Cuticle Nippers

Cuticle nippers aren’t exactly the most common tools when it comes to manicures. It isn’t vitally necessary however would make manipulating and shaping cuticles much easier instead of relying on nail cutters and cuticle knives to do the job. Cuticle nippers are essentially small cutters that look very similar to tweezers but with a cutting element on the end. The main purpose of these instruments is to fill in the gap between nail cutters and cuticle knives where thicker cuticles or dead skin can’t be easily cut by the knife or the nail cutters.

The situation that calls for cuticle nippers is when you have dead cuticles of dead skin that is thicker than normal and would be hard to cut with cuticle knives but is also too deep or hard to reach for normal nail cutters to get too. It has to be said though that when using a cuticle nipper, you must be very careful as cuticle nippers are normally sharper than regular nail cutters and if not positioned properly before the cut, it can easily cut through the skin and cause bleeding.

There are a few types of cuticle nippers available and are differentiated by their blade design and also their hinge design. Firstly, there are different blade sizes, full, half and quarter jaw. I would personally recommend using the smallest one available as smaller jaws are more suited for delicate and detailed work. The second thing differentiating cuticle nippers are the hinge types, box hinges and lap hinges. Generally box hinges are more expensive to produce however do last longer and don’t loosen over time.

To clean cuticle nippers follow the exact same routine as with cuticle knives and nail cutters. The most important thing to do is to get rid of any dead skin or residue from its use then disinfecting it using disinfectants like alcohol to remove any viruses and bacteria that might have transferred to the instrument. This is because any residue may actually be a haven for bacteria and viruses to grow and when the cuticle nippers are used again may transfer bacteria or viruses to the user causing infections and disease. Additionally because tools like cuticle nippers come in contact with the human skin and risk breaking the skin, dangerous diseases like HIV or Hepatitis can be easily transferred from one person to the other by using unsanitized tools.