Your Complete Nail Drill Bits Guide
With the right nail drill bits in your toolset, you can easily upgrade your nail game.
However, finding the right nail drill bits isn’t always the easiest thing to do. There are a million and one types, sizes, and grits out there — so how do you know where to start???
Well, we’ve got you covered, bestie!
Use our nail drill bits guide to learn all about the different nail drill bits and their uses and how they can impact your speed, technique, and finish!
What are the different nail drill bit grits for?
Most nail drill bits come in a variety of grits, including: coarse, medium, and fine.
What are the different types of nail drill bits and their uses?
Each nail drill bit is designed with a specific purpose in mind. So when you’re choosing your next drill bit, make sure you know exactly what you need it for and how you want it to work. From there, you can choose a bit based on those needs.
The most common nail drill bit shapes are Tapered Barrel, Small Barrel, Smooth Top Barrel, 5-in-1, Typhoon or Cone, Under Nail Cleaner, among others.
What is a carbide nail drill bit?
As one of the most well known nail drill bits, carbide nail drill bits are made of carbide metal, which means they’re made to last! These nail drill bits are especially great for professionals and are typically used to remove, cut, and shape acrylics.
At Kiara Sky, we include an innovative x-cut design on our carbide nail drill bits. This gives nail technicians the ability to shave off products even easier (whether it’s dip powder, gel, or acrylic). Our carbide bits are also designed to cut smoothly clockwise, as well as counter-clockwise — making it perfect for right-handed and left-handed techs.
Your Kiara Sky Beyond Pro Portable Nail Drill comes with two exclusive drill bits to get you started creating fabulous designs! In the packaging for your new KS Drill, you’ll find a Fine Drill Bit and a Crystal Mandrel sanding bit! Your Crystal Mandrel bit is a size 3/32 so most sanding bands will fit perfectly!
Sanding bands are barrel-shaped bands that slip over the mandrel bit and are perfect for performing surface work and smoothing the nail bed. You will want to make sure you have a new band for each person since these bands cannot be disinfected.
Now, let’s talk about all of our individually sold drill bits available to shop right now on the Kiara Sky site!
5-in-1 (fine, medium, coarse)
Kiara Sky's 5-in-1 carbide bit is designed with versatility in mind. This uniquely designed bit allows you to clean around the cuticle area, prepare the nail bed, shape and shorten the nail, smooth and prepare the surface, and clean under the nail, all in one! It also features a safety edge to protect your clients from burning or cutting.
Large Barrel (fine, med, coarse)
Kiara Sky's Large Barrel Coarse carbide bit has an x-cut design. It's perfect for surface work such as removing excess product and smoothing the surface for top coat application. Also great if used to remove dip powder and gels, backfill cutting and creating a sharp c-curve. The coarse texture of this bit is also perfect for removing acrylic when creating french designs, 3D cut outs, and v-tips.
Kiara Sky's Large Barrel Medium grit carbide bit has all of these incredible features and offers a bit of extra control. The medium texture of this bit is perfect for removing lifted areas around the nail bed, without creating any damage. If you're a beginner this drill bit is perfect for you! It allows you to quickly and effortlessly remove excess product without skipping or burning.
Kiara Sky's Large Barrel Fine is perfect for removing lifted areas around the nail bed, without damaging it.
NEW Small Barrel (fine, med, coarse)
Kiara Sky's Small Barrel Coarse bit is a carbide bit with an x-cut design. It's perfect for surface work such as removing excess product and smoothing the surface for top coat application. Also great if used to remove dip powder and gels, backfill cutting and creating a sharp c-curve. The coarse texture of this bit is also perfect for removing acrylic when creating french designs, 3D cut outs, and v-tips.
Kiara Sky's Small Barrel Medium bit is a carbide bit with an x-cut design. It's perfect for surface work such as removing excess product and smoothing the surface for top coat application. Also great if used to remove dip powder and gels, backfill cutting and creating a sharp c-curve. The medium texture of this bit is perfect for removing lifted areas around the nail bed, without creating any damage. If you're a beginner this drill bit is perfect for you! It allows you to quickly and effortlessly remove excess product without skipping or burning.
Kiara Sky's Small Barrel Fine bit is a carbide bit with an x-cut design. It's perfect for surface work such as smoothing product and prepping for top coat, as well as shortening acrylic and dip powder, backfill cutting and creating a sharp c-curve. The fine texture of this bit is perfect for removing lifted areas around the nail bed, without damaging it.
NEW Smooth Top (fine, med, coarse)
Kiara Sky's Smooth Top Coarse bit is a carbide bit with an x-cut design. This bit’s smooth top design protects the skin, prevents damage to cuticles and contours to the nail without leaving behind grooves. It's perfect for surface work such as removing excess product and smoothing the surface for top coat application. Also great if used to remove dip powder and gels, backfill cutting and creating a sharp c-curve. The coarse texture of this bit is also perfect for removing acrylic when creating french designs, 3D cut outs, and v-tips.
Kiara Sky's Smooth Top Medium bit is also great for surface work and its medium texture is great for removing lifted areas around the nail bed, without creating any damage. If you're a beginner this drill bit is perfect for you! It allows you to quickly and effortlessly remove excess product without skipping or burning.
Kiara Sky's Smooth Top Fine bit has all of these uses with the added benefit of a gentler, easier to control bit!
Typhoon (fine, med, coarse)
Kiara Sky's Typhoon Coarse Bit is a carbide bit designed to remove product as fast as possible. Using this bit is the fastest and easiest way to remove product, whether you're removing product, reshaping a nail, or removing extra product. Effortlessly remove as much product as possible without burning or cutting your clients!
Kiara Sky's Typhoon Medium Bit is perfect for backfills and product removal, making soak off time a breeze! It's also perfect for removing gel, dip powder, and acrylic.
Kiara Sky's Typhoon Fine Bit also has all of these great uses as its coarse and medium counterparts and is also perfect for cleaning up the cuticle area, as well as preparing the nail surface for top coat application.
Under Nail Cleaner (medium grit)
The Kiara Sky's Under Nail Cleaner Drill Bit is carved into a perfect shank shape. This bit allows you to get right in-between those tight spots and gently perfect the underside of the nail without damaging your client's fingertip! Gentle enough to use under the nail, and strong enough to remove long nails and cut through a stiletto set.
Cuticle Cleaner
Last but certainly not least, Kiara Sky's Fine Cuticle Cleaner drill bit is perfect for removing non-living tissue and preparing the nail bed to avoid lifting. It prepares the cuticle area without damaging your client's nail, all while creating a perfect canvas for acrylic, dip powder, gel or gelly tips. Prep your nails to perfection with this handy bit!
How to properly sanitize your nail drill bits
It’s crucial to make sure your Kiara Sky metal carbide drill bits are sanitized after every service on a new client!
As we covered earlier, sanding bands for your crystal mandrel bit are single use and cannot be saved or reused.
After each use, clean your metal carbide bits to remove debris from the surface by washing with a small cleaning brush, soap and warm water. Follow by immersing in alcohol for 1-2 minutes. This will help to dissolve leftover product or nail tissue on the bits and prepare them for cleaning.
Be sure not to leave your bits soaking for too long as this could start to erode and remove the beautiful coating on your Kiara Sky drill bits!
After giving these bits a nice scrub and a quick soak in alcohol soak, immerse your bits in a liquid disinfectant or babicide for the amount of time marked on the label.
And there you have it! Squeaky clean and shining Kiara Sky nail drill bits that are as good as new for your next service.
