Get the Perfect Eyebrow Shape Every Time
One of the best ways to maintain a polished look for less is to learn how to shape eyebrows at home. Because eyebrows are such a prominent and important part of your face, it's crucial that they aren't too bushy or too thin. If you shape them incorrectly, you could find yourself hiding out in your apartment until they grow back. On the other hand, spa and salon treatments can be very expensive and time consuming. Lucky for you, all it takes is a little practice and a few tips to learn how to quickly and easily groom your own brows. The following beginner tutorial will teach you the basics of how to shape eyebrows.
Step 1: Prepare by washing your face. If you have long hair or bangs, pull them back so they aren't in the way. Gather the following supplies:
Brow brush or small comb
Eyebrow trimming scissors
Angled Tweezers
Eyebrow Pencil
Ice (Optional)
Step 2: Examine Your Natural Shape
The first rule about how to shape eyebrows involves appreciating the natural shape you have. Your goal should be a well-groomed version of your own eyebrows and not a dramatic, face-changing brow transformation. If you deviate from your natural shape too much, your brows will look unnatural and draw too much attention. Well-groomed brows should highlight, not take attention away from your eyes.
Step 3: Determine Your Brow Size
In order to maintain facial symmetry and craft the perfect shape, you should follow three basic rules:
1. Your eyebrows should start at roughly the inner corner of your eye. If you have close or wide-set eyes, your brows should start at the place where an imaginary line from the side of your nose to the corner of your eye extends to your brow. Find this point with a ruler or other straight edge and mark it with your eyebrow pencil if it helps you.
2. Your eyebrows should end just past the outer corners of your eyes. Visualize a line from the same nostril to the outer corner of your eye. Extend the imaginary line until it intersects your brow. That's where your brows should end. Mark the location if it helps you. Keep in mind that this measurement for where eyebrows end is just a rule of thumb. Many women purposely extend their eyebrows farther for a more dramatic look.
3. Your eyebrow arch should land at the place where an imaginary line that starts at the side of your nose and extends through the center of your pupil (the black part of your eye) meets your brow. If you have no natural arch, make the top of your arch at this location. If you already have a prominent arch, work with what you have.
Step 4: Trim the Excess Hair
1. Use the brow brush or a small comb to brush your eyebrows straight upward, toward your forehead.
2. Use the small trimming scissors to cut away any of the small hairs that extend past the top edge of your eyebrow. This will groom away any hairs that are too long and give you the basic outline of your new brows. Always remember that you can trim more later, so don't over-trim --especially if you're just learning how to shape eyebrows.
3. Apply an ice pack to your brows to numb the are if you're very sensitive to pain. Most people can tolerate the pain associated with eyebrow tweezing.
4. Use angled tweezers to pull away stray hairs outside of your newly-trimmed brow line. Grab one hair at a time and pull upward and outward in a firm and fast motion. The faster and more firm you pull, the less pain you'll feel.
5. Remove all hairs in the "unibrow" section of you face, which is the area between brow starting points. Also remove any hairs that extend past the end point you previously determined.
Step 5: Shape your brows
1. Use the tweezers to thin out thick sections of your brows by removing one row of hairs at a time. A row isn't a perfect line of hair, but rather, the very bottom pieces of hair in the area you're trying to shape.
2. Pluck additional hairs below your arch for a more dramatic curve. For a less dramatic arch, pluck hairs above the curve.
3. Continue plucking hairs one at a time until you've established a shape you're happy with. Stop often and look in the mirror to make sure you aren't plucking too much.
Step 6: Complete the Look
Use a brow pencil fill in any gaps or to beef up any sections of your brow that are naturally thin. Dab at the brow pencil with a cotton swab or your finger for a more natural look. Avoid over-filling or you may look like you penciled in your eyebrows. The goal here is to learn how to shape eyebrows for a natural look.
