In this article
I always have a set of tweezers in my makeup bag. I use them to maintain my groomed bushy brows and pluck those errant face hairs that bug me. After years of going through cheap drugstore brands, I finally learned that the right pair of tweezers is worth the investment. It makes plucking less painful and more precise, and they cost less in the long run. Ideally, tweezers should “last a lifetime, like a timeless Japanese knife,” says Chanel eyebrow artist Jimena Garcia. Below, you’ll find six tweezers (plus one coil hair remover) for eyebrow shaping and maintenance, facial hair, and ingrown hairs that were recommended by experts and tested out by me. Or you can jump to whatever type of tweezers you’re looking for below.
Update on November 22, 2024: Updated prices and checked stock for all products.
What we’re looking for
Tip
Tweezers come in a variety of shapes and sizes. It’s worth noting that all of the listed tweezers are the standard size (4.25 to 5.5 inches) because mini ones don’t actually make plucking any easier or more efficient. As far as shape goes, the tips of tweezers tend to vary. The most common one you’ve probably seen are slant tweezers, but there are also point, flat, and round tweezers, as well. With the exception of round tweezers, it’s important that the edges of your tweezers are as sharp as possible. This ensures that the tool can easily grab and hold hairs well enough to pluck without any breakage or slippage. The worst thing is when you have to pull an eyebrow hair over and over again just for it to break in half. Other things to look for are properly aligned tips and a bit of scuffing on the inside, both of which affect how the tweezers grip hair.
Material
Tweezers should be made with material that’s hypoallergenic, rust resistant, and easy to maintain. Stainless steel is your best bet, but you can also go for titanium tweezers. Some tweezers are brushed or coated in paint, mainly to add to its appearance, but just be sure that the tip itself is stainless steel or titanium to avoid skin irritation and ensure longevity.
Sharpening Policy or Warranty
Even the best of tweezers dull over time making it much harder to grab hair quickly and precisely. Tina Lowitt, esthetician and owner of The Wild Kind Beauty, recommends following the grain of your tweezers with an emery board five to ten times to sharpen your tweezers at home. And be sure to store tweezers properly to keep them sharper for longer, says Alix Shapiro, co-host of True Beauty Brooklyn Podcast. Place the little plastic shield back on the tip when you’re finished plucking, and don’t leave tweezers in liquid for a prolonged period of time.
I also found that Tweezerman offers a lifetime sharpening service for most of their tweezers. Just fill out their online form, package up and send out your tweezers, and you should receive your freshly sharpened tweezers in about three to four months. Other companies may offer some sort of money-back warranty, which we’ve also noted.
Best tweezers overall
Tip: Slant | Material: Stainless Steel | Sharpening Policy or Warranty: Sharpening service
I finally replaced my dull, years-old drugstore tweezer with this Tweezerman at the end of 2021. It can perform almost any hair-plucking job with ease. I keep my eyebrows on the natural side but like to clean up my arch every now and then. I used to struggle to grab short, wispy hairs (or, even worse, I’d accidentally pluck a perfectly in-place hair). But I don’t have that issue anymore because this tweezer is precise. Its slanted tip is ideal for lifting hair away from the skin before you pull out the strand, which is important for precision. It also lets you get closer to the base so the hair is less likely to break when you pull. Rebecca Hoffman, owner of Bespoke Brows NYC, adds that the slanted edge makes you less likely to pinch yourself while tweezing. “You can also angle it to just use the pointy edge of the tool for really stubborn hairs,” she says.
While Tweezerman may be pricey for a drugstore tweezer, it’s actually much more affordable than other professional-grade tweezers. Rubis, another brand with a cult following, has a more expensive slant tweezer that was touted by our experts, but Tweezerman’s beats it out because of the lower price and lifetime of free sharpening.
Best tweezers for eyebrows
Tip: Slant | Material: Stainless steel titanium gold coated | Sharpening Policy or Warranty: None
If your main concern is shaping pristine eyebrows, opt for these slightly more expensive Tweezerman tweezers. They’re a little sharper than the above, giving you the ability to grab hairs better and pluck faster. That’s also why experts like True Beauty Brooklyn owners Elizabeth Taylor and Alix Shapiro and Shen Beauty esthetician Lara Kaiser use the tweezers on clients. When I tested them against the Slant Tweezers, I noticed that they grabbed those super fine vellus hairs better, and I rarely had to go over the same hairs twice.
Rather than being made out of plain stainless steel, these are coated in titanium gold. This not only makes them look a bit more luxurious, but this is supposed to make them last longer, too. The downside with the tweezers being coated is that it means Tweezerman’s sharpening service doesn’t apply, which is also why these didn’t come out as the best overall pick. Instead, the company will provide a 50 percent off coupon for your next purchase in lieu of the service.
Best tweezer kit
Tip: Point and Slant | Material: Stainless steel | Sharpening Policy or Warranty: Neither
This all-in-one kit comes with Tweezerman’s travel-size slant tweezer and point tweezer, as well as a mini angled brow brush and spoolie. Even though the tweezers included are marketed as “travel size,” they measure 6.25 inches in length, so they fit comfortably in my hand. Plus the price comes out less than most of the tweezers on this list, so it’s a good deal. When I tested it, I appreciated the choice of tweezers and spoolie for brushing my brows up. I didn’t use the angled brush, but I could see it being useful if I was going for a more polished look. Also worth noting: Oscar-winning costume designer Ruth E. Carter told us this is one of the things she can’t live without.
Best tweezers for ingrown hairs
Tip: Point | Material: Stainless steel | Sharpening Policy or Warranty: 14-Day warranty
Before you tackle an ingrown hair, it’s important to treat the area first. That means cleansing, exfoliating (chemically or physically), and hydrating the skin before even reaching for a tweezer. Once you’ve done that, a point tweezer is going to be the most effective at grabbing an ingrown without causing as much damage as a slant or flat tip tweezer. These particular tweezers from the Swiss brand Rubis are sharp, narrow, and stainless steel. “If we’re talking about the hair that is partially hiding beneath the skin, this is the tool to get it out,” says Ania Siemieniaka, the manager and owner of the spa Freckle.
While Rubis’s tweezers are the most expensive of the bunch, some experts are enthusiastic about the quality. Jimena, who’s tried both Tweezerman and Rubis, appreciates Rubis’s history and craftsmanship. And Lowitt, who prefers the brand’s Pro Grip tweezers for ingrowns, says, “The higher price point is just completely warranted in terms of durability and longevity of sharpness.”
Best less expensive tweezers for ingrown hairs
Tip: Point | Material: Stainless steel | Sharpening Policy or Warranty: Sharpening service
Tweezerman also makes a stainless-steel option with a point tip. When I tested tweezers myself, I actually preferred Tweezerman’s Point Tip Tweezers over the Point Tweezers because of the slightly wider body. That extra width gave me more control as I plucked, which I imagine would come in handy when dealing with ingrowns. Since these aren’t coated, you can also send them to Tweezerman for their lifetime sharpening service.
Best tweezers for coarse hair
Tip: Flat | Material: Stainless steel | Sharpening Policy or Warranty: 14-Day warranty
If you’re dealing with more coarse hairs, a crab claw gives you more even grip than angled tweezers do and doesn’t have much breakage. Lowitt likes using these for stubborn body hairs, and Garcia says the shape helps remove hard-to-reach hairs underneath the chin.
Best less expensive tweezers for coarse hair
Tip: Slanted | Material: Stainless steel | Sharpening Policy or Warranty: Neither
Anastasia Beverly Hills, a company known for tweezing celebrities’ eyebrows to golden-ration perfection, makes an excellent slanted-tip stainless-steel tweezer. Both Siemieniaka and the Strategist’s beauty columnist Rio Viera-Newton are fans because of how reliable they are. “They always manage to pull out even the peskiest, grippiest, and hardest-to-grab hairs,” says Viera-Newton.
Best safety tweezers
Tip: Round | Material: Stainless steel | Sharpening Policy or Warranty: 14-Day warranty
Round-tip tweezers are a good option for people with a lack of mobility, people with a tremor, and beginners. These Rubis round-tip tweezers provide an element of safety since they’re not sharp enough to hurt yourself. While they’re not as precise as slant or point tweezers, Garcia reassures that they still have the excellent grip and calibrated tension that Rubis is known for.
Bonus: Best coil hair remover
I’m someone who likes getting their whole face threaded but doesn’t like shelling out $30 or more for every visit. I’ve tried learning how to thread myself with no success, so I was happy to find this coil hair remover. It’s extremely easy to use, and it plucks out peach fuzz and baby hair fast. Kaiser is also a fan of this “little springy device” for getting rid of facial hair. It’s not technically a tweezer, but, as Kaiser explains, “this is sort of like at-home threading. Hurts, but does the job much more quickly than tweezing. It’s not to be used on the brows because it’s not precise. You just twist the handles until you’re smooth.”
Some more hair removal tools we’ve written about
Our experts
• Tammy Fisher, founder and CEO of Browtiste
• Jimena Garcia, Chanel eyebrow artist
• Rebecca Hoffman, owner of Bespoke Brows NYC
• Lara Kaiser, aesthetician at Shen Beauty
• Tina Lowitt, aesthetician and owner of The Wild Kind Beauty
• Alix Shapiro, co-host of True Beauty Brooklyn Podcast and aesthetician at True Beauty Brooklyn
• Elizabeth Taylor, co-host of True Beauty Brooklyn Podcast and owner of True Beauty Brooklyn
• Ania Siemieniaka, manager and owner of Freckle
• Rio Viera-Newton, Strategist beauty columnist
The Strategist is designed to surface the most useful, expert recommendations for things to buy across the vast e-commerce landscape. Some of our latest conquests include the best hair care essentials, whitening toothpaste, very black mascara, tinted lip balm, acne mask, magnifying mirror, and all-natural deodorant. We update links when possible, but note that deals can expire and all prices are subject to change.
Every editorial product is independently selected. If you buy something through our links, New York may earn an affiliate commission.
