I get a lot of questions about using a hand file versus an E-file
And what is better for your nails, what’s better for you natural nails, versus acrylics, etc etc.
So we will be discussing the pros and cons of using a hand file versus using an E-file.
And before we get into any of the technicals,
I want to discuss some of the tools that we use for hand filing and E-filing.
So the first thing we will be talking about is the 240 grit file.
So this is what you would call a ‘fine’ file.
The grit number, which is 240, it's pretty high.
And when you talk about grit in terms of hand files, or any abrasives really,
the higher you go, the finer the surface is
—which is to say, the higher you go, the smoother it is on the surface of the file or abrasive
And the lower you go, the more rough, and more abrasive the file is.
So you would typically use a 240 grit file to shape natural nails
because of how fine it is, it won’t be causing any damage to the nail plate when you file it
Because a rougher nail file can cause the edges to become more rough,
and eventually cause the nail to break.
So when you use something that is of higher grit and smoother on the natural nail
it leaves a much smoother finish as well, so you don’t have to go in and buff it as much, etc.
I also personally like to use this file to sometimes end filing
—I usually file enhancements, which is to say “fake nails”, what one would call.
Enhancements include hard gel extensions, or fills, or overlays.
When I refer to extensions, I am talking about anything that’s what people would typically call “fake nails”
and that includes any kind of extensions or overlays done with hard gels, acrylics, dip system, what have you.
When I refer to natural nails I mean your natural nails without any kind of product on top of it.
So when I do enhancements, I usually like to use a file with a lower grit
which means that it’s rougher,
and I like shaping it with a file that’s rougher because it takes off more product.
But even when I do enhancements, I still like to finish it off with a 240 grit file
because it gives a smoother finish.
When I’m finishing off a set of enhancements,
I also like to use a higher grit file to smooth off any of the edges,
or facets that remain on the artificial nail.
Next up is the 180 grit file.
So I feel like I end up using this the most, because I do a lot of enhancements in salon
And this is, I would say, like a medium-rough to rough
—there are files out there that’s like 100 grit, 80, etc. which are really rough.
But this is, I feel like this gets the job done without being too abrasive.
I personally like using the 180 grit nail file for smoothing down enhancements
after the application of the hard gel or acrylics is done
Because, a lot of times when you’re using a 100 or 80 grit file
to kind of take down product, or smooth it
you leave a lot of deep scratches which need to be smoothed down further with a 180,
and then a 240, etc.
in order to completely get rid of the scratches, and so that it doesn’t show up when you apply the polish
And if you go in straight with the 180, you kind of eliminate that whole three other steps.
So moving on to buffers. These are also a pretty integral part of the whole manicuring process.
Whether you do natural nails, or whether you’re doing enhancements,
buffers are a pretty staple product that you will always have in your manicuring kit.
So, the first one we’ll talk about is the Flex buffer, which is a 220-280 grit buffer.
It is a 'sponge' buffer, which means that it kind of gives a little cushion when you’re applying
kind of, you know, gliding it over the surface of the nail
And what that basically means is that, when you’re running it across the surface of the nail,
it isn’t hard as the regular files are,
so it won’t be taking off as much of the nail plate,
or whatever surface of the enhancements, etc. as the regular files will, which are hard.
So the cushion sort of takes away a little bit of the, in a sense, efficiency of the product
but that’s exactly what we want for the purposes of the use of a buffer.
So the 220-280 grit buffer is classified as a ‘fine’ buffer
and usually it’s used to smooth down, kind of like the final smoothing,
after you’re done with filing and smoothing most of the enhancement, like acrylics, hard gels
But then this buffer is also really good for taking out the shine from natural nails before doing a regular manicure,
or a gel manicure on natural nails.
This is my favorite buffer to use for prepping natural nails.
Another option when you want to use buffers is the 100-180 grit buffer.
I would say when you kind of look for buffers,
you tend to come across a 100-180 grit buffer more often than 220-280,
because it takes off more product than the finer buffer does
but I will say it’s much better to use on artificial nails than it is to use on natural nails.
I would not really recommend 180-80 grit buffer to use on a natural nail plate
because it can possibly take off more of the surface than you really want to.
So you kind of have to use it with a light hand, and be a little bit more careful when using it on natural nails.
That being said, the 100-180 grit buffer is pretty important for when you want to smooth down artificial nails.
It’s really great to smooth down acrylics, or hard gel enhancements, overlays, what have you...
Because, sometimes, the really fine buffer isn’t enough to take down some of the edges or scratches that you’ve left behind
after smoothing down the nail with a regular 180-100 grit file.
Now that we’re done discussing the hand files, we can move on to E-files.
E-files typically come in 2 different types:
One is a desktop
and that is what you would just plug into your power supply, etc.
and have it there in your table,
Or you also have them available in the portable type, which come with a rechargeable battery,
which is inserted into the control box of the E-file.
And what we usually use to do the actual filing is called the ‘hand piece’
and that’s what you would be holding in your hand, like a pen, with a bit inserted into it,
and you can kind of go in and remove product, etc.
So this is what a bit for an E-file typically looks like.
This is what we would call a carbide bit
This is a safety carbide bit
And this is a diamond bit
They come in many other styles as well,
and all the different bits, and different shapes of bits, are used for different purposes.
So the carbide bit is what you would typically see the most in the market.
This is great for using on nail enhancements, but you would never, ever use that on natural nails.
A diamond bit is something that you would use less for taking down product,
and more for smoothing purposes
and there are a lot of fine diamond bits out there that can be used
for manicuring natural nails and getting rid of cuticles.
In my personal experience, E-files are absolutely necessary when providing professional services.
It is okay to be doing services with just the hand file
—and there are a lot of nail techs out there who prefer to use the hand file over E-files
but in my personal experience, it has greatly reduced the service time,
as well as opened up a lot of other options for me
For example, I felt that when I started using an E-file,
I was much better able to take off the lifted parts when doing a fill,
than I was able to do with a hand file.
Because you can get bits that are so small in size,
you can actually go in and carve out a piece of acrylic,
or enhancement that’s lifting in the middle of the nail,
as opposed to kind of filing it all down, or having to take it all off.
I found that when I was trying take off lifting with a hand file,
I ended up doing more damage with the hand file because of how rigid it is,
than when I tried using E-files.
Another very important aspect of switching over to E-files
would be to avoid carpal tunnel syndrome
which is very common within nail techs.
So anyone who’s offering enhancement services will notice that,
after a while, with the constant movement of filing,
you start to see symptoms of carpal tunnel
—and not to say that that’s the main reason, but it does contribute to issues.
So if you switch over to E-files, I feel like it takes a lot of stress off of filing,
and you don’t feel the immediate physical strain as much as you would when hand filing everything.
Safety bits differ from regular bits in the way that they’re kind of rounded at the top
so even if you get really close to the skin or the cuticle line, you won’t be able to cut the client as easily.
So if anyone’s looking to dive into using E-files, I feel like this would be a very good choice for them to start out with.
Even though I do the bulk of the work on enhancements with the E-file
I always still use hand files to shape the nail,
as well as to do the finishing smoothing of the nail surface.
Even though I use the E-file a lot more than I use hand files these days,
because of how efficient it is as taking off the bulk of the product when doing enhancements.
There are certain things that only hand files can do,
because of the amount of control they lend to your service
I personally prefer using a hand file to do the shaping of the nails,
and also smoothing down the facets and edges.
that an E-file might have left after taking the bulk of the product down.
So I usually like to end every service for enhancements
by filing the, kind of finishing off and making the edges a lot crisper with the hand file,
as well as smoothing the top with the hand file, and then finishing it off with a smoothing buffer.
So even though it’s daunting for a lot of beginners to start using an E-file,
because it seems like you’re using a power tool on a person’s hand
I would say go for it sooner rather than later
only because the more you use it, the more practiced you become
and the easier it becomes.
For me, now, it feels like more of an extension of my own hand,
but when I started, I too was pretty… it was like a learning curve, too.
There were a lot of people I worked with when I started out doing nails that were pretty reluctant to start using E-files,
and they preferred to only use hand files,
but they eventually all had to kind of start incorporating E-files into their service
because they were losing out on a lot of time and money.
I personally feel like it’s a very indispensable tool in my kit,
and once you get used to it, it can be your best friend.
So having gone through the pros and cons of both hand filing and E-filing,
I hope this encourages you to kind of delve into the world of E-filing,
but also, you know, keep your practice up with hand filing,
as there’s a place for both of them when doing services on clients,
and doing your own nails as well.