I have to admit, I’m one of those people who doesn’t care much about her eyebrows. I think it’s because I was born with really light ones so I don’t need to pluck very often. It’s been a blessing and a curse at the same time. Some days, I thank God I don’t have to regularly head to the salon to get them threaded like my sister and other days I longingly and jealously gaze at her brows and disastrously attempt to color them in. I mostly end up looking like Bert from Sesame Street or worse, like the Lux models on Lahori billboards from the early 90s.
The truth is, whether your eyebrows are pencil thin or caveman bushy, many of girls, myself included, tend to forget that it is just as important to take care of them as it is any other of your features. Have you ever noticed how much 
fresher you look once you’ve gotten rid of stray hairs? It’s because your eyebrows frame not only your eyes, but also your entire face. But, grooming your eyebrows is more than simple hair removal. If you don’t like to or don’t have time to pluck, snip, pencil or color in your brows like me, there are other things you and I can and should try to do when we make up the rest of our faces to go out.
Hair Spray: Spritz your favorite, or the closest one available, hair spray onto a toothbrush. Sweep the brush onto your brows and tame them into the look you want. The spray will define the brows, and keep the hairs in place and looking shiny.
Vaseline: Using a toothbrush, brush on a little (too much will make you a grease-ball) into your brows. Again, the product will keep the hair in place and shiny and the thickness makes the brows look darker. Some beauty mavens claim Vaseline is also great to use if you overplucked and want the hair to grow back faster, I personally cannot attest to this, but it’s worth a shot.
Clear Mascara: Does the same as both products above, but available in a less messy, compact way. Some brands even make clear mascara specifically for shaping the brows. But, why spend almost $14 at MAC when you can get the same product for much cheaper? Check out Maybelline Define-A-Brow Gel Clear Mascara for Eyebrows $4.99, available on drugstore.com
Of course defining your brows won’t hide the stray hairs that have found their way all the way onto your upper lid, if that’s the case, then you may want to make an appointment with your threading lady. However, your eyebrows need a little more attention than a simple tweezer. You may not realize it, but your eyebrows are in fact the most animated part of your face when you find yourself in deep conversation. You make sure to highlight your lids, cheeks and lips, why not also your most expressive feature?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bert_and_ernie
http://shopping.indiatimes.com/i/f/t/Vaseline_Petroleum_Jelly_60Ml-pid-1517581-ctl-20376665-cat-960248-pc-960034-&bid=&prc=&sid=&q=vaseline&
http://www.glossi.com.au/cart/images/maybelline_brow-stylng-gel_full.gif
I’m sp lazy when it comes to eyebrows. I get them threaded only when I can be bothered and then tweeze them myself every so often. Mine are in the middle of bushy and light though. But when I do clean them up, its clear the difference it makes to my face.
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Hi Sherin! I completely agree, even though I have lighter eyebrows, I still feel that when my brows are groomed it brings out my eyes and I look more presentable. Sometimes I wonder how much we really do notice each other’s eyebrows. Do you ever look at other people’s when you talk to them?
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[...] Lipstick Q-Tips: Grooming Your Brows « Lipstick Masala [...]
I saw your comment above in response to Sherin and had to reply. I am one of those oddballs that is obsessed with eyebrows and ALWAYS notice other people’s brows. My eyes automatically wander to the brows when I’m talking to someone and I will forever admire people with beautiful and perfectly shaped eyebrows. Of course, that “perfect” shape is different for everyone and depends on facial features etc.
I have thicker eyebrows so I will definitely try the Vaseline idea mentioned above. A question for you though- waxing vs. threading? I personally used to thread but the threading ladies near where I live were incredibly unprofessional and gave me horrible and very generic looking brows that didn’t suit my face shape at all, so I switched to getting waxed at an upscale day spa (but the esthetician is amazing, really pays attention to deal, and knows how to groom my brows to suit my features. It’s one of those “you get what you pay for” things.) I am very happy with waxing but I have heard that waxing pulls the skin above your eyelids and can cause the skin to sag over time or bring about wrinkles. Conversely, threading does not pull the skin and therefore is better. Would you happen to know if there is any truth to this or if you’ve heard this as well? The notion of saggy, wrinkly skin is enough to get me to consider switching back to threading (hopefully with a better threading lady though!)
Thanks!
PS: I am a new reader, just came across your blog a few weeks ago actually! I used to frequent a lot of beauty-oriented blogs and was delighted to see that yours reflects a Desi perspective! Wonderful topics, wonderful writing–I look forward to keeping up with your posts!
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Thanks for the tip.Keep up the good work.
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Thanks Gigi!
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Hi Parul,
First and foremost, welcome to the site! I’m glad you are finding the posts useful, if you have any recommendations I’d love to hear them.
Waxing Vs. Threading: This is a bit of a tough one. I have indeed heard of the sagging debate and unfortunately have not come up with any real answers. There is one camp that claims that waxing does cause sagging, as you are constantly tugging and stretching your skin. The effect of course is not immediate, but over time your eyelids will begin to droop. Then, there is a second group that claims you cause the same damage by rubbing off your eye makeup at night and that eve threading results in the same as waxing. Finally, the last group claims there is no medical research that has shown waxing to cause droopage over time. You will get wrinkles if you are genetically predisposed to them or in general take bad care of your eye area.
Here’s my opinion: There is not enough research done on the problem to take a real stance on the subject, but I personally am a mix of the 2nd and 3rd groups. I believe that your eyes will eventually wrinkle up if they are meant to, and that waxing and threading don’t CAUSE this, but work to speed up the process that was inevitable anyway. I feel threading is just as bad as waxing, they are both tugging at your skin – waxing is faster but harsher, and threading is less severe but pulls for longer. As far as I believe, it really is a matter of preference, either way you’re messing with very delicate skin. I personally like threading because I feel the hair grows back slower, and you can achieve a much more defined look with threading.
I am not sure where you live, but if you are in the U.S., check out yelp.com for recommendations on a good threading place near where you live or if you are visiting another town. That’s how I found my waxing lady, thanks to all the reviews, and I absolutely love her!
Again, welcome to the site and I look forward to seeing more of your comments!
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Can I just say that my stupid threading lady threaded one eyebrow thinner than the other. I am still bitter. What’s a good eyebrow pencil to fill it in?
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Oh no! That’s the worst! Massage the area with olive oil to encourage hair growth.
I normally prefer brow powder to pencils, but I think in this case pencil might be best. The pencil that almost all ladies rave about is the Shu Uemura Hard Brow one http://www.shuuemura-usa.com/_us/_en/makeup/brows/hard-formula.htm
If you want to a drugstore brand, people really seem to like Maybelline Define-A-Brow and Rimmel.
Good luck! And make sure to use light, feather, and short strokes to mimic natural hair.
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hi, i was just wondering , does plucking your eyebrows make your eyes sag as you get older?
ive noticed that my sister has holes where shes been plucking her eye brows, will this go away??
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Hi Amy, welcome to the site
If you’re worried you will sag, your best bet will be plucking, because it is more precise and pulls at the hairs rather than the skin. The worst offender is waxing, which pulls at the skin roughly. Check out my answer above to the comment “Parul” made, I went a little more in depth about how I feel about hair removal and sagging skin.
I’m not sure what you mean by holes – are her pores enlarged? If so, have your sister pluck after she gets out of the shower so her pores are open and hair removal will be easier. Afterwards, she should use astringent over the area she plucked to cleanse and close the pores. Hopefully that should help some
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