You wouldn’t think it would be that difficult to shape and pluck your eyebrows, but such a small task can have a long-lasting impact. Your eyebrows help to shape your face and you don’t want to make any mistakes. Check out our dos and don’ts of eyebrow shaping…

 

Do Know the Rules

Before you try to pluck your eyebrows, you should know the basic rules of eyebrow shaping. The most preferred eyebrow shape is a small arch with soft angled eyebrows; this is considered the most flattering and feminine. Rounded eyebrows however will help to soften strong features, while straight eyebrows only really tend to suit a long face, making it appear more oval.

Don’t Make Common Mistakes

A common mistake that a lot of people make when plucking their eyebrows is to use a highly magnified mirror. They think it helps them to see better and it may do, but it also encourages over plucking. Make sure not to stand too close to the mirror either for the same reason. You need to stand back a little to ensure the brows are matched. 

Do Trim Your Brows

Many people think plucking is the be all and end all of eyebrow shaping. What they don’t know is that sometimes just trimming the brow with small scissors could be enough.

Don’t Pluck Without Checking

Another common mistake that many women make is to pluck, pluck and pluck some more without first checking what the eyebrows look like in between. Often plucking just one little hair can make the eyebrows look significantly different. Check the overall balance of the eyebrow after each and every hair you pull.

Do Use Good Quality Tweezers

It pays to invest in a decent pair of tweezers. Not only will it help you to make the brows look better, but it will reduce the pain threshold as well, helping to pull the hairs out cleanly and easily.

Don't Numb the Skin

Some people recommend freezing or numbing the skin with ice before tweezing the eyebrows. However that only serves to tighten pores, which makes it harder to pluck the hair.

Do Apply Color

If you want to make the most of your eyebrows, apply a little color but make sure to always choose an eyebrow pencil that’s a little lighter than your normal hair color. Trying to match color perfectly never looks natural and you could end up with a very heavy eyebrow line.  Use feathery strokes to add depth to the color; perfectly drawn arches often look artificial. It’s often much harder to do anyway.

Don’t Be Afraid to Use a Stencil Set

If you’re nervous about shaping your eyebrows, don’t be afraid to revert to an eyebrow stencil set. The easiest way to use these kits is to apply the stencil, color in the eyebrow between the stencil using an eyebrow pencil and then use tweezers to remove any stray hairs outside the colored area. Couldn’t be easier!  

Do Use Eyeliner

If you don’t have an eyebrow pencil to hand, you can use eyeliner. Just apply in the same way you would an eyebrow pencil. The benefit of using eyeliner is that it should stay on no matter what the weather.

Finally…

If you’re at all nervous plucking your eyebrows for the first time, we would advise you to go to a professional first. Allowing them to do it for you once will make it much easier to keep to the shape they create; all you’ll have to do is to tweeze once a week to remove any new stray hairs.