Whoever said that kilay is life knew pretty well how challenging it is for women to preserve beautifully arched brows. The slightest alteration is transformative – can completely change your look – so even a millimeter of hair added is enough reason to book for a weekly visit to the salon, for much-needed threading or plucking.
We might have gone overboard in our brow maintenance since a la Kathryn Bernando, Cara Delevigne and Lily Collins brows became a thing. But, thanks to the trend, we have fully grasped the essence of keeping full and bold arches, always looking natural and down-to-earth.
How to make sure that you get this right? Here are the five ways to growing and maintaining your never thin and wispy eyebrows. (Insider tip: Be very patient when you’re growing your brows. The goal of good re-growth is typically to fill in the over-tweezed areas. It is the first eight weeks that matter a lot since it takes such amount of time to show that natural arch line.)
1. Say no to cleaning the brow area.
This is going to be tremendously challenging, we know. But, ladies, remember that there is no gain when there is no pain. Set the tweezers away for about six to eight weeks, and forget about dropping a visit to your favorite salon to get your weekly threading. Because aside from growing your brows’ naturally bold potential, this brow exercise also helps in synchronizing the hair follicle’s growth cycles, leading to less tweezing altogether.
2. Yes, brow tinting is an option.
Eyebrow tinting has been growing in popularity, and we agree on how this semi-permanent dye can help in achieving naturally-looking low maintenance brows. It is a great way to soften a hard look or add fullness and definition to a lighter brow. (Insider tip: Tinting your eyebrows with vegetable dye would be better, and make sure you don’t do it at home. It’s a must to go to a professional to have this done.)
3. Be careful, be very careful in “cleaning” the arches.
After growing the hair naturally, and waiting patiently for the natural shape of the facial arch to show, it is now time to get that visit to your salon for the highly needed cleaning and shaping. But if you’re a DIY type, using the right tools in keeping that eye area always clean is extremely essential. It is a must to keep good tweezers (Insider tip: Go for stainless steel slant model) if you prefer plucking, or the handy brow shaper if you find shaving much easier. Then make sure to do it in a well-lit space and hold skin taut. Gently pluck hairs or shave up in the direction of growth following the natural brow line. Take frequent steps back to review (after tweezing about three or four hairs). To trim, focus only on long, errant hairs growing beyond the brow line. (Insider tip: The classic nail/cuticle scissors can do the trick).
4. Eyebrow pencil does the magic.
You can never say goodbye to your favorite eyebrow pencil. You may have grown naturally beautiful brows, but you will most certainly need to fill in the sparse areas (trust us, even celebrities need to do this step!). So, choose a powder or pencil color that is the same shade as your eyebrow hair color (not the hair on your head). It’s also worth considering your complexion type. Using short feathery strokes, shade just above and below the brow line as well as where you have thin areas of hair. (Insider tip: A-list makeup artists would always say that for oilier skin, the brow powder works much better, while the non-waxy, low-oil pencil is best for dry skin).
5. If you want then you can keep it sleek and feathered.
Gone are the days of the Instagram brow, you know, the overly stylized brow makeup. These days, we want to keep it natural and bold. But if you want to keep it K-Beauty standard sleek then you must go for more like feathered brows. The Insider secret? Brow gel. Start by brushing the hairs upwards at the start of the brow closest to the nose. Then brush the middle portion of the brow back into place to cover any remaining sparse areas. Finally, brush the outermost ends up and out. (Insider tip: Go for tinted brow gel with a mascara type brush because it offers more even distribution and allows for better shaping.)