Tweezing my eyebrows have been a part of my life since I was 16, but probably would've been part of my life earlier if my mom had her way. As a young teenager I had pretty bushy eyebrows (thanks to my dad's genes). This did not necessarily mean I had a unibrow (thank goodness) but it meant I had thicker than normal brows. My mom would tell me how much better my eyebrows would look if I would "just let her pluck out a few hairs". Uh yeah I was not stupid - I knew it would be more than "just a few hairs".
Comparison of my eyebrows - you can tell that my eyebrows are much thicker in the older photo, and also a little less refined. From far you can see the little fuzz in the middle.
Tweezing your eyebrows is important if you have really thick eyebrows because it's always possible for your eyebrows to end up losing their shape. Ever since I have been tweezing my eyebrows I have NOT shaped them - I simply follow the natural arch of my brows and "tame" out all of the stray hairs.
Another thing - well groomed eye brows frame your eyes much better and give a more mature look to your face. I know that the whole "thick" eyebrow is in, but I don't particularly like it. I think nicely groomed eyebrows that are arched appropriately for your face (FYI: I hate high arches) are very sophisticated and feminine.
There are many different types of tweezers out there and most people will swear by the Tweezerman brand, which can be purchased almost anywhere. I've seen them at the drugstore, and these are usually slightly more expensive than any other brand. However, I do not find that these tweezers (which are the traditional shape) suit me best. Why?
1) I find I can't get a good grip on them...as in it doesn't "grab" onto the hairs well so I can pull out the hair in one shot
2) Flimsy - I always feel like I have to readjust the way I have plucking after every hair
3) Hard to see where I am plucking some times.
The tweezer I use is one that my mom has been using ever since she was a young girl. I have no idea what brand it is, but here is one that I found that looks pretty much like it:
Image from Amazon - Revlon Perfect Tweezer ($2.25)
I prefer these ones (mine has a bit more of slant to the tweezing edge) because there's more "force" applied (ie: grip) because of the scissor handle, and there is much easier to manoeuver. I find that it takes me only a few seconds to clean up one of my brows when I use these tweezers because I don't have to constantly readjust my hand in the way I am holding the tweezers. It's hard to describe, but if you are just starting out tweezing, I recommend these ones since they are very easy to use. The edge is blunt as well so you don't poke yourself as much.
If you are starting to tweeze (or thread) your brows, I would recommend getting them done by a professional first (ie: when you get a facial or at the beauty salons) so that you have a good guideline to maintain. However, if you don't live anywhere near a beauty salon, or it's just too inconvenient, it's easy to figure out the right shape for your eyebrows.
A few tips when tweezing your eyebrows:
1) Try doing it after your shower and wash your face - when your pores are still opened, the hairs will come out easier (and will hurt slightly less)
2) Always pull from as close to the root as possible, so as close to the skin as possible basically. Otherwise you run the risk of breaking the hair and hurting yourself more
3) If you find that your skin gets really red after tweezing, use some aloe vera gel to soothe it. I used that the first few times until my skin adapted. This is also good for waxing
4) Don't just pluck - remember to trim your hairs as well!
And now onto some techniques...
First...take a look at your brows:
Yes this is the same photo as the one that I used in my comparison photo. What you want to do when you look in the mirror is to see where your natural arch is, and try and follow that. If you feel that you don't have any arch at all, it's easy to create one by plucking PROPERLY.
The one thing I learned from tweezing/plucking is that LESS IS MORE. There are time when you think you should pluck out a hair, when in fact trimming it might be a better solution. Also, plucking out ONE hair can make a lot of difference, so always pluck a bit, stop, check the mirror and continue. Remember...once a hair is plucked out, it's not gonna be there for a while! Hehe...and yes, I've over plucked my eyebrows a few times.
Step 1: where to start plucking
Basically anything above your nose bridge should be plucked out. The space between your brows should be no wider than the space between your eyes...but seriously if it ends up being as wide as your eyes you may look funny, so I would suggest keeping it just a little past the inner corners of your eyes/in line with your nose bridge
Step 2: where to stop plucking
The general rule of thumb is to make your eyebrows stop at the point where your nose, outer corner of your eye and brow meet if you drew a straight line. Too short and your eyebrows will look funky as well. Remember - eyebrows are frames for your eyes so they have to be slightly longer!
Step 3: Figuring out where your arch should be
Most people like to use their iris/pupil as a guideline. You can use the center or the outer rim depending on the look you are going for and what suits your eyebrows best.
And here it is all together!
When I had first started plucking, I would use a white eyeliner to trace out the shape and then pluck to my heart's content. The white eyeliner guideline is great because you can do your eyebrows without thinking twice and it rubs out really nicely.
Readers: Do you tweeze your eyebrows? How do you like to shape them?
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment