Doing your own nails? Use a glass nail file!
Whether your nail broke during a busy day and you are looking for a quick on-the-go fix, or you just simply love doing your own nails, you need the right tools. And the most important is the nail file.
Types of nail files
Emery boards
These are the most common ones you can find cheap almost everywhere. An emery board is a stack of cardboards with the bottom and top layers being gritty — usually one coarser the the other.
Buffing blocks
These blocks have at least four walls that are gritty with each one having a different level of grittiness. They are great for final touches and polishing as they tend to be very soft.
Metal nail files
These are very common as well. They are made of coarse metal with some plastic handle.
Glass nail files
Made of tempered glass, the sides of these are etched with acid to give them that gritty features we all look for in a nail file.
Wooden nail files
These, as the name suggests, are made of wood and tend to be very coarse. That is why the are mostly used for pedicures only.
So? Which one should you go with?
As indicated above it depends for what you are trying to achieve. But if we were to pick one that is versatile and long lasting, our vote goes definitely to glass nail files. Why? Here are the pros and cons:
They are long lasting
Made of tempered glass with etched surface, these nail files don’t lose their ability to file your nail even after years of usage as opposed to emery boards and buffers, which you need to replace once they become unusable.
They can be washed and sanitised
The nail residue can be easily rinsed out with a bit of soap and you are good to go again. If you want to go even further, they can be sanitised with just a bit of alcohol or any sanitising spray. After this easy wash, they are as good as new and you can be sure that there is no bacteria throwing a party on your nail file.
Plus this means glass nail files are more environmentally friendly as with good care they can last ages!
They are gentle on your nails
Glass nail files and the way they are made actually seal the keratin in your nails. Which means you can use them freely on the edges of your nails without fearing that your nails are going to split and break, as opposed to metal nail files which can actually cause splitting quite easily — they are designed to be used in one direction only, but most users don’t do it that way which may promote splitting in there nails. With glass nail file you can go both ways without damaging the edges of your nails.
However, glass nail files can break
If not handled properly — they will break, because at the end of the day it is glass. This usually happens only if you drop them and they hit a hard surface. They are, however, made so that they are safe, meaning, they won’t split into tens of small sharp pieces. What usual happens it that the smooth handle breaks off from the gritty part. But unless you are going to be throwing yours around and not keeping it in its some sort of casing, you will be fine :)
To conclude, if youŕe looking for an all round tool both good for overall manicure and an emergency nail breakage we think glass nail file is the one! You can get a pocket sized version in you MINIKIN — your new all-in-one cosmetic bag.
