Brow trends move faster than brows grow. Thin and arched in the nineties, thick and straight through the last decade, soft and brushed-up now. The problem is that each trend leaves behind a generation of people who removed hair that never came back.
The shape that actually suits you is not a trend at all. It is the one that follows the bone above your eye, and it barely changes over your lifetime.
Mapping: the three points
Before any hair is removed, a brow should be measured. It takes two minutes and it is the difference between a shape that fits your face and one copied off a photo.
- The start: a vertical line up from the outer edge of your nostril. The brow should begin here — not further in, which makes eyes look close together, and not further out, which makes the face look wider.
- The arch: a line from the nostril through the outer edge of the iris. The highest point sits here, roughly two thirds along, never in the middle.
- The end: a line from the nostril through the outer corner of the eye. The tail stops here, and it should finish level with or slightly above where the brow started.
Those three points are dictated by your bone structure. Anyone can check them in a mirror with a pencil before their next appointment.
Shape by face
- Round face: a defined arch adds structure and length.
- Square face: a softer, curved arch balances a strong jaw.
- Long face: a flatter, more horizontal brow stops the face reading longer.
- Heart-shaped face: a gentle, rounded arch softens a wide forehead.
Wax, thread or tweeze
Wax removes a whole section cleanly and quickly, which gives a crisp line and suits people with a lot of fine hair around the brow. It is the fastest option and the most precise for a defined shape.
Threading takes individual hairs in a row and is gentler on very sensitive or reactive skin. It is slower and gives a slightly softer edge.
Tweezers are for finishing, not shaping. Every brow we do gets tidied with tweezers at the end, but shaping an entire brow one hair at a time is how people lose track and take too much.
If you use retinol, acid exfoliants or any prescribed skin treatment near the brow, tell us. Wax lifts the top layer of skin, and skin thinned by actives can be damaged. Stop retinoids five days before, or choose threading.
Growing brows back
This is the most common request we get from clients over thirty-five, and the honest answer is that it takes time and patience rather than a product.
- Stop all plucking for twelve weeks. All of it. This is the hard part.
- Come in every four weeks so we tidy only the hairs clearly outside the shape.
- A brow growth serum or castor oil at night may help, but neither works on a follicle that has closed permanently.
- Fill the gaps with pencil while you wait — a brow that looks unkempt for three months is what makes people give up.
Some follicles do not recover. Years of repeated removal can close them for good, most often at the tail. If that is the case we will tell you, and shape around what you actually have rather than promising regrowth that will not come.
“We can always take more off next time. We cannot put it back. That is why we shape conservatively on a first appointment.”
How often
Every three to four weeks keeps a shape clean. Longer than six and the shape is lost enough that it has to be rebuilt, which usually means removing more than a maintenance visit would.
Before an event, book three days ahead. Freshly waxed brows are slightly pink for a few hours, and it is not the look you want in photographs.
If you are unsure what shape suits you, come in and let us map your brows before anything is removed. We will show you the three points on your own face, and you can decide from there.