The Importance of Eyebrows

While eyebrows seem like harmless little patches of hair, in reality they are so much more. Eyebrows alone have the power to transform a face. Their shape accentuates our eyes and compliments the contours of our cheeks.

Ideally, the inside of your brow should start a little past the inner corner of your eye (but not so far past that you verge on a unibrow). Your arches should be defined, and they shouldn’t be so thin that it looks like you drew them on with a pencil. This is common knowledge in brow maintenance.

But what about those of you still haven’t managed to master the art of the eyebrow?

Maybe you’re an under-tweezer. You’ve never touched a pair of tweezers or have had a wax in your life—and it is obvious. If you’re going for the Cara Delevingne look, I understand. Her thick, strong brows are something to emulate. But even Cara tweezes the occasional stray hair, so clean ‘em up.

The only thing worse than an under-tweezer is an over-tweezer. When you first got that pair of tweezers in hand, you just couldn’t stop until there were about 5 hairs left on each side. Don’t worry, I’ve been there. It gets better. The first step is acknowledging you have a problem. Put the tweezers down for a solid two-three weeks, and your barren patches will begin to grow back. Also, brow pencil works wonders. As your brows start to look somewhat normal again, I suggest letting a professional handle them from then on.

Solutions to Not-so-perfect Eyebrows:

Waxing

This is a classic option. The key to this is finding the right place because not all beauty salons are created equal. Find somewhere you can trust with your brows and never let them go.

Threading

I can’t lie to you…I cried a little my first time. But beauty is pain, and threading is definitely worth it. Threading creates the perfect shape and lasts even longer than a wax.

Tweezing

It is the oldest form of eyebrow maintenance and the easiest to mess up. Brows are all about the shape and the thickness. You want a defined arch, but not an arch so big that it resembles the McDonald’s logo. Invest in Tweezerman tweezers and a pair of little scissors to trim up any extra-long hairs. Also, pluck those little blonde hairs in the middle of your brows, even if you think no one can see them. Because we can see them.

If the eyes are the windows to the soul, then the eyebrows are the curtains that frame these windows. Make them nice.

Photo by Alex O’Brien