Eyebrow Tips and Shaping

Taming and Shaping Brows - Fix Missing Brows
- Your best brow shape is your natural one but removing the stray hairs under your arch and outward will open your eyes dramatically. A lot of stray hairs under your brow will also prevent you from getting the perfect eye makeup effect.
- Tweeze brows no further in than the inner corner of eye, taper slightly toward outer end.
- Your brows should 'frame' your eyes well so don't make them too thin or remove the tail end. Take a look at the movie queens from the 1950's for ideas on perfect eye framing.
- To open "closed" eyes: look straight ahead, where your pupil is, arch your eyebrow higher by tweezing thinner from this point outward.
- Before you pluck your eyebrows, brush them up and then sideways. This shows the natural pattern of your eyebrow and can show any unruly hairs that need to come out.
- Small eyes: make your brows a little thicker by building them up just a bit on top to emphasize them. Clear out straggly hairs underneath, and arch them slightly in the outer third to give more space.
- Deep-set eyes: again enlarge the space between the eyes and brows; raise the brows slightly by penciling in a little above the bone.
- Close set eyes: widen the space between the brows a little by plucking, and extend the pencil line at the ends.
- Wide set eyes: pencil eyebrows a little closer to the nose, and do not extend them out at the ends
- Bug eyes: tweeze out any hairs that grow down too far over your eyes and raise the brows slightly from below.
- The tail should extend at least in line with the outer corner of your eye.
- Never overpluck: often plucked hairs don’t grow back in and as you get older your brows become thinner and lighter and you may be sorry by making them thinner when you’re young. If they appear too bushy, instead of plucking to thin them out, trim the hairs instead. A good way to do this is to brush them straight up and trim across and then straight down and trim again.
- Choose an eyebrow pencil or powder in a shade slightly lighter than your natural brow color to fill in any bare spots.
-To lighten up black brows, use bronze mascara and lightly brush over brows to tone them down.
- To tame brows, put lip balm or clear gloss on them or spritz your pinky with hair spray and run over them and then brush in the direction you want.
- If you wear bifocals, try wearing them upside down to pluck your eyebrows.
- For plucking eyebrows and other small areas for minimal pain, try baby ambesol (for teething pain). It numbs the area in seconds, doesn’t drip and wipes right off when you're done.
FOR MISSING BROWS
- If your brows are sparse, missing the tail end or you are missing eye brows altogether, it is possible to get them tatooed on. This should be done by someone trained in cosmetic permanent makeup application. Never use a traditional tatoo shop for your eye brows. Keep in mind that "permanent makeup" is really not completely permanent. It generally fades over about 2 years depending on how well you take care of it using sunscreens, mild cleansers, etc. Permanent makeup can be used on most any area of the face and even on scars to enhance or disguise areas but it's very pricey. Be aware though that not all permanent makeup technicians are created equal and one with no artistic abilities or unsanitary practices can really mess up your face. Make certain you get references first.
- An alternative to tatooing eye brows is to carefully draw them back in with a pencil using short feathery strokes and use brow sealant to keep them set all day without smudging, or opt for a waterproof pencil.

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