Raise a Brow

What’s the single most important thing that can make or break your overall look? No, not the latest Marc Jacob bag (although, depending on how hot the bag is…) It’s your BROWS!!!!

Don’t believe me, check this out:

You all know Hollywood/British beauty Kiera Knightly? Not ‘know her’ know her, but you’ve seen her around, right? Woman is absolutely gorgeous (can sometimes stand to eat a burger or two or ten, but that’s not the point), but without her beautiful brows and even with the best of makeup, girl looks “special”.

And just look at Gwen Stefani without her brows done. Who’s gonna ‘Holla Back’ at that girl?

You see how important your brows are now; they can make you instantly look 10 years younger, more awake, and in-style. So how do you get illustrious, envious, beautiful brows? Read on…

1. Find an expert to give you an initial brow grooming, and then, if you can afford it, go to this person–and only this person–for each and every touch-up thereafter. You must treat this person like royalty: ask them how their day was, go on-and-on-and-on about how much you LOVE what they’ve done with your brows, tip them more than the usual 15-20%, find out when their birthday is, give them a gift during the holidays, etc. I do this with the woman who does my eyebrows, and in the three years I’ve gone to her (and only her), she has NEVER been off on my brows. They ALWAYS look perfect. I don’t even need to do anything extra with them other than comb them up with a spooly. (BTW, if you live near Queens or are willing to travel, my eyebrow lady is Rajni and she works at the Natural Look Aveda Salon at the Queens Center Mall in Elmhurst, Queens. Call 718-271-7299 and schedule an appointment–and if you ever see me in there, say hey)

2. Waxing vs. Threading: Me, I say threading all the way. It’s far more sanitary, precise, and quicker than waxing. I actually used to get my eyebrows waxed for like 7 years prior to threading, and I had the worst experiences: my brows were never even, I’d break out from the wax, the waxer would get wax stuck in my bangs, ugh. And who knows how many other dips they took into that wax bowl before they got to you. *cringes*

What exactly is threading?

Threading is an ancient method of hair removal which originated in parts of India, the Middle and Far East, and is now gaining popularity in Western countries. Thin, twisted cotton threads are rolled over untidy hairlines, moustaches and so on, plucking the offending hair. Practitioners use a pure cotton thread. They generally twist the hair and threading pulls out a whole row of hair, as opposed to tweezing where only one single hair is pulled out. Threading is often preferred to tweezing because of the naturally straight lines of hair removed by the thread. It is pulled out from the follicle. Like other methods of hair removal such as plucking or waxing, threading can result in skin irritation and ingrown hairs, however, hair re-growth becomes finer and more sparse after regular treatments. As the top layers of skin are not peeled or traumatized, threading is also recommended and an excellent option for those who have sensitive skin and who use Retin-A, Accutane, and similar products

So say you don’t live somewhere where threading is abundant? Then you’ve got homework to do.

Beautiful Brows by Nancy Parker ($7.99 at Amazon)

This book is a guide for every woman to find her perfect brow shape. Here are a few excerpts:

1. Need a guide to pluck your brows? Try these brow stencils by Anastasia (brow guru to the stars) $20 at Sephora. I swear by these and use them on my brow-challenged clients. 2. Tweezers don’t get any better than the Tweezerman Petite Tweezer Set (you can buy the pointy and slanted tip tweezers in full sizes separately, or buy the petite just-as-good duo for less) $25.00 at Sephora. Tweezerman tweezers come with a guarantee that your tweezers will never get dull–you send them into Tweezerman, and they’ll sharpen them for you for free! 3. Just like the hair on your head, your brows also need to be brushed every now and then. Get the job done with4. MAC’s Lash Brush $10 or get a pack of disposable mascara wands from your local drugstore or beauty supply. 5. Keep unruly brows in place with CoverGirl Clear Mascara, but if you plan on having your picture taken, try MAC Brow Set in a color closet to your natural brow color. 6. Fill in sparse areas with light as a feather strokes with MAC Brow Pencil in a color that closely matches your brows. You don’t want to draw in a new brow, but make hairlike marks that mimic the natural growth of hair. Or you can use an angle brush and a matte eyeshadow in your brow color to fill in sparse areas. 7. Make your brow stand out with a brow highlight. I like to use a concealer one to two shades lighter than my clients skin for a more natural highlight, and for that I use MAC Studio Touch-up Stick. Alternatively, you can also use a soft oyster-pink highlight like 8. Benefit’s High Brow