Brow 101

I'm obsessed with the precision and importance of eyebrows. The juxtaposition between brow and face is crucial to a woman's (AND A MAN'S) facial balance.  Did you know that eyebrows are the most important part of the face?  Did you know that brows frame the face and create facial symmetry? Did you also know that the only way to truly manipulate the shape of the eyebrow is to pluck pluck pluck, one little hair at a time.  To truly achieve the perfect eyebrow, one must look in the mirror, access the goods, and have a plan of action!  And please, no matter what you do......avoid waxing! 

The ideal brow, in my opinion, is a "Freida Kahlo" brow! It's easy to tweeze away, and remove unwanted hairs, however, be careful not to wax or over-tweeze! Although you can "add" hair with the use of pigments, creating a beautiful shape using your own hair-base is the ideal scenario. 

Don't get me wrong, I am wax-obsessed, I cannot live without it!  I get certain bits waxed every 7-10 days (yes I'm a bit neurotic about it).  However, when it comes to the delicate skin surrounding the eye....the thinnest skin on the body....one must take note that repetitive pulling of this skin (as in waxing) will eventually stretch out the delicate elasticity within the skin, and wrinkle over time (think of a rubber band that gets stretched-out and eventually looses its tightness). Let's be proactive with the aging process people! No pulling of this skin EVER.....be gentle!!  Moreover, (and more importantly) waxing can remove essential and important hairs that would have otherwise been part of your brow line.  Every person is born with a unique and distinctive brow shape...however, this shape is usually camouflaged by pesky stray hairs surrounding it's true form.  Think of a garden filled with weeds....one must pull the weeds to achieve a beautiful garden.....pull the weeds NOT the flowers!!  Many times, women over-tweeze, over-wax, over-thread, over-pluck, and over time their eyebrow hairs do not grow back. Let me repeat that: Eventually, eyebrow hairs do NOT grow back!  As an Electrologist, I understand the biology of hair and guess what, these hairs change and fade-out over time due to age, stress, lifestyle, diet, medication and hormones. Therefore, it is my goal to EMPOWER girls and women alike (and yes, men too).....Learn how to maintain your brows, on your own, and you'll forever have facial harmony and balance  :)

Here's what you'll need, to get started:  A light-up 2-way mirror with magnification (my favorite beauty tool....ya gotta see what you're doin'!), small manicure scissors, a tweezer, a brow brush (to brush the hairs up and/or down), brow pigments or brown eyeshadow (to shade-in the bald spots), an angled eyebrow pigment brush (to apply the shadow to shade in the sparse areas) and a light colored eyeshadow.  Using the angled brush, fill your brows in with pigment.  This process will allow you to "see" the shape of your brow before you tweeze.  I prefer a shadow versus pencil to shade-in the brow because shadow pigments are less harsh looking than a waxy pencil, but if you feel more comfortable using a pencil, have at it.  

This client has a delicate arch, which needed trimming, subtle shaping, as well as shading (using brow pigments). The erythema you see is a result of her freshly tweezed brows, so please note: If you have an event to attend, tweeze your brows at least a two hours prior, to allow the redness to subside. 

Don't try to create a shape that's not your own.  You may love the delicate arch of Angelina Jolie's brows, however, your brows may naturally be bolder and more angular, so you may look off balance with such delicate brows.  Don't re-invent the wheel people!...work with the God given brow you were born with!  Remember when you were a child and you colored with crayons in coloring books or connected the dots?  Well, it's the same process with brows.  Once you start to shade-in your natural shape, you'll start to see your own natural form emerge. At this time, you can start to tweeze the surrounding strays away. Applying a light, shimmery highlight to the brow bone, will help you to see those hard-to-spot vellus hairs.  Also, the light shadow will emphasize the shape of the brow.  Wherever you have a shadow, you place a highlight...the eyebrow is the ultimate shadow on the face, so you always juxtapose it with a highlight underneath.  Brush the brow hairs upward with your brow brush and gently hold these hairs-up, firmly in place, with your index finger.  Keep the hairs "sticking-up" and in place.  With your scissors, trim the tips of these hairs so that they are all perfectly uniform and straight.....think of a white picket fence, no hair should be longer than the next, perfectly uniform.  But be careful not to trim too much, you don't want to create bald spots!  Trim just the tips, then if you need to trim more after that, you can.  Next, brush the hairs downward and repeat the finger-hold and trim process (you won't need to trim as many hairs from this downward position).  Trimming brow hairs is essential to alleviate un-ruley brows.  There are brow waxes and gels on the market to keep brows "in place".....why spend the money on these products?  You can create a uniform, trim, neat brow just by trimmimg.  Using a fluffy powder brush, brush your brows upward, sweeping the freshly plucked hairs away.

If you're reading this and have over-plucked brows that are too thin (see photo) and have been butchered by an inexperienced brow-shaper, don't fret.  The growth cycle of a brow is approximately 3-6 months give or take (sometimes longer).  

Over-tweezed brows can be fixed! Leave them alone for a few weeks, tweeze the obvious strays, and create a shape using brow pigments (using an eyebrow stencil if needed).

Leave your brows alone and let them grow-in for a few weeks (at least 2-3).  In the mean time, while you're letting them grow-out, tweeze the "obvious" strays away (such as the hairs in between your brows and the hairs on the brow-bone).  After about 4-6 months, the growth you see in your light-up mirror will pretty much be the hairs you've got.  If you're not satisfied with the thickness and shape, or if you're kicking yourself because of the tweeezing frenzies you've had over the years which have left permanent gaps in your brows, forget about it.  What's done is done! Brow gaps can be fixed. Pigments can do wonders with filling-in gaps and holes where the hair is absent.  Also, as a Permanent Make-Up artist, I've permanently shaded brows for those who just don't want to shade them in (or don't know how to).  So there are options.  But, the perfect brow starts with education.  Understanding your brow, your biology and your facial balance.  Do you like a rounded brow or an angular brow?  Do you like a high arch or one that's more subtle.  It is easy to achieve any look (working with what you've got that is) once you've empowered yourself with the basics and understand what works best for your face.  Death and taxes can't be fixed.......the perfect eyebrow that works for you is certainly attainable.      

--Ciao for now :)