Put down the tweezers! Now step away slowly so we can help you achieve bold and beautiful eyebrows like Cara Delevingne. Don’t worry, you’ll thank me later.

Now starting from the top.

The new beauty trend that has inspired the nation to strive for a more natural look has been hard to accomplish if you’ve been tweezing your eyebrows for years. Luckily, we’ve consulted with eyebrow expert Elke Von Freudenberg who is renowned for The Model Brow® service, a skill honed through years of brow shaping experience. Elke has also contributed her services to large runways shows such as Ralph Lauren, DVF, BCBG and catered to stars like Kate Moss, Angelica Huston and Jamie Fox. Therefore, she’s more than qualified to help with your eyebrow woos.

Your eyebrows are the focal point in your face and actually determines your face shape, so let’s start from the beginning and learn how to reverse time to get model-inspired brows by Elke.

How do you determine the best shape for you and how to get it where you’d like?

Lines:

​1. ​Brows starting at the bridge of the nose can make brows look too intense or severe. Brows can start actually anywhere between the bridge of the nose and the tear duct, based on the width of the nose. Wider noses should start closer to the bone, while thinner noses can start closer to the tear duct. Guide is to make sure the beginning of the brow doesn’t make the nose look wider than it actually is.

2. Arches starting at the outside of the nose to iris of the eye actually makes eyes look closer together, not wider. The arch is supposed to bring the attention down to the eye and when the eye is not aligned right under, it makes the eyes look closer. A horizontal line at the outside of the iris brings the brow in alignment with the eye.

3. End of the brow can look too low making you look sleepy or pulling the eye down if the line ends too far down. Lift the eye without sacrificing the brows too much by aligning from the edge of the mouth to the end of the eye.

How do you fix your brows if you tweeze too much?

​It’s hard to get brows growing in because it can take 4 months or longer to grow in. Hands off is the best approach but keep them neat in the meantime. Let brows grow in as much as you can and only clean up the major stray hairs far below and between the brows. Once they’ve grown in, I highly recommend getting a professional to shape them for you because a lot of brow hairs can get confusing on where to start and end if you’re shaping your brow. ​

How do you fix your brow if you have an arch in the wrong part?

​Kate Winslet: example of arches too far out, making eyes look close set:

​This is the #1 thing I see with my clients, trying to make eyes look wider set by moving the arch too far out. Trick is to take a few hairs (as in 1-3 only) and bring the arch closer to the iris of the. Do one hair at at time and check it before doing more. Again, a professional is the way to go for this fix. Taking too much at the arch creates the dreaded thick/thin brow, with way too much hair at the beginning of the brow and then going to super thin from the arch towards the ends. This throws the balance of the eye completely off. ​

How do you pencil your brows without looking over-done?
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​Most people think pencil and think of Grandma brows. Too thick, too heavy and too dark. Actually pencil is one of the easy ways to apply brow makeup. The trick is to be very light handed when you apply. Think 1 shade lighter than your brow, and apply by sketching in very light strokes through the brow. Think of your color as a shadow, not matching the color of the brow. You’re filling in, not trying to make them darker. Once the color is on, then take a spoolie brush, a mascara wand or a toothbrush and blend. Brush through the brows in the direction the hairs grow. This keeps the color in the brow. Think natural, not drawn on.

How do you Grow Back Over-plucked Eyebrows?

If brows don’t grow anymore, try to get more circulation into the brows and the roots. It’s like brushing your hair. It stimulates and helps hair to grow. A toothbrush works, but my all natural Brow Scrub is formulated to also exfoliate dead skin under the brow (we never exfoliate there anyway) so hairs grow in easier and strong enough to stimulate.​ I have to tell clients not to use it on their face, it’s too strong. In the meantime, use brow shadows and pencils lightly to stimulate brow color, but think lighter, softer and more natural looking in the meantime. And yes, it takes patience. It can take anywhere from 3 months to a year to get brows back.

Try using some of Elke’s products to stimulate growth, such as her Elke Serum or Elke Brow Scrub for faster results.

-Elana Levin
Main photo by Swide