - it produces sizes 4.5 and 4 mm.
Professionals are more comfortable working with long blades. When the cuticle is cut, then in the corners of the nail bed the blades are placed vertically and make very small cuts, so the risk of cutting the cuticle is minimized. Beginners are not yet accustomed to operating the blades, and the heel of the instrument grabs the skin without noticing it. Short blades are preferable for them.
When the master works with short blades, he leads the tool in short steps. So it turns out better to control the cut line, changing the direction of movement of the tweezers in time. But a straight beautiful line cannot be fulfilled in this way; it is achieved by using long blades. That's why professionals use large size tweezers.
Differences of springs in tweezers of different models
Much depends on the spring: the blades will compress easily or tightly for how long they last. Nippers for manicure, the photo of which is presented below, have a composite spring of two metal strips with fasteners at the ends for connection during operation. When buying such a model, it is important to check how the halves of the spring close. They may not coincide during operation if the strips are bent or have a defect.
If the spring is made in the form of a single strip, it is more likely to break prematurely. These are usually equipped with inexpensive household models. Their metal does not withstand a large number of compressions-uncompressions.
It is much better to purchase tweezers with a coil spring, which is removed. When buying such a model, they select those that are convenient to hold in your hand without making any effort - if the spring is too tight, the hand will get tired.
Sterilization - a test for the instrument
Regular sterilization of instruments ensures safety when performing manicures. Professionals use a dry-heat cabinet, which produces a fairly high temperature. Manicure forceps are pre-washed from skin particles, wiped off from moisture and placed in a disinfectant solution. After the set exposure time, be sure to rinse them. A dry tool is placed in a paper bag.
Beginners do not always understand the importance of sterilization. But even if they decide not to ignore this stage, they acquire a glasperlen ball sterilizer. He works by heating small glass balls. The temperature can reach 180 degrees in the lower layers. If the tweezers are left in the sterilizer for a long time, they become so hot that they can bend when hit.
Poor quality tools rust when treated with disinfectant solutions. Parts of the tweezers that are not completely washed after the solution are covered with brown soot when immersed in the sterilizer. From this they are dull faster.
Sharpening tongs for manicure
Tweezers are a very delicate tool. They should be sharpened with diamond wheels, which is guaranteed only by a special workshop. At the factory, workers who sharpen manicure or medical instruments undergo special training. The angle at which the master will hold the cutter is important. Excessive pressing will lead to the formation of a too thin surface, and the length of the blades will decrease, changing their size.
If sharpening tweezers unprofessionally, then microscopic notches remain on them. They do not affect the quality of kitchen knives or scissors, but cause injury to the cuticle's thin skin. Nobody would probably want the surgeon to do a band operation with a blunt or rusty scalpel. So why should manicure tools be lowered?
Unaware of the complexity of the design of manicure blades, people believe that tweezers can be sharpened in exactly the same way as ordinary household appliances. But at the same time, the exact angle at which this should be done is not respected. The tweezers are arranged so that their cut is different from the cut of scissors. Scissors have a flat cut, and tweezers have a corner. Even if you can sharpen the edges of the tool, it will wrinkle the cuticle. The peel will not be cut off, but torn off.
All the recommendations of the so-called experts on how to sharpen the tongs for manicure at home are not suitable. This will ruin professional tools, and household ones can also break.
How to choose tweezers in the store
In order to choose the best tweezers from the offered assortment, several tests should be performed. The first one is to balance: tweezers in the closed position are taken by one handle and slightly shaken. They should not be disclosed. If opened under this influence - they postpone such an instrument, it will not be needed.
The next test is the evenness of the blades in both horizontal and vertical projections. A finger is passed along the edge of the closed blades, checking for protrusions. The clearance of the blades should go away when squeezing the handles.
The third test is the riveting test: the handles move in opposite directions. There should be no clicks. How to choose good nippers for manicure - professional or household - says the specialist in the video.
Blade sharpness check
By purchasing tweezers, they are checked for sharpness of sharpening. For the test, take a plastic bag "T-shirt", place one layer between the blades and slightly reduce the handles. The package is pulled forward. This is done several times to ensure an even straight cut.
Then, after the same movement of the tool, the bag is pulled sideways. This checks the presence or absence of nicks on the blades. With unprofessional sharpening, they will leave marks.
Reviews of professionals
Every manicurist has a favorite brand of tools. At the school where they received the diploma, they may have made such tools to order by the standards of a particular student. There are women with small palms who find it difficult to use standard tools.
The most reliable professionals name products of the Mozart brand with twelve millimeter blades. These manicure tongs have been rated for decades. When the double spring fails, a suitable length of PVC cable is put on the handles.
Working newcomers are recommended to beginners to purchase Zolinger products - they have the most attractive combination of price and quality, with a wide variety of models of all sizes. These tweezers withstand repeated sterilization.
How to store tweezers
In the cabin, instruments are stored in the ultraviolet sterilizer chamber. Such equipment is used by hairdressers, cosmetologists and manicurists. If the sterilization treatment is carried out in a dry oven, the tools are stored in kraft bags.
At home, you can store tools in a case if they are intended for individual use. But it is better to sterilize them in the oven, after placing them in a kraft bag. This preserves sterility for a long time, which is important when working with clients.
The tool must not be dropped, since after that it cannot be repaired. You should not allow the tweezers to be stored in the case without first fixing, because when they are in constant contact with other metal tools (scraper and pusher), they are at risk of riveting displacement, loosening of fasteners, deformation, chips of protective spraying and other defects. If you store the tool in such conditions, it will be difficult to work even with the best tongs. The manicure will be of poor quality due to blunt blades and incomplete fit.
Conclusion
A convenient tool is pleasant to work with. Nippers for manicure should be selected according to the size of the hand and cutting edges. It is better to spend time searching for suitable tweezers than to suffer much longer from the fact that the wrist gets tired and the blades do not cut, but pull the skin. If you meticulously choose a tool, then you will get a reliable assistant.