Let’s face it — it’s hard to keep our beauty routines up-to-date while practicing social distancing. If you’re used to getting your brows tweezed regularly by a pro, you may not like what you see in the mirror (or your Zoom screen) after a few weeks in isolation. However, it’s possible to keep up with your grooming and achieve your desired look with a few at-home tweaks.
In order to avoid veering off course and making a mistake that can result in misshapen or “off” looking brows, we tapped tweezing experts Sania Vucetaj, owner of Sania’s Brow Bar in Manhattan, and Joey Healy, owner of Joey Healy Eyebrow Studio in Manhattan, to weigh in on best practices and products for achieving perfect brows at home.
DON’T: Put face products on or around the brow when trying to regrow hairs
Moisturizers, sunscreen, serums and even foundation can clog the brow follicle and prevent growth, Vucetaj warns. She also suggests avoiding sticky brow gels. “As you brush through, you’ll pull brow hairs out. Gels cause sparseness over time, so think long term,” she said.
DO: Check that your brows sit directly on the brow bone
Healy suggests using your fingers to feel for the supraorbital brow bone, which is the actual brow ridge. Then check to see that your brows follow the shape of that bone. “Make sure your brows are not below it or above it,” he said. “It seems very elementary but it's a great tip!”
DON’T: Use a magnifying mirror to tweeze
Both of our experts warned against this common mistake, explaining it’s easy to lose perspective and over-tweeze when you’re looking too closely at one small area. “You can't see the forest through the trees,” said Healy.
DO: Fill in brows with a pencil before tweezing
Instead of tweezing with a fresh face, it’s best to know what your brows will look like after the shape is already in place, explains Vucetaj, who created a signature angled mechanical brow pencil to help you fully fill in your brows.
“Using a pencil first will help you create an outline so you don’t tweeze into your shape or into the areas that you are trying to grow back in,” she said.
DON’T: Pluck out gray hairs
Both experts agree that plucking grays is a big no-no. “If you pull them out, you’re going to have a hole in your shape,” said Healy.
Instead, try using color to cover grays. Healy developed a gel, the Joey Healy Tinted Brow Lacquer, specifically to solve this problem.
DO: Pick a pencil color that is closest to your brow shade
“You want it to look natural and soft,” said Vucetaj. She suggests gently using the pencil to outline brows above and below the shape, then using soft strokes to create the illusion of fullness before blending with a spoolie to disperse the color throughout the brow.
“Since brows are usually sparse around the shape, just outlining then blending will help avoid overly dark, drawn-in brows," she told us.
DON’T: Trim more than one hair at a time
For the best way to tame unruly longer hairs, Healy recommends trimming one hair at a time using a precise scissor. “Make sure the hair feels natural, fluffy and not too blunt. Trimming one hair at a time makes the brow feel more natural and it reduces the chance of over-trimming them,” he said.
DO: Replace your brow brush
Even with cleaning your spoolie regularly, you want to reassess your brow brush annually. “Overuse of a brow brush can make it get a little too fat, a little too fluffy and not as precise,” Healy said. “And sometimes gunky hair and dead skin can get caught.”
So, if you feel like your products are not performing the way you want them to, consider replacing your brush.
DON’T: Wax or thread
Vucetaj cautions that both waxing and threading lack the precision of tweezing, since you are pulling out multiple hairs at a time. Need even more reasons? “Waxing stretches the delicate skin around the eyes and threading pulls hairs in every direction, which can cause them to be ingrown,” she said.
Here are the products Healy and Vucetaj recommend to help you achieve an amazing arch at home:
1. Tweezerman Classic Slant Tweezer
You can't go wrong with a classic brand like Tweezerman, and this stainless steel slanted option is expert approved.
2. Revlon Brow Set
This affordable set from Revlon includes a pair of brow scissors and a spiral wand for quick touch-ups.
3. Hourglass Arch Brow Volumizing Fiber Gel
Sephora customers have given this gel rave reviews for its ability to add color while also adding volume to sparse brows.
4. Briogio B. Well 100% Castor Oil
Castor oil is known for its ability to nourish dry and thinning hair. It can be applied directly to your brows to keep them looking full and healthy.
5. Rubis Evolution Pointed/Slanted Tweezer
Rubis says its tweezers are made with "the highest grade stainless steel," and reviewers have raved about its precise pointed tip.
6. Tom Ford Brow Perfecting Pencil
This brow pencil by Tom Ford can help you create the perfect outline for your brow look. Just remember to pick the shade closest to your brow color.
For more stories like this, check out:
- How to maintain your eyebrows at home according to an expert
- 11 of the best eyebrow products, according to Bobbie Thomas
- What is microblading? Everything to know about this eyebrow trend
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