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a woman has her eyebrows shaped and trimmed

Shaping Your Eyebrows: Best Practices

Eyebrows are one of the main factors that regulate the overall appearance and attractiveness of the face. Therefore, keeping eyebrows neatly groomed and shaped is an important part of any beauty regimen. You don’t need to spend money to have a professional do this, however. You just need a little practice, and soon you’ll be properly shaping your eyebrows within the comfort of your home.

Trimming

Start by trimming your eyebrows. Doing so will eliminate any stray eyebrow hairs that stick out. It will also help you see your natural eyebrow shape and serve as a guide for future shaping. Comb your brows upwards, and then, using a small set of scissors, cut only the very tips of the longest brow hairs. Do this once more, this time brushing the hair downwards.

Outlining

Next, determine the outline that you'd like your brows to follow. To do this, begin by deciding where the tallest part of your browline lies. This can easily be done by either looking directly into a mirror and marking the highest point you can see, or more precisely by holding a straight object across the bridge of the nose. The straight object will help you locate the highest point.

Tweezing

This point will now serve as the crux of the brow shaping process. Keep in mind when shaping your brows that natural is best. When shaping brows, take care never to remove too much hair or change your natural shape too radically. The brow shaping process is simply meant to augment your natural beauty. This is why you should never tweeze more than a row or two of brow hair. If you have thin brows, just removing a few hairs here and there to accentuate your natural arch will be sufficient. Thicker brows can stand a bit more tampering. Remove hairs from the outside edge of the brow as well as carefully defining the inner edge of the brow. Clean up the lower browline, and trim the topmost layer of your browline to thin the brows slightly. If you like, you can use a brow template to mark where to tweeze. Stray away from any template that counteracts your natural browline.

If you happen to cut out a bit too much hair and your brows are looking a little thin and limp, you can boost their volume with a tiny bit of brow pomade to make them look thicker. Additionally, you can fill in thin spots with a brow pencil.

Waxing

An alternative to tweezing your eyebrows into a desirable shape waxing your brows. If you have wide or bushy brows that require a good deal of maintenance, waxing may be a good option for you. On the other hand, if you just need to fix up a few stray hairs, waxing probably isn't necessary.

In some cases, brows may benefit from a brow tinting job. This is especially true if you plan to dye your hair a darker color. Be careful when tinting your brow color, however, as it can be difficult to find a shade that appropriately matches your hair color. It is usually best to consult a professional when tinting the brows for best results.

Last Updated: September 04, 2015