HuffPost may receive a share from purchases made via links on this page. Every item is independently selected by the HuffPost Shopping team. Prices and availability are subject to change.
As someone with a set of eyebrows as unruly as they come, a solid pair of tweezers are among my most valued possessions. The number of times I’ve poked and picked at myself to try and grab a particularly evasive hair has created some embarrassing red spots on my face and enough frustration to last a lifetime.
I sought the knowledge of one hair removal expert to find out what kind of tweezers she uses in her salons to get the best pluck possible.
Jodi Shays, a professional waxer and owner of Queen Bee salons and spas in Washington, California and Texas, said that in order for a pair of tweezers to meet her professional standards, they should be constructed from stainless steel or titanium (the latter being the most rust-proof of the two).
“We need tweezers that have a great ‘tension’ and ‘spring’ to them,” Shays wrote to me. “That means when you put them between your fingers, you can feel a good ‘bounce.’”
Shays said this tension is what allows you to grasp a hair more effectively, without breaking it or causing trauma to the surrounding skin.
Shays, who recently designed her own tweezers ($28.95 at her store), said that she loves tweezers made by Rubis Switzerland, a Swiss beauty tool company that thoughtfully crafts many of their cosmetic instruments from surgical steel.
“The engineering of [Rubis Switzerland] tools is just superb and made for precision tweezing. They also do not dull quickly. The tension is amazing,” Shays said.
Rubis’ classic tweezers are one of the brand’s best-rated options. They are ergonomically designed and feature slanted tips that are perfectly aligned to precisely grab and close on hairs from fine to coarse, in order to remove them with ease. You can also expect them to retain that coveted tension for years to come.
“One trick we love to share is that if your tweezers get dull, you can sharpen them yourself with a little fine grit sandpaper,” Shays said.
In addition to Rubis Switzerland’s classic tweezer, Shays said she also uses their point tweezers for stubborn ingrown hairs. While having a good tool is key, Shays wish more people paid attention to proper skin prep prior to tweezing.
“Tone the skin [first], then apply a balm that will give you ‘slip’ to glide over the hair. This way you don’t pinch dry skin as well as the hair,” she said. “Also, grasp the hair from the base, not halfway up, which can lead to breakage.”
She always recommends pulling the skin taut while tweezing so you’re not tugging at the skin as well as the hair and to follow up with a little more toner.
Visit the links above before your next attempt to tackle that pesky unibrow or wayward chin hair, and grab yourself a pair of tweezers that will actually pluck what you don’t want. Or, if you’d like to do some further reading, check out some promising Amazon reviews below.
“I’ve wasted so much money on tweezers that didn’t have quality. These are really good” — teresa potter
“I am an esthetician with 37 years of experience and while publicly easily available tweezers are fine for occasional use by the general public ; it is the quality of this tweezer precision tool makes the detailed work I produce , possible . I will NEVER use any other tweezer !” — P. D. Miller
“Have had the Rubis Slant tweezer for a year now. Still has great grip on a hair as when it first arrived. One can actually zero in on plucking just one eyebrow hair at a time. Gone are the days of over tweezing.” — Amazon Customer