Monday, March 7, 2011

Reader Request: Eyebrows

I am an eyebrow fanatic.  At the tender age of 10 I decided to arch my own eyebrows with a regular razor (yes, the one used to shave legs).  I did a pretty good job considering the tool, but then tried to do the same for my cousin and took half of her brow off.

When I was thirteen I got my first waxing pot and I've been doing brows ever since.  Even when I worked in a hair salon as a stylist, my regular eyebrow clients outnumbered my hair clients.  You would think I would recognize this as talent and pursue a career in it, right?  Nope, not I.  Somebody help me!  I am the jack of all trades and I refuse to master just one.

As far as methods, I prefer waxing.  I wax my full brow (top, bottom, in between) once a month.  Sometimes I have to do the bottom twice a month, but most of the time I maintain with tweezing.   I've been threaded a few times and I liked the results, but I am a DIY girl and I just can't do that myself.  Threading is good if you want to elongate brow shape or recreate/establish the brow shape.  Regardless of your method, the right person will give you a shape to maintain for life. 

Diagram B
Diagram A

These two diagrams are great technical tools to start off with.  Even if you are not a DIY girl, it's important to have an idea about what they should be.

Brows should began at the tear duct (lines A and D).  The arch should begin at the end of your pupil (lines B and E).  Next, the tail of brow ends at lines C and F.  You can measure these points with any straight edge. Be sure to use the tip of your left or right nostril as a guide.

I naturally have thin brows and I think they do nothing for my face.  I like thick, dark Denise Richards or Brooke Shields brows.  But I know I would look crazy with brows like that, so I had to find a happy medium.  I've had to look like Groucho Marx a few times before I got it right.

Just Right


Way too thick!







I fill in my brows on a daily basis.  I start by outlining the top and bottom to create my width; I then fill in the center with short wispy strokes.  Next, blend, blend, blend.  I don't care if you have a toothbrush, a mascara wand,or brow gel, blending is key!  Sometimes I'll use concealer to clean up the area or create a highlight for that "too perfect" brow look.  Setting with a gel is optional (for me); years ago I used brow gel or clear mascara.  There are so many products I've used over the years to fill in my brows and these are my favorites.

1 comment:

  1. Informative, considering I think I just jacked mine up

    ReplyDelete