Goofy Eyebrow Topic

[Circe]

Parse that header however you like. Is it a topic about goofy eyebrows? Is it a goofy topic about eyebrows in general?

Well, both, really.

Okay, so, here's the deal. I have great big eyebrows. After a lifetime of messing with them, I've just accepted that Mother Nature was correct, and that, in point of fact, I need great big eyebrows to balance out my great big nose and my great big lips. I discovered that brow stuff that fills them in and lengthens them at the edges, and I'm generally pretty happy.

BUT. I am torn as to whether or not I should go to a brow specialist and have a "defined arch" put in by a professional, or just leave well enough alone. Keep in mind, I am as low maintenance as a heel-wearing femme gal can get: I stopped dying my hair because the maintenance was too time-consuming, and I don't know that I'd care to, like, have to have a monthly appointment in my life. Your thoughts?

This topic of minuscule importance but major indecision is brought to you by Circe's Wicked Head Cold (TM).

 

[movie zombie]

oh, the joys of hair removal.....

well, like you i've been allowing nature to grow back those brows. i had bought into the "arch" is necessary for older women but i'm afraid it is also a rather intensive upkeep thing.....because like you i'm totally into not having to do much.

so, after years of plucking, i've got some areas that need filling in with "product" and like you i'm comfortable with that. i can see where an arch might be happening naturally on its own. i'm hesitant to pluck it until i get more months of getting used to the new fuller browed me. and i won't be going to a specialist to get it done. my experience in the past is that too much gets removed. sometimes that one seeming misplaced hair is actually covering a lot of territory that once removed creates another area that now needs product.

i vote to leave it for a while. if you do go for it, take only a hair or two at a time. grow back won't be as hard or noticeable. but once you've defined an arch that perhaps does not exist naturally for you, well, its harder to deal with grow back as you already know.

younger women don't seem as concerned and i like that natural look even with no arch......

MoZo

 

[Haven]

I have big, bushy eyebrows, too! Mine are actually very *long*, as in, the hair will grow long and curl out away from my face. Very mad scientist.

I maintain my eyebrows at home because I don't trust anyone else to keep them as thick as they need to be. I, too, have large features so thin eyebrows just won't do.

I'll come back later and post some great guidelines for shaping eyebrows and maintaining them at home. I don't go into a salon, ever, so I wouldn't want to commit to monthly appointments because I prefer to keep it low maintenance. (I even cut my own hair now!)

You can totally keep up your own eyebrows. I actually get a lot of compliments on my eyebrows, if you'll believe it, so I must be doing something right! Mine are black, so very dramatic, and thus even more vital to keep in order.

GO BIG BROWS!

 

[qtiekiki]

I also say to maintain your eyebrows at home. I didn't go to a specialist, but I went to a facial back in college and the lady insisted that I am plucking my brows wrong. She "fixed" it, and I hated it. I think sometimes the specialists have their ideas of the perfect brows, and sometimes it doesn't work. I maintain mines at home. Once you got your eyebrow shaped to your liking, maintenance is minimal. Just have to pluck the hair as they start growing back.

 

[lbbaber]

I think a little eyebrow grooming makes a **BIG** difference in one's face. Whether or not you go to a professional is personal preference. I let the pro do it once in a while and keep it up at home in between. It's easier to follow the arch after the pro has outlined it. A GOOD eyebrow specialist should be abe to look at your face and see what is right for you (instead of doing the same shape on everyone that walks through the door). After finding *your* shape, it is easy to keep it up at home (in between occasional visits to the pro). Just make sure you have EXCELLENT tweezers (it makes a huge difference), use good lighting and a magnifying mirror. A small investment can save big bucks with less visits to the pros.

As far as not trusting the salons....I myself have had bad pluck-jobs and it can be scary to trust someone after a bad experience. BUT, if you search around (word of mouth and alot of research) and find the RIGHT eyebrow specialist that LISTENS TO YOU and what you want (nothing is worse than when the person is insisting that you have a skinny over-plucked brow if that is not what YOU want), then they can be worth their weight in gold (ok, slight exageration )

Around where I live, we have salons that are ONLY for eyebrows. Those are a good place to start looking!

 

[LadyBlue]

Eyebrow threading all the way. I pay 9usd 2 times a month. They do it in less than 5 minuts and almost pain free.

 

[LGK]

I vote for restrained eyebrow pluckage, whether DIY or someone else doing it. A little plucking goes a long way, or at least that's what I hear- personally, I have no eyebrows past where the "arch" (hahaha *snort*) would be, so I don't pluck much. So I have to draw them on pretty much. I envy your thick eyebrows! I'd probably do some plucking myself if I were in your shoes, because I'm ultimately suspicious of trusting anyone else with grooming me in any way.

 

[kama_s]

DO. NOT. GET. ME. STARTED. ON. EYEBROWS.

Just don't.

I love my eyebrows, they're beautifully shaped. Not too thick, not too thin and with a defined natural arch. I do like getting the strays waxed off. NO ONE, and I mean NO ONE can consistently wax my eyebrows well. I love my arch so dearly. But for some reason, people here just don't know how to deal with an arch. SO THEY TAKE IT OFF and that pisses me to no end. Or they thin them out when I clearly say I don't want to lose the width and to just clean up the strays. Apparently pencil thin eyebrows that were in a few years ago are staying put around here.

Anyways. Just saying that I commiserate with you.

 

[kama_s]

Eyebrow threading all the way. I pay 9usd 2 times a month. They do it in less than 5 minuts and almost pain free.

Threading is so painful!! Where I'm from people do not wax eyebrows, just thread. I only thread when I'm visiting family in Dubai/India, and only because I can't find anyone to wax them!

 

[Circe]

Okay, good advice, ladies! I have done home brow maintenance since I was fifteen, which has run the gamut from slim brows to wide-set brows (for some reason, I have a tufty bit towards the center). At this point, I'm basically just plucking strays and leaving the rest alone ... I just don't want to go 100% Groucho Marx, y'know?

It seems like most of y'all lean towards home maintenance, possibly with a brow pro whom you trust to start you off. So ... Haven, I will look forward to your tips, and if any of the rest of y'all can recommend a pro who respects big brows in NYC, I will be deeply grateful ....

 

[iugurl]

I have my hairdresser (or a close friend who is also a hairdresser) wax my eyebrows. They always look so PERFECT after she does it. I try to maintain in between, with tweezers. They never look as good though, as when she does it. I used to have it done more frequently, but I now live 1 hr 20 min away from her salon.

Do you have friends who have their eyebrows waxed, for suggestions of who to go to? I would think you could go once every few months (since it seems you don't want to go more often than that), and just remember to pluck in between.

(BTW, what is a "brow specialist?" Is there such a thing as a person who ONLY deals with eyebrows?)

 

[iheartscience]

I also have thicker eyebrows, but I pluck them myself. (I've gotten them waxed a few times and I always end up with ridiculously small eyebrows when I do.) Mine have a natural arch so it's pretty easy to know where to pluck. I trim the eyebrow hair occasionally, too, because it helps them look more groomed. Trimming them makes the individual hairs lay flatter and stay in place so the shape looks more defined.

I haven't trimmed them in a while, though...the last time I did I wasn't really paying attention and I cut a huge section of my right eyebrow WAY too short. NO IDEA why I wasn't paying attention while using tiny scissors to cut my eyebrow hair. I had a bald spot for about a month that I had to fill in with make up. Luckily my hairy eyebrows grow quickly!

That said, I'm a lazy groomer and probably only pluck them once every week or two. If I go much longer than that they tend to lose their shape and that means there's more of a chance for me to mess them up when I pluck them!

I'm looking forward to Haven's tips, though!

 

[Gypsy]

If you can find one, find a place where the eyebrow specialist does threading and is either middle eastern or southeast asian. Tell them you want your eyebrows "cleaned up but not thinned out, and arched. Matching." That, in my experience gets you the best results.

I have a place I ADORE right now. Family of Indian women run the threading area, mother, daughter, and daughters in law. 7 bucks a pop and perfect results each time.

 

[Haven]

Okay, I don't have any mind-blowing tips or anything, but you really don't need much to have beautiful brows, so they'll do!

First, shaping. My makeup prof (I was a tech theatre major) in college actually taught us how to shape brows, and her guidelines were exactly as depicted here:
http://www.jacksonvillebeachhairsalon.com/blog/eyebrow-shaping/

I use the guidelines on that site when I shape my brows. I take a thin paintbrush to figure out where the lines lead, and go from there.

Taming: If you have long brows like me, there's nothing better than clear mascara. It is my BEST FRIEND. I swipe the brush through my brows *right* after I get out of the shower and dry my face. For some reason my brows stay in place best when I apply the clear mascara right after the shower. A good eyebrow brush might help, too, but I've never much used one.

Tweezing: Okay, first I have to share said makeup prof's favorite quote: "We pluck chickens, and we tweeze eyebrows. We streak the quad, and we highlight our hair!" She cringed whenever we talked about "plucking" brows.

ANYWAY, you already care for your brows at home so you know the importance of a great pair of tweezers. I don't even need expensive tweezers, only ones with very good tips that are exact. I always tweeze less than I *think* I need to when I'm first shaping my brows, because you can't put it back, after all. I only tweeze from under the brow, never over. (Unless I get odd stray hairs floating up there.) But, you don't want to lower the brows on your face, so don't touch the tops of them!

Clipping: If you have long hairs, get a pair of safety-tipped scissors and use them sparingly. I always clip my brows after I've applied clear mascara so I can see which hairs are too long.

Filling in: Get a good eyebrow pencil and use it! I have one that is a dark brown and use it to warm up the very ashy black color of my eyebrows. I will sometimes need it to fill in a spare spot if I over-tweeze.

I hope this is helpful. Err on the side of too thick, too, because you can always thin them out.

ETA: Also, follow the natural line of your brow when you shape them. I'm sure you know that, but just in case . . .

Here are my brows. The engagement picture is old, now, but it's the best straight-on shot that I could find.



The best thing to remember is this: If you mess up your eyebrows, or if you get sick of maintaining them--no problem! Cut yourself some thick bangs. That's what I do.

 

[Laila619]

Haven, I LOVE your brows! I used to have big and dark Brooke Shields eyebrows like you until I was stupid last year and used my DH's trimming tool on them, which thinned them out and left some bald patches.

Anyone know if sometimes eyebrows just don't grow back? Like I said, I trimmed/shaved mine down last year in April 2010, and now it's a whole year later and they still are not as thick and dark as they originally were. It's like they just won't grow completely back, only 3/4 of the way. They're very sparse still. At first I thought it was because of my pregnancy, but then I read that pregnancy hormones make hair grow *faster*. So I'm bummed that I might have permanently thinned them. Does anyone have tricks for getting them to grow again?

Circe, I don't like to have to go to a salon to get monthly maintenance, so I'd just groom my brows at home. Much easier! Embrace your big brows...I'm sure they're gorgeous!

 

[Haven]

Thank you, Laila.

I know it took my eyebrows a couple years to fully grow back after a very bad decision in college. I tweezed them embarrassingly thin, and I want to say it took a full two (maybe three) years before they grew back in all their wild glory.

 

[LGK]

If anyone here is like me and needs some good tips I've found over years of trial and error trying to draw most of my eyebrows on:

If you don't mind powder, Cork eyeshadow by MAC is a great one for blondes, they can be tough to match for eyebrows. My best friend is blonde and uses that color on her brows (she, like me, has to draw hers in almost completely- but since she's white-blonde at least she has an excuse!) Any matte eyeshadows can work for eyebrows. If you want a more natural, soft look they're great applied dry with an angled brush, used at the angle so it's a thinnish line but still soft.

A good eyebrow pencil is hard and waxy- and that means, cheap crappy eyeliner pencils are great for eyebrows. Like Wet n Wild eyeliner- tons of wax in those. You don't really need to pay $$$ for a "good" brand of eyebrow pencil, because the main reason it's classified as an eyebrow pencil is that it's got high wax content compared to, like, good quality eyeliner. So no need to pay for a high wax content pencil unless the color is super unique and perfect for you. Personally, I like WnW, and Rimmel's eyeliner to use on my brows- both are hard and waxy like you want for brows.

If I want my brows more dramatic, or want them to be bulletproof like if I'm going swimming and don't want to scare the kiddies when my brows go MIA in the water, I use a loose powder, usually just a basic no-sheen mica applied wet with a fixative. I lovel Benefit's She-Laq... it might make them a little shiny but you can fix that with powder, and with that I can swim with it on, and rub vigorously even and they stay in place. I use the lid of the loose mica, dip a fine eyeliner brush into the She-Laq and swirl it on the lid of the powder shadow. Then you can draw your eyebrows on to your heart's content. It's more dramatic looking than pencil or dry application, but it will last through a zombie apocalypse, I swear.

Also: for makeup brushes do NOT spend $$$ at the department store counter. Get thee to an art store, and get some nice sable brushes for lots less. There's all sorts that work wonderfully, just look for natural bristles like sable. (But not the hog's bristles, lol.)

 

[chemgirl]

DO. NOT. GET. ME. STARTED. ON. EYEBROWS.

Just don't.

I love my eyebrows, they're beautifully shaped. Not too thick, not too thin and with a defined natural arch. I do like getting the strays waxed off. NO ONE, and I mean NO ONE can consistently wax my eyebrows well. I love my arch so dearly. But for some reason, people here just don't know how to deal with an arch. SO THEY TAKE IT OFF and that pisses me to no end. Or they thin them out when I clearly say I don't want to lose the width and to just clean up the strays. Apparently pencil thin eyebrows that were in a few years ago are staying put around here.

Anyways. Just saying that I commiserate with you.

YES!!!!

I have never had a good experience with a professional here! My hair is a weird combination of red/brown/blond and they always make my brows pencil thin. I look startled and its hard to see my brows in some lighting! I vowed never to do it again and I just pluck the strays on my own. My natural brows are fairly thin and arched so its not a huge issue for me. I suppose a professional job looks more "put together" or whatever, but yeah...they don't work for me.

 

[chemgirl]

When I was a teenager my aunt payed my sister and I $20 each to tackle my cousin and pluck her unibrow. The kids at school stopped making fun of her and she started getting her brows done so its not totally horrible!

That's my goofy eyebrow story.

 

[movie zombie]

great picture of brows...and great website for how to determine where brow begins, arches, and ends.......i think this whole thing re the arch is getting overdone: perhaps subtle is better.

MoZo