Of all the beauty tools that we deem necessary in our beauty routines, few of them are actually quite as vital to a cosmetic routine as the ever-so-popular tweezer.
In spite of its being a staple, few people have come to realize just how many variants of this tool there are, and which ones may be the best for their hair-removing habits.
Depending on your skin type, hair thickness, and even personal medical history, you could benefit from using a certain type of tweezer over the other. In spite of the options you have, we think you really only need 3 in your beauty bag to consider yourself armed and ready for all the tweezing challenges life throws your way.
So, what are the types of tweezers? There are several tweezers to choose from, ranging from slant-tipped to straight, and even arched-claw to automatic! Some are more suitable for sensitive skin and finer hair, while others are better for coarser strands. The 3 to keep handy are the slant-tip, pointed, and pointed-slant tweezers.
Yes — it is a lot of information (who knew the tweezer world was this vast?), but we’ll walk you through each type, let you know how they are in-depth, and even give you some suggestions as to which ones to pick up.
Types Of Tweezers
We’ve rounded up the nine different types of tweezers that you may come across in the store. Because there are so many, you might not be familiar with each type and what it is specialized for.
We’ll break them down in order. That way, the next time you see one while you’re shopping around, you’ll know if it’s worth the buy:
- Slant-Tip Tweezer
- Point-Tip Tweezer
- Pointed-Slant Tweezer
- Round-Tip Tweezer
- Flat-Tip Tweezer
- Arched-Claw Tweezer
- Wide-Grip Tweezer
- Automatic Tweezer
- Straight Tweezer
1. Slant-Tip Tweezer
These types of tweezers can be distinguished by their slanted tip. The angle won’t be steep, and the highest point of the slant will be dull — not sharp, and definitely not pointy.
This style of tool is best reserved for facial hair: eyebrows, upper lip, chin, and the like. However, it’s most effective on eyebrows!
These tweezers are great for all different thicknesses of facial hair, making them a universal tool that can be used with ease. They’re deeply precise thanks to their longer tip and can be angled to reach different hairs of various lengths and coarseness.
If we had to recommend this style to any one hair type though, we think those with thicker hairs would love slant-tip tweezers. The longer edge gives a steadier grip that other tweezers may not be able to replicate.
2. Point-Tip Tweezer
These tweezers, upon first sight, might be kind of intimidating, but if precision is your game, you have no other choice than to go with a point-tip tweezer! These tweezers are notable for their super fine point — they almost look surgical when you initially come across them.
For that reason, we love these tweezers. They’re incredible for those with super fine or thin hairs that may be a bit difficult to grab onto with a wider-tipped tool.
In spite of that, they’re also a great choice if you have that one hair that’s out of place and don’t want to risk accidentally tweezing out a bunch of hairs to get your brows looking even.
If you deal with ingrown hairs, this is also a great pair to have handy. Their fine tip can easily extract those pesky bumps without pain or potential scarring, which also makes them handy to have when you get a splinter or two!
Because they are super sharp, they may not be everyone’s first choice, but with a light hand and a mindful touch, they’re nothing short of a necessity in our book.
3. Pointed-Slant Tweezer
This style of tweezer is basically a hybrid of the first two listed — it has the slant, and it has the point, the two features of each tool that make them so sought after. They’re a fantastic balancing point if you aren’t sure which tweezer is great for you, but they’re also just a great tool to have overall.
Because they’re a hybrid style, they’re good for all hair types and can be used on any type of facial hair — from thick, thin, and even those strands that may be a bit harder to reach.
You’ll have a lot of control and guidance with this tool, and thanks to the style of the tip, you can extract a singular hair or even a bunch at a time, which means perfecting the shape of your eyebrow can be done with a single tool instead of switching between a handful during a single tweezing session.
4. Round-Tip Tweezers
If you’re a tweezing novice, and you’re kind of scared about working with such a sharp tool near your face, you thankfully have the option of going for something a little bit easier on the skin!
The round-tip tweezer is the perfect tool if you’re just getting your introduction to tweezing, are buying your first pair of tweezers, and/or have a mobility issue and need something that works with your movements.
It’s nearly impossible to accidentally hurt or nick yourself with these, which also makes them wonderful for sensitive skin.
As for the areas of the face you can use these on, they’re pretty universal. If you’re tweezing your brows, it may take a bit longer, but they can work miracles on upper lip hair!
5. Flat-Tip Tweezers
Flat-tip tweezers look are perfectly named — when clamped completely shut, each side of the tweezer will lay flush against the other. They are super precise and are a great tool if you’re extracting multiple strands of hair at a single time.
We’d definitely recommend these tweezers, with their wider, thicker edge, for those with thicker hair types who need a firm grip on each strand prior to plucking.
Due to the length of the tip, these are also great tools for those who need help applying false eyelashes!
Surprisingly, in spite of the look of their tip, they’re also fantastic at extracting ingrown hairs — especially ones that are just under the surface.
6. Arched-Claw Tweezers
The word “claw” probably has you thinking about those toy dispensing claw machines at the arcade. Rest assured, that is not what the tip of these tools looks like! Rather, they have a super arched arm that tapers into a tip that’s reminiscent of the classic slant-tip tweezer.
The degree of the arch is what makes this set of tweezers so special. It reduces the amount of pressure applied on the tip of the tweezer, changing what they’re most effective for. The lack of pressure makes them a great choice for sensitive areas of the face (around the lips, nose, and eyes — even the bikini line!).
Not only that, but they’re also great for finer or shorter hairs since they’re less likely to cause redness and bleeding from too forceful of a pluck.
Because of their gentle nature, this style of tweezers is also the most popular pick amongst estheticians.
7. Wide-Grip Tweezers
We get it — sometimes holding onto a tweezer can get kind of finicky. They can get difficult to hold onto, the metal of the tool can dig into your fingers, and honestly, they can get pretty slippery!
Not only does that make them annoying, but it also makes them almost impossible to use if you have mobility issues such as Parkinson’s, arthritis, and the like. That’s where tools like wide-grip tweezers come into play!
They’re made to sit comfortably in the hand thanks to their wide arms and sometimes padded grip, making them a lifesaver for a particularly long tweezing session, more mature hands, or for people who just want a little more comfort!
As for the area of the face they’re best at extracting hair from, the eyebrows would be your best bet!
8. Automatic Tweezers
If you’d like to take a note from Oprah herself, get yourself a pair of automatic tweezers. These are among some of the strangest-looking tweezers on the list (almost looking like a mini-crossbow), but they work wonders if you’re not a seasoned tweezer!
There’s a bit of a learning curve when it comes to using an automatic tweezer. The first motion is the same: simply clamp onto the hairs you want to remove, except once you complete the clamping motion, your tweezers will automatically retract and extract the hairs for you!
These tools are super durable and built to last, and definitely do the work of tweezing much faster than a manual tweezer.
However, because they’re automatic, you’ll need to be precise in selecting which hairs you’ll remove — there’s no room for mistakes here!
9. Straight Tweezers
A standard, straight pair of tweezers is also one of the most common styles of tweezers on this list — these are known for their super straight, wide edge and their flat grip.
These are ideal if your eyebrows are on the bushier side and if you may need to grab a bunch of hair at a time to clean up your facial hair. They aren’t necessarily the best choice for precise work, but can clean up edges, lip hair, and chin hair in a jiffy!
For those with thicker, coarser hair types, you may find relief in the superior grip of this tweezer style.
The Three Styles Of Tweezer You Need
We’ve just introduced you to the most common types of tweezers out there! Though you may have a better idea as to what styles would work with your personal attributes the best, you may still need a little bit of help picking the classic styles you’ll find yourself reaching for the most.
Here are our choices for the style of tweezers you should grab, as well as our personal picks as to which ones can get the job done best:
| Rank | Product | Type |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tweezer Guru Pointed Precision Tweezers | Pointed-Slant |
| 2 | Tweezerman Stainless Steel Tweezer | Slant |
| 3 | By MILLY Pointed Tweezers | Pointed |
1. Pointed-Slant, Tweezer Guru Pointed Precision Tweezers
Let’s keep things classic! The pointed-slant tweezer is a great multipurpose tool and can be used for multiple things: from hair removal, blackhead extraction, ingrown hairs, and more!
The reason we went with this specific pair from Tweezer Guru though, isn’t just because of the amazing range of colors you can choose from, but because they’re built to effectively work with the range of uses they can do.
This is definitely more of a slant-tip than a pointed tip, but it is sharp enough to handle more precise actions, so it’s worth mentioning that you should be careful! In spite of that, we still consider this to be the perfect starter pair of tweezers.
Tweezer Guru brand tweezers are made of high-quality stainless steel, are precision filed by hand, and have high-pressure clamp tips, making them ideal for brow plucking, handling bikini strays, and more.
They also feature protective tip covers, making them safe for sensitive skin, and their non-slip finish also makes them ideal for slippery hands or long tweezing sessions.
2. Slant, Tweezerman Stainless Steel Tweezer
Slant-tip tweezers, especially the kinds made by the beloved tweezing brand Tweezerman, are nothing short of a necessity in our eyes. They’re expertly made and are of professional quality so you can have a salon-esque experience whenever you pluck your hair.
What truly sets Tweezerman tweezers apart from the rest is their design. With evenly aligned, hand-filed tips, the grip that this tool has is nothing less than incomparable.
Tweezerman claims that it “grabs every hair, every time” — if you’re looking for the perfect blend of precision, comfort, and durability, this is a great pick!
For maximum control, we highly recommend holding these tweezers where the arm is thickest — near the middle of the body. Then, slant the tweezers about 24° degrees when clamping down the hair, and pull for a pain-free extraction!
Though the price point of this pair of tweezers may be a little bit steeper than a traditional pair, there’s a reason. The quality of a Tweezerman brand tweezer is truly worthy of a league of its own — we wouldn’t be surprised if you picked up the rest of their brow care line after this purchase.
The super-calibrated design has won a “Best Of Beauty” award every year since 2001 — so if you haven’t yet felt the difference of the Tweezerman design yet, you should definitely consider joining the club!
3. Pointed, By MILLY Pointed Tweezers
Don’t be afraid to walk on the sharp side!
Pointed tweezers, though they may not be everyone’s first choice, we consider them to be an absolute necessity when it comes to hair removal — that’s because there’s always going to be an instance in which you’ll yearn for one.
Whether you’re dealing with a splinter, stubborn ingrown hair, or simply needing to pluck that one hair from your brows to perfect the shape, By MILLY has perfected the pointed tweezer.
The hammer-forged design is made of 100% medical-grade surgical steel, so the chances of your skin dealing with post-pluck irritation, redness, and ingrown hairs is slim to none. Because they’re so high-quality, they’re made to last a lifetime with good upkeep.
In spite of its super thin tip, this brand was engineered to have a precise, strong grip on whatever hair you have clamped — making plucking and tweezing an effortless practice.
With over 25 years in the tweezing business, and specializing in the pointed tip, there’s no doubt that you’re picking up some of the most trusted pointed tweezers on the market!