Eyebrows are like delicate strands of silk that frame the face. When groomed correctly, they create symmetry and enhance the natural shape of the face. While people like to follow the latest brow trends, unfortunately not all trends fit every face. It’s important to stay as close to the natural shape as possible and not follow trends that can damage brow growth as we age; for example, how the over tweezing trend of the ‘00s left many women with thin, sparse brows.
Measuring Your Brows
But how do you go about finding the right shape for your face? First, head to a professional. Even when doing your own brows, you’re looking in a mirror at a reflection of yourself, not exactly how someone else will see you. Clique Beauty Boutique (Louisville, KY), uses a five-point measuring system to create symmetry on the face, as it’s not uncommon for someone’s eyebrows to be sitting slightly higher on one side. Consistent shaping with a measuring system (pictured here) helps to adjust that over time.
Encouraging Growth
If you fear your brows are too thin to shape, think again. Whether your hair is naturally sparse or has been over tweezed or plucked, there are several brow products available to stimulate new hair growth. The upside to using these products would be more growth on the root, the downside is that you might need to have them shaped more frequently. And usually, once you stop using the product they stop growing in as full. Clique Beauty Boutique retails Grande Cosmetics’ lash serum, but the brand has a number of brow growth products as well.
Ways of Shaping
There are a number of ways to shape your brows, and the best way to pick is based on your sensitivity. For example, wax can be used on the brow area and is okay if you don’t have any
heat sensitivity, but cannot be performed if you use retinol or other specific anti-aging ingredients. Threading is a great alternative if you have sensitive skin, are using the aforementioned acids, or have lots of peach fuzz around the brow area as it can provide a more precise clean and shaping. Tweezing is ideal if you have thinner brows and just a handful of hairs that are out of place.
How to Trim
In between shape ups, trimming can keep unruly hair in place. If your brows are feeling thick, you can brush the hair up and do a tiny trim on the hairs that are sticking out. You should not be cutting a lot of hair, just a handful of hair that is longer than the rest. And be careful not to trim too short; hair that is clipped to short will stick straight out, like how your grandpa’s coarse brow hairs would stick straight out after his trip to the barber!
Filling In With Pencil
It’s important to choose the right shade of brow pencil, as anything too light won’t show up or enhance the brow, and anything too dark won’t look natural. It’s recommended to stay within two shades of your hair color when choosing a brow pencil or a tint shade (see below). This will ensure that the color does not look too harsh or overdone; if your brows are more than two shades darker than your hair color, your brows are all that someone will see when they look at you. Clique Beauty recently reformulated three of its most popular pencil shades that are ideal for almost any hair color.
A Quicker Solution: Brow Tinting
If you have not tried a brow tint, it will change your life for the better! It will help your brows look fuller, more defined, and you will need to fill in less at home between row treatments. It’s not as permanent as microblading but definitely speeds up your daily brow routine.
Your Morning Brow Fill-In Check List:
Follow these simple steps to have gorgeous, natural brows in just a few minutes.
1. Brush brows upwards using a spoolie brush
2. Use a pencil to fill in sparse areas and add a little bit of color where you need to create symmetry––think about keeping the front of the brow fluffy and natural; focus your pencil on the arch and the ends.
3. Finish with a clear gel to tame the hair and keep them in place.
In short: put the tweezers down and embrace your natural shape. Your brows should be cleaned up to compliment your facial features, not completely re-shaped or changed to be someone else’s brows. Embrace yourself, you are beautiful as you are!
