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The Perfect Brows for Your Face

Eyebrows can make or break your look and greatly affect others' perception of your looks. Crazy, eh?! So before you get all tweeze happy, here are some things to keep in mind.

There are more complicated methods to plotting out the ultima-brow by determining shape face etc etc but I find this method to be the simplest. You'll need scissors, tweezers, and a white eyeliner pencil.

The diagram to the left is an approximation of a perfectly shaped brow. The degree of the arch is up to you and subject to what works best for your face.

Step 1: Brush your eyebrows with a clean mascara wand or eyebrow brush upward so the hairs are going the same direction. Trim any stray hairs with tiny scissors.

Step 2: Find a Starting Point: The edge of your eyebrow closes to your nose (we'll call it the 'inner edge') should line up with the inner edge of your eyes. Take a pencil and rest it vertically against your nose to visualize this. Take the eyeliner and mark your starting points. Everything  falling between those starting points is "unibrow" material... get rid of it.
Step 3: Plotting the Arch... shouldn't be like plotting a sea chart.
Hold the pencil at an angle against your nose so it crosses over the center of your eye. Where the pencil intersects your eyebrow is where thepeak of your arch should be. Use the eyeliner pencil to mark the arches.

Step 4: The End of the Line...
Rotate your pencil, keeping the one side against your nose, until it meets the outer edge of the eye and intersects the eyebrow. This is your end point, make another eyeliner mark here. Now you can go ahead and draw out the outline of your eyebrows for an even easier time.

Step 5: Getting Tweeze-tastic
Before tweezing, it's a good idea to open the pores of your face. Press a hot wash cloth on your face, making sure not to wipe off your marks.
Then, begin tweezing. Remember, those lines you drew are there to help you. Don't get too tweeze-happy. When you're done, wipe off the white line et voila!
Maybe you're a DIY kind of person but aren't 100% confident. Templates are sold to help you out. Though I've never used them, others have said they are quite handy. These use some wax, then the template is pressed, lift, and bada-bing!

Tip: If you're Asian, your eyebrows may be sparse, like mine. In which case, you can usually forget "shaping" and focus on cleaning up any stray hairs.


So perhaps you got a little tweeze-happy...
Some people get a little over-excited and tweeze too much. A word of caution, sure  eyebrows are just tiny hairs, but brows may not grow back leaving you with patches. You may be condemning yourself to a lifetime of filling them in!

If you're prone to overdoing things, it's best to splurge on a professional job. You should be able to get your brows waxed for around $7.

Or if you're nervous about messing up, go pro the first time. Then the maintenance  is simple, just pluck stray hairs as they come in, and return for a redo every once in awhile.

Enhancing and perfecting:

:: Pencils
Best for when you are trying to lightly fill in the brows to make them appear a little more dramatic. Be careful not to use to go to heavy on the pencil, otherwise it can look fake and drawn on. This is the easiest to use.

:: Powder
If your brows are fuller then powder is the best choice. This won't work with sparse brows because the powder won't stick..

:: Pomade
Will fill in sparse or patchy brows because it adheres to the skin.

Dyeing your brows:
If you're drastically changing your haircolor:
A.) Seek a professional for that (at home kits for dramatic change can spell disaster)
B.) Often, said professional can dye/match your brows there at the salon for you!
C.) If you're dyeing hair at home, don't use some leftover hair dye on your brows.
     Blindness may ensue! There are dyes available specifically for brows at places
     like Sally Beauty.

If it's only a minor color change:
A.) Stick to pencils, powders, or pomade to do color management.
B.) With the aforementioned products, pick a shade lighter than your haircolor for a
      natural look.

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