From tweezing and trimming to filling and waxing, there is no end to the effort that we women make to look beautiful. And no end to the expense we’re prepared to fork out to have someone else take care of our grooming.
A well-shaped eyebrow is one that’s designed to suit your face. It balances your features, frames your eyes and makes you looked groomed – even on days you don’t want to put on make-up.
If you want perfectly shaped eyebrows and you’re fed up with spending a fortune on having someone else do it, follow our step-by-step guide.
Tip 1. Get hairy
It’s good to start with bushy, grown out eyebrows. But if waiting three weeks for your brows to grow back in fills you with dread, it’s not essential.
Tip 2: Ease the pain
The best time to tweeze is after you shower, when the hair follicles are open because it helps hairs slip out more easily. If plucking is a harrowing experience for you, you can ease the pain by dabbing on some numbing gel for teething babies, like Bonjela.
Tip 3: Set the scene
Ditch the magnifying mirror. A major contributor to over plucking disasters, magnifying mirrors can make your brows look hairier than they are. Instead, use a normal mirror in a well-lit space. Natural light is best, so if you don’t have nosy neighbours, set up a mirror in the backyard.
Tip 4. Create your shape
Your brows should begin directly above your tear duct (the arch peaking above the outer rim of your iris) and taper off near the outer corner of your eye. When designing your shape, imagine an upside down tick but with soft angles.
To clean up the underside of your eyebrows, draw a line along the bottom edge using an eyebrow pencil. This line should follow the natural curve of your eyebrow and be above any stray hairs. Now pluck the stray hairs below the line. If you have thin hair or a naturally good eyebrow shape, this might be enough.
Only rarely do you need to shape above the eyebrow. You should allow for a small measure of ‘bushiness’ to give a natural, subtle impression. Brush the hairs upwards and draw a line using an eyebrow pencil, following the curve of your brow. Pluck, or very carefully trim, any hairs that sit above the line.
Tip 5: Fill in the blanks
Eyebrow contouring is a great way to fill in sparse spots or accentuate your eyebrows for a more dramatic makeup look. Brunettes should go for an eyebrow pencil that’s one or two shades lighter than their hair colour. Dark blondes should use a taupe-like tone, while lighter blondes can choose golden shades. Redheads can use a warm, brown hue.
Tip 6: Less is more
When it comes to eyebrow shaping, proceed with caution. Less is more. Pluck hairs one at a time, never in bunches. Take frequent steps back from the mirror to review your progress. To make sure you’ll have eyebrows that match at the end, work on them simultaneously, rather than one at a time.
Have you noticed your eyebrows thinning as you age? Does a little bit of colour on them make a big difference?
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