Before you pluck or wax your brows, fill them out first so you can clearly see the shape you’re going for. Then, just remove the hairs that *aren’t* in that shape.
Makes total sense, right? — yet peeps (myself included) repeatedly fall into the trap of tweezing willy-nilly without keeping in mind the final brow look.
Whenever I do it (tweeze without planning ahead), I miscalculate my brow arch and end up over-plucking the wrong place.
DOH!
Apparently, this has been a lesson I’ve needed to relearn over and over again…
Brow fillers that won’t let you down
Here are my faves at the moment!
- MAC Eye Brows Styler — This easy-to-use tool has a super thin tip that makes it easy to draw in those tiny brow hairs, and the formula lasts a long time.
- Hourglass Arch Brow Volumizing Fiber Gel — THE BEST for speed. It’s great for quickly filling in and fluffing up your brows. And did I mention it’s super fast!? You gotta get a tinted one, though, because the clear one is pretty much useless.
- Tom Ford Brow Sculptor — Pricey, but the best of the best IMO.
- MAC Brow Sculpt — This is MAC’s version of the Tom Ford Brow Sculptor, and I think it’s pretty good (although no match for Tom’s).
So, yeah, next time you notice things looking kinda jungly up there, grab your brow pencil, brow powder, gel or whatever you’re using at the moment, “fill out” and “fluff up” those fuzzy little caterpillars, and then go to town with your removal method o’ choice!
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
P.S. Happy Tuesday! ?
I love the Hourglass one too but I recently picked up the Milk KUSH Fiber Brow Gel during the appreciation sale and I’m really loving that too.
Hi Barb,
Haven’t tried that one yet. How does it handle the spots with, like, no hair? ‘Cause Raul (my bald spot in my left brow) does not play.
I think it handles well. There is a lot of color payoff. It doesn’t mess around.
I have mixed feelings about deeply pigmented brow products. I tend to over apply and usually end up with too dark brows! Kudos for you for being able to work it, lady!
I’ve finally decided to leave mine alone (except for the really low strays) and I really like how I look! I feel like I look younger? It’s less work, so I like it 🙂
I feel you, Savannah. When my brows were super skinny plucking them was like having another job, LOL!
I think it is important to remember that eyebrow styles come and go throughout the years and that each style has its own set of rules when it comes to proportions. Being in my seventies, I’ve seen numerous trends come and go and have come to the following conclusions—and please remember, these are entirely my own personal opinions: Resist over-plucking no matter the trend. Many of those hairs will never grow back. No one should need 3, 4, or more products to groom their brows. That “need” is the result of marketing hype. Don’t try to replicate the painted on, contrived brows that we see all too often on Instagram. Those are being done for effect and are an artistic expression that looks extreme in real life. Embrace the saying, “Eyebrows should be sisters; not twins”. When it comes to facial features, no one has perfect symmetry. As for doing brows first and then just cleaning up stray hairs, that’s a piece of advice that has been around for ages and for good reason—it works.
Good advice, Eileen! I wish I kept my hands off of my brows in the ’90s.
My poor right brow is suffering from a couple of Rauls lately. The hair that seems to grow is all in the wrong place. 🙂
Oh, Raul and his army of minions! How dare they run the show?
So true! Filling in first is a game changer. I’m still using Boy Briw because the price is fair and I really like the texture. Eyebrow stuff for redheads actually looks really odd on me because my brows are like a dirty blond even though I’m a full on redhead.
It really is life changing. 🙂
I generally pluck my strays (I have some that grow almost down on my eyelids), the ones in the mole above my right eyebrow, and that one insane eyebrow hair that grows literally three times as long as the others. But I don’t do a lot of heavy shaping. I’m not good at it and I’m terrified of the silent-movie-star, perpetually-surprised look, lol.
I have some random crazy long brow hairs too, LOL! I wish they’d grow in the bald spot on my brow, but I suppose that would be way too easy.
Maybelline Tatoo it’s $8 andcwsterproof !
I use Rodan and Fields Lash boast !
It works . And I use it in my microbladed brows too !
Happy Back to School to Connor Claire !
Wow this is such a great tip. Never even crossed my mind to do this. Lol. Thanks Karen!
this was great advice and I don’t mess with my brows much other than some colored gel cause I am inept, but I am still prone to overly plucking and definitely got overwaxed in the 90’s!!! I’ma try this theory out but it seems legit— thanks!
Hi Jonierae,
Girl, I did the over-plucking thing in the ’90s too and I’m still paying for it. I hope this trick works for you!
How come I never thought of that?
If I only had any to pluck being a 90s chica sigh (now 40). Rauls abound up in here. After my preferred method of a skinny brow pencil in a complementary hue to my hair color of the month (Fenty & hourglass my 2 faves), I LOVE the mac colored brow mascara-type things. They actually make it look like I have more density than I do!! I’m over the brow pomades for the same reason you don’t like heavily pigmented products – it’s too easy to become bert (of bert & ernie obvs)