What Are the Best Tips for Plucking Hair?

Some of the best tips for plucking hair are to grip the hair close to the skin, sterilize tweezers before and after plucking, and forget about hair-plucking myths. Gripping hair close to the skin lessens the chance of breaking the strand and reduces the amount of pain plucking causes. Sterilizing the tweezers is also important because this reduces the odds of infection. Most experts advise against plucking gray hair and encourage people to instead get the hair dyed or removed. Lastly, one pair of tweezers will not last forever, because they become dull and must be sharpened or replaced.

Plucking hair can be painful, but some know-how can lessen the pain. A person should stretch his or her skin slightly and grip the hair as close to the root as possible before plucking it. Failing to take these steps ensures the hair will pull at the skin a bit, increasing the pain. Gripping the hair at the tip also increases the likelihood of breaking the hair rather than pulling it off at the root. Plucking hair is similar to shaving in that the smooth results will not last long.

It is possible to sterilize a set of tweezers with rubbing alcohol. They should be sterilized before and after each grooming session and placed somewhere clean between sessions. Failing to sterilize the tweezers can sometimes lead to infection. While an infected hair follicle is not life threatening, it can be very itchy and, if particularly severe and deep, can lead to scarring. Pus and blisters may also be present if a person has an infected hair follicle.

Another tip for plucking hair is to forget about the myths and old wives tales. Many people believe that plucking hair that is gray will cause even more gray hairs to grow in its place. This is not true at all, but it is still not a good idea to pluck hair from your head. A habit of plucking away at your head can lead to infection, scarring, or severe damage to the roots of the hair, causing nothing to grow back. If gray hair is a concern, consider having it dyed or shave it off.

A good pair of tweezers should last at least one year if not used improperly or excessively. All tweezers must be sharpened or replaced eventually, though. Sometimes a reputable company offers free sharpening for life, minus shipping and handling charges.