Eyebrow Maintenance 101: How to Shape and Groom Your Arches

They say the eyes are the windows to the soul, which makes the eyebrows the decorative curtains. The brows can be worn in many different shapes and styles, from full and bushy to thin and arched and even long and clean yet perfectly well-kept. The shape that works well for one person's eyebrows may differ for another since the key to getting the most flattering set of arches is to sculpt them according to your face and facial features.

Celebrity makeup and brow artist Dani Kimiko Vincent calls the brows (along with skin) one of the most important facial features. "The brows can accentuate and frame the eyes and lend balance to the face," she says. "When the eyebrows are optimized, they can take years off your look," she adds.

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“A well-shaped eyebrow look will enhance your overall facial features and provide a symmetrical look,” says eyebrow specialist Maral Balian.

Meet Our Expert

• Dani Kimiko Vincent is a celebrity makeup and brow artist and founder of KIMIKO.

• Maral Balian is a makeup artist and eyebrow specialist at Warren Tricomi New York.

• Melanie Marris is a celebrity brow stylist and founder of Brow Code.

Whether you groom your brows yourself or rely on the help of a professional, here's everything you need to know to get and maintain your best-looking brows.

Eyebrow Maintenance at Home

Eyebrows come in all shapes and sizes, so no one brow shape works across the board for everyone. Some like a bushy look, while others prefer a thinner set of arches. But at the end of the day, no matter how you wear your eyebrows, a clean, natural look flatters all shapes and styles. Vincent says that not tending to unruly brows can cause the hair to infringe on the eyelid area and even convey a tired appearance.

Before taking a tweezer to the eyebrows, map out the starting and ending points of the brows. Marris explains that a well-shaped brow has three fundamental elements: the start of the brow, the arch, and the tail. "The brows should begin in line with the inner corners of the eyes; the arch should line up from the dimple of the nostril to the outer iris; and the tail should match the outer part of the nostrils and outer corners of the eyes," she says.

Tips

Use a white eyeliner to dot out your starting and ending points. Any hairs that fall outside those areas are fair game to remove. The desired thickness of the brow depends on personal preference.

To soften the skin so it's more palatable to tweezing, Vincent recommends holding a warm washcloth on the eyebrows to help open the follicles. Then, with sharp, clean, angled tweezers, such as Tweezerman Ultra Precision Slant Tweezer ($35), remove individual hairs that fall outside the line of the eyebrows. "Place the tweezers close to the root and use a firm grip to pull swiftly in the direction that the hair grows," she explains. "The key is to remove the hairs one by one and continue to check on the overall brow shape," she adds. To prevent removing too many hairs when tweezing, keep questionable hairs in place rather than tweezing them out.

When it comes to tweezing the eyebrows at home, less is more. With tweezing, individual hairs are plucked out of the follicle to create a precise, clean line. Vincent says to put away the magnifying mirror since looking too closely at the eyebrows can lead to over-tweezing. "Most of us only see the brows from a distance and not in the same detail when looking at them close up," she adds.

Once the brows are shaped, it's time to give them a trim, which Autumn Estelle Reid, Benefit's national brow and beauty authority, says can be tricky. "Every brow, no matter how thick or thin it is, needs to be trimmed from time to time." According to Reid, the key to trimming unruly and super long hairs without butchering the eyebrows is to brush them up towards the hairline and then out towards the temple. "Only trim the ends that grow past that desired shape," she adds. "Trimming your brows is like trimming your bangs: it sounds easy but often ends in a disaster. My best advice is to leave trimming to the pros." If you decide to take a little off the top, Marris suggests holding a pair of eyebrow scissors, such as the Brow Code Eyebrow Trimming Scissors ($28), downward and cutting the hairs at an angle rather than straight across.

After tweezing and trimming, avoid applying harsh skincare products or heavy or occlusive products to the area, which can cause a breakout to occur. To help calm any redness, Vincent recommends using aloe vera gel.

When to Get a Professional Brow Shaping

If shaping and trimming the eyebrows seems a little off-putting, there's always the professional route. Or, if you need a complete eyebrow revamp, leave it to the pros. Each brow stylist has their preferred technique and hair removal method. The main ways to sculpt the brows are tweezing, waxing, or threading. "It boils down to the artist and their methods, as well as client preferences," Balian says. "I have clients who are super sensitive or on Retin-A or Accutane and cannot get waxed, so I tweeze their brows."

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Even though waxing is quick and cheap, it can create a harsh line when not done correctly, so it's always best to leave waxing to a professional. "Waxing is typically the fastest and most hygienic form of hair removal, and it gives a clean, defined shape," Reid says. "However, if it's your first time waxing, visit a professional who can wax your eyebrows so they look more polished, pretty, and put together."

Threading is also quick and tidies up even the tiniest of hairs. Like waxing, Vincent says threading removes hair in straight rows and doesn't consider how each hair contributes to the overall brow as tweezing does. Threading is said to be the most uncomfortable of the brow-shaping methods.

How to Fill in Eyebrows the Right Way

One of the easiest ways to fake fuller-looking, more uniform eyebrows and camouflage areas where hair is lacking is by filling them in with eyebrow powder, pencil, or wax. "Filling in sparse areas of the brow can bring the overall makeup look together and allow the face to look more symmetrical," Balian says. Brow pencils such as KIMIKO Super Fine Eyebrow Pencil Automatique ($31) fill small holes and sparse areas.

For larger areas that need shaping or to create the illusion of thicker brows in naturally fine hair, brow powder is your best bet. "They create a subtle, natural-looking fullness because the powder is placed underneath the hair and onto the skin," Reid says. "I recommend applying powder, like Benefit Goof Proof Brow Powder ($22), with a small, hard, angled brush to ruffle the product under the hair and directly onto the skin. This technique prevents much of the fallout that happens when applying powders."

According to Reid, the best way to fill in the eyebrows is to measure from the outer portion of the nose and across the center of the eye, which she says will show the area where the brows are naturally the highest. "Then, take your pencil and make a few strokes slightly above the natural hairline. Leave space between each stroke to create the illusion of real hair. Working above that hairline will add height to the arch." Brush the product through the eyebrows with a spoolie brush and swipe on a light-hold brow gel such as Essence Fix It Like A Boss Transparent Brow Fixing Gel ($4.99) to hold the hair up.

There's also brow tinting for more of a long-lasting color fill that doesn't require daily maintenance. "It temporarily enhances the contrast of hair to make the eyebrows appear fuller and more defined," Vincent says. Microblading, which deposits pigments below the skin to create the illusion of hair, is an option for an even longer-lasting effect.

How to Choose the Right Eyebrow Products

Using the right eyebrow products and investing in brow care is essential to keep the hair healthy, stimulated, and hydrated for proper eyebrow maintenance. "Taking care of the eyebrows will result in new hair growth and the brow hair cycle lasting longer," Marris says.

If regrowing botched brows sits high on your priority list, be patient and give them a few months (at least three to six months) to grow back in. To help speed up the rate at which the hairs grow, try using an eyebrow growth serum like Grande Cosmetics GrandeBrow Brow Enhancing Serum ($73) or Revitalash Revitabrow Advanced Eyebrow Conditioner ($111). The key to seeing results is using the serum diligently.

Micromassages along the brow bone are also helpful. "Use your fingertips to massage the skin and gently tap over each brow for about 30 seconds," Reid says. "Every hair connects to a tiny blood vessel, so stimulating blood flow to the brow area can help encourage healthy hair growth."

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Finally, always stockpile a good pair of tweezers. "Slant tweezers are common to use because you can use the tip or remove the hair from the slant," Marris says. "Brow scissors are also great to have on hand but are only necessary for those who like to trim their brows at home."

With your newly shaped brows in tow, you'll want to take care of them so that the shape lasts as long as possible. Marris recommends implementing a proper brow care routine, like skincare. Always wash the eyebrows at night to remove any eyebrow makeup and other products worn during the day. To keep thicker brows looking their best, Vincent recommends regular, light exfoliation with a soft toothbrush. "Use gentle, circular motions throughout the brow to exfoliate the skin below the eyebrows and stimulate the follicles."

Brow oils, like Benefit Whoa So Soft: Brow Conditioning Oil ($22), are also a must to help keep the skin underneath the eyebrows from becoming dry and flaky. Make sure it fully absorbs into the skin and no product residue lingers on the eyebrows.

You can also use skincare products along the brow line to help encourage healthy hair growth and provide an anti-aging benefit to the surrounding skin. Vincent says to take nighttime peptide serums through the brows. "Depending on your skin type, you can apply face oils to the eyebrows at night to nourish the hair and underlying skin. But avoid this if you are prone to acne."

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