Mills for hardware manicure: varieties, purpose and selection tips

Hardware manicure is considered a fairly hygienic and simple procedure that allows you to make your nails beautiful without the help of cutting tools. If you learn to use it, then the device will become an indispensable thing. Nail artists around the world have already appreciated the charm of working with a manicure machine.

Turning to a beauty salon or to your master, you want to see only the best result. Undoubtedly, the industry made a huge leap forward, so the technology even touched the field of manicure. There are two types of manicure: edged and hardware. Unlike edged, hardware manicure looks more neat, and the process of applying it does not cause pain.

If in a regular manicure, nail files, orange sticks, pushers, buffs, small nail clippers, tweezers and many other tools are used, then in a manicure using a machine you only need a special device - an apparatus that looks like a thick pen. Such a machine is called a milling machine or milling machine.

In order for the milling cutter to perform different actions, it is necessary to use various types of nozzles: milling cutters, drills, burs, polishers and others. Such devices are usually included, but advanced masters buy them separately (depending on the tasks that need to be done with them).

Manicures and pedicures for their high-quality performance require different shapes of nozzles, different cutters. These tips can be made with different textures or made of different materials. Most often, each device is described in the form of instructions for use, so figuring out what's what will not be difficult.

The main advantages of hardware manicure is its painlessness and speed of execution. It can not be assumed that this procedure has no minuses. Hardware manicure is just beginning to develop, so not all masters know how to work with the router correctly. In addition, it is necessary to choose the right nozzles and to sterilize them qualitatively before each new application.

As we already said, nozzles for the milling cutter are divided into several categories:

• blunt cutter;
• narrow-ended (or fissure) mill;
• spherical end mill;
• mill with a corn-like end.

Cutters vary in shape.

• Needle - can be attributed to the fissure type. The name was given to them because of the appearance resembling a needle. Needles are needed to work with the rollers - the areas between the nail and the skin, as well as when removing the lower layer of the cuticle - pterygium. The diameter of the needle mill does not exceed 2 mm. This is not the safest nozzle, because work with the cuticle and ptegrium should be extremely careful so as not to touch the excess skin and cause bleeding.
• Reverse cone perfectly aligns the plate, but is still more often used in pedicure to remove small corns.
• Ball or Bor - this cutter up to 2 millimeters in diameter allows you to align the cuticle line, polish the cracks on the extended nail and process the space between the skin and the plate.
• Rounded cylinder It is narrow and wide in diameter. Narrow allows you to process the skin around the nail, wide - remove the gel layer, adjust the plate or treat the side rollers.

• Pointy cylinder (bullet or bullet) prepares the nail for future design.
• Flame - This is the only universal cutter. Suitable for beginners or home use.
• Cone allows you to make a shape for an artificial nail.
• Frustum - An excellent solution for rough and rough skin, hard and extended nails. It can also be used for pedicure.

Each type of tip can be made of different materials, this also plays a big role in creating a new manicure.

So, corundum and diamond mills made of ceramics or hard alloys are distinguished, there is a category of carbide tips, garnet or silicon-carbide, silicone and even steel mills are also on the market.

The category of metal cutters include all hard alloys, as well as carbides, steel. Such nozzles are used mainly for extended nails or coarsened skin, since due to their rigidity they can damage a natural nail. The difference between metal milling cutters from the rest is that they do not cut, but cut off the layer of the nail.

The rigidity of the work is determined by the notches. They can be straight, oblique and cruciform. The cutter with straight notches is considered the most rigid. The notches are applied to the cutter by die-cutting or stamping, and then the element is treated with oxides (this is necessary in order to prevent subsequent rusting and deformation).

If metal cutters are an option for artificial plates and rough skin, then diamond cutters are designed for thin skin, cuticles and natural nails.

The abrasiveness of a diamond nozzle is determined by its color. A light cutter indicates softness and safety of spraying, dark gray indicates hardness and pronounced grains.

Usually they are immediately included in the kit for the milling machine, because they are suitable for both home and professional care. Ceramic elements are needed to treat dry skin, calluses.

Abrasiveness is also determined by color: white, blue and black. Black is the toughest, its indicator is 400 microns (therefore, it is often called "artificial pumice").

These silicon carbide cutters are the perfect start for beginners. It is believed that such caps are disposable, therefore they withstand only 1 procedure.

The type of material and abrasiveness is the key to a successful manicure.

In order to choose a quality cutter, with which you can make a beautiful and neat manicure, use some tips.

• Determine why you need a cutter: for manicure or pedicure. This largely determines which material to choose and with what characteristics.
• Determine for yourself what kind of use your device will assume: home or salon. So, for the salon you will need more milling cutters, they must be of better quality, because the device will be used often, and consumables are not a cheap thing.
• Choose cutters for a specific machine. The fact is that the torsional force is different for everyone, the device itself can give revolutions of 1500 or more (the wear of the cutters depends on this). For home use, cutters can be used from a set and will not be replaced for many years.
• Choose devices in which the cutter overheat is controlled.
• Always pay attention to the diameter of the cutter. Small cutters should work at high speeds, and large - at low.
• On some types of nozzles there is a letter "T". This means that the element is coated with a cutting agent.

For each action with a nail, nail plate, cuticle and skin around the nail, there is a separate nozzle. If you use the nozzle for other purposes, you can not only not achieve the desired result, but also severely damage the nail, both aesthetically and physically.

Below are the main actions of the cutter during the hardware manicure.

Cuticle removal involves the use of several types of cutters at once. The cylindrical cone allows not only to raise the cuticle, but also to remove pterygium from under it. Duplex cutters are designed to raise the cuticle and to clean the nail as a whole. Narrow-pointed - designed exclusively for the removal of pterygium. Then a spherical mill is used - it allows you to process the places of cracks or tears of the cuticle.

The "corn" tip easily copes with extended nails, removing even the thickest layer of the coating. It is better to choose a carbide milling cutter - this will save time (and the acquisition of new nozzles will occur much less frequently).

The principle of the "corn" is to turn gel polish into shavings - notches on the cutter, rotating, cut off part of the varnish. Choose elements with deep notches - this will save the quality of the cutter for a long time.Volumetric recesses do not clog so often, which makes it easy to clean the tool.

To shape the artificial nail, everyone also uses "corn", you can still use a truncated cone. For a natural nail, use a reverse cone or cylinder. This is the easiest set that should be even with home use.

The sphere-like end polishes the nail, polishes it, and also protects the cuticle raised by the blunt cutter. It is important to know that rubber or silicone cutters are most often used for polishing - it is important not to damage the nail, not to remove the keratinized layer and not to cut the cuticle, but to polish the nail to smoothness, prepare for further coating.

An important criterion in the selection of milling cutters for hardware manicure is your qualifications and experience. Experienced craftsmen can experiment with nozzles, their shapes, stiffness, and notches. For a beginner or for home use, the standard cutters included in the kit are enough.

Pay attention to the material - as mentioned above, the new generation of ceramic nozzles lasts longer. Those who are just starting out can choose classic samples of materials that are not a pity to throw away after a quick erase or if they are not suitable for you to use.

Start with less rigid abrasives. The harder the nozzle, the faster the manicure procedure is, the faster you can achieve the desired effect or spoil the nail. To get started, use the lowest stiffness, and only then choose abrasiveness that is comfortable for yourself. Remember that you can determine it by color on the handle of the cutter.

For the initial use and development of hardware manicure, you can refer to the following nozzles:

• white silicone grinding head;
• to work with pterygium, choose a red nozzle;
• for processing cuticles and skin, give preference to green;
• For artificial coatings and removal of gel polish, blue is suitable.

In order to use the device correctly, follow the simple instructions.

• Take the manicure machine out of the box.
• The nozzle you need to be inserted into the machine until it stops, it must be tightly fixed with a clip inside the handle socket.
• There are three types of milling cutter clamps in the slot: automatic, rotary, screw. With automatic clamping, you just need to insert the nozzle into the handle socket. When turning the clamp after inserting the cutter into the socket, it is necessary to turn the ring at the base of the socket. The screw clamp device is the easiest to use and is therefore suitable for home use. In order to fix the cutter in the socket, you need to turn the base of the socket until it stops, as if screwing the element into the handle.
• On a professional milling machine there is a function for selecting the speed, if you are just starting your way - do not set the speed above 6-10 thousand revolutions, because due to lack of experience you can damage the plate and skin at that speed.
• Keep the cutters in one place, preferably in a box with divisions adapted for this. So you will never lose them and you will always know where this or that nozzle is located.
• Do not press the cutter to the nail - it is intended only for cutting away keratinized layers or outdated gel polish.

Disinfection of the elements of the device and sterilization are important actions at the completion of manicure. Typically, cleaning is carried out in several stages: disinfection, cleaning from contamination, boiling or re-disinfection. Each of the stages must be carried out carefully, observing all the rules so that all bacteria are destroyed, and nothing signifies infection of the next client.

Each type of milling cutter according to the material must be disinfected in its own way.

• Metal elements are immersed in a solution at the required temperatures. Remember that if the temperature is too high or the concentration of chemicals is too high, metal elements may become deformed, which will lead to the disposal of the cutter. Then you need to thoroughly rinse the elements to wash off the concentrate. An oven can also be used. For the concentrate, 30 grams of potassium permanganate, 100 milliliters of 70% medical alcohol and 10 grams of boric acid salt are used, and potassium permanganate is added after mixing. You can also use ready-made drugs: Kutasept F, Octenisect, Sterillium.

• Ceramics and diamond spraying are easily disinfected in special furnaces or autoclaves.

Replacing the milling cutters occurs according to the degree of grinding of the abrasive. According to the reviews of professionals and amateurs, the metal elements of the cutter grind in 3-5 years (depending on the frequency of use and the number of revolutions on which the machine operates). High-quality diamond spraying with timely and proper cleaning and processing will last up to 3 years. Ceramic nozzles are short-lived (only two months of regular use), but silicone or rubber are replaced as they are completely erased.

Also, the operating time depends on the correct change of nozzles. If you have a professional machine, then you just need to rotate the element in the slot of the cutter. If the device is home, then you will need a special key, which often comes with the machine. Be careful here, it is possible that you twist the clamps - then the socket may crack. In this case, you will have to change the entire handle or even the entire device.

Thus, you got acquainted with what types of mills for hardware manicure are present on the modern market, and also studied their features and characteristic features. You also learned about the rules for their selection and operation. Do not neglect this knowledge and pay attention even to those details that at first glance seemed insignificant to you. Be careful, because the wrong choice of cutters can lead to delamination of the nail and deformation of the nail plate, which in no case should be allowed.

An overview of milling cutters for hardware manicure, see the next video.