Brow Tips
Brow Grooming Product How To’s
BROW GROOMING
Do your brows look great without any product added? Do your brows look even in color through the brow? Then you can skip all the color products and go straight to grooming, or the easiest part of beautifying brows.
Much like how you would use products in your hair. Thicker, coarser hair needs strong gels and waxes to hold, while thin hair needs a lighter product to keep in place without weighing it down.
Two products that make your brows look even better are
Products Show:
Brow Tamer (clear wax)
Brow Ware (Clear Brow Mascara)
1. Brow Gel
Brow Gel is the lighter of the two and meant for eyebrow hairs that are thin. In a mascara wand format, just brush on through brows in the direction you want the brows to go and then let dry. Best Brow Gels are ones that don’t turn gray after they have dried, and do not leave a crunchy, or stiff feel to the brows.
Application: For the brow gel, apply your brow colors (shadow or pencil) first, and then apply your brow gel after, to make the color water resistant.
2. Brow Wax
Brow Wax is for thicker, coarser, and wavy brow hairs. Since these hairs are usually harder to keep in place, you need a product with a stronger holding powder.
Application: To apply, use a clear wax that will not interfere with any colored brow shadow or pencil. Apply either with your finger tip, or my favorite, apply with a clean spoolie brush and brush through.
Tip: You can apply your brow wax either before or after your brow color, for different results. For a stronger color, apply brow wax first through the brow hairs, then apply your brow shadow with a straight or angle brow brush. You’ll notice that the brow color goes on a tad darker and with a sharper line since you mixing the brow color into the wax as you apply. For a softer look, apply your brow color first, then set with your brow wax on top to seal in the color.
Makeup Artist Trick: What I love to do is pick up the clear brow wax with my clean spoolie brush, then dip the brush into my brow shadow, and then brush through. Do this lightly and after a few tries, you’ll know exactly how much of each you need to get the right mix for you.
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Brow Tip #10 Brow Maintenance.
10. Make brow maintenance an everyday thing.
Need to keep your brows looking better, longer between brow shaping appointments? It’s easy. Make your brow clean ups a every day part of your makeup application.
Right after your appointment, keep an eye on your brows every day with a magnifiying mirror. Any strays that come in are easy to see with a freshly shaped brow. The trick is to keep an eye on it. Let it go for a week or two, and it becomes harder to tell what should go and what should stay. By keeping an eye on them, you can stretch out your visits and save $$. My clients that do this come in every 2/3 months for a shape up, instead of every 3/4 weeks.
Brow Tip #9 Water Resistant Brows.
9. Make your brow makeup water-resistant.
Need a way to make your brow makeup waterproof? Just apply a clear brow wax on top of any brow shadow or pencil and you’ll automatically make your brows water-resistant and it will stay on all day.
Just dab over your brows with a clean finger, and then take your brow brush comb and brush though. Done!
Brow Tip #8 Blend, blend and blend.
8. Blend, blend and blend some more.
You always hear about blending your eye shadow or foundation, right? But what about your eyebrows? Yep, they need blending too.
After every application of shadow, and/or pencil, always blend the color with a spoolie or mascara wand to blend and even out the color. By blending into the skin, you’re softening the product and making your brows look like yours, not made up ones.
So what’s the routine?
1. Apply brow shadow.
2. Blend.
3. Apply brow pencil (if needed)
4. Blend
TIP: The more you blend with your spoolie brush, the softer the color gets and the more real it looks. Applied too much or color too dark? Just blend away until you get the desired result.
Brow Tip #7 Brow Shadow or Pencil?
7. Use brow pencil to fill in brows, use brow shadow to even out color.
Pencil and shadow have 2 different purposes. And by all means, avoid filling in your brows with just brow pencil. It can look harsh, severe and too dark. The goal is for your brows to look better, but real.
From The Brow Collection: Shown top to bottom:
Dark Brunette / Blonde / Ash Brown / Auburn
Apply brow shadow first to color the brow and make the color even from beginning to end. If you have a lot of holes in your brows, always apply your shadow in the lighter areas of the brows first, and then blend into the rest of the brow.
Then, if needed, use your brow pencil to fill in any areas that are too light or thin. Brush though with a spoolie brush to blend and soften to the correct color for you.
TIP: The more you brush, the softer the color will be.
Brow Tip #6 Find a new brow shape.
6. Use a white pencil to see if a new brow shape works.
Tempted to try a new brow shape? A higher arch? Take a white eyeliner pencil and draw away the brow hairs that you think you would tweeze. This makes your new brow shape much easier to see and adjust before you tweeze.
TIP: Tweeze the hairs where the ‘root’ is where the white pencil is. You’ll find it much easier to create a line and create a new shape.
Brow Tip #5 Tweezing above the brow. Yes or no?
5. Yes you can tweeze above the brow.
My rule of thumb: If the hair is not touching the brow in any way, there’s no way you can mess up the brow shape. Simple as that. You’re actually tweezing hairs from the forehead and temple, not the brow. But once you actually next to the brow, that’s another story. Taking too much off the top of the brow can result in holes and uneven brows, making 1 brow seem higher than the other. So leave the actual shaping to your brow specialist. But cleaning up between visits for the strays is fine, as long as the hair is not touching the brow.
Brow Tip #4 Finding the right arch for your brow.
4. The arch of the brow should always be at the outer corner of the iris.
My #1 brow pet peeve that I see is the arch of the brow being way too far out. The arch is meant to bring your eyeline down to your eye. If the arch is too far out, it makes the eye look too close to your nose, especially in photos.
Wrong arch alignment
Keep the arch aligned next to the outside of the iris of the eye, and it can actually make your eyes look bigger.
Brow Tip #3 How to trim brows the right way.
3. Yes, you can trim, but with caution.
Trick to getting brows even, is to trim the ends of the very long ones, but as little as possible. Trim too much and you end up with short, stubby brows that don’t elongate the brow (especially on the ends) and makes the brow look short. So remember, trim a lot less than you think you need, and then brush through brows to see if they fill in ok. Keep trimming at the tip of the browhair and do as little as possible towards the end. The end of the brow is where you actually will need the hair, to fill in the brow and create length.
Best scissors to use are cuticle scissors. The tip of the scissor is thinner and curved, making the cut of the brow softer. Avoid using a regular small scissor which can cut the hair at too blunt an angle.
Regular Scissors = No
Cuticle Scissors = Yes
Brow Tip #2 Are your brows making your nose look big?
2. Where the brow starts determines the illusion of the width of your nose.
Yep, you heard right. Where the brow starts can make your nose look either too thin or too thick. It really doesn’t make your eyes look ‘wide-set’ and the wrong placement can actually make your eyes look cross eyed. Here you can see in the above photo that while the brows were started at the tear duct, here it’s actually making the model’s nose look very wide.
Where the brow starts should be individualized to each person. Here, while the brow seems like it’s starting too far in, it’s actually the best starting point for her because it actually makes her nose look thinner, and brings out her eyes, especially in photos.
The starting point is different on everyone. Best to have a pro determine where yours is.
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