Save the Razor

Shaving your eyebrows to keep them in shape can be really fast and convenient. However, the method is prone to mistakes that would be difficult to remedy especially if you accidentally shaved half of your brows off. And since shaving only cuts the hair and not the root, expect your brows to grow back in. Shaved hair, moreover, looks obvious when it grows back and would require regular maintenance. So keep those blades where they belong.

Keep Away from Your Eyes

Depilatories or hair-removing agents can be hazardous to use around the eye area – and that space is too narrow to risk committing a mistake. The skin around the eye area is also sensitive and is prone to irritation.

Snip Off the Straggly Brows

Some men are blessed with a clean brow arch and might only need a good trimming. However, it’s not as easy as it sounds. You don’t want to trim your brow hair too short since it will tend to stick out and not lie flat. Only those with fine, soft brow hairs can be cut short. If your brow hairs are thick and coarse, you’d want to keep them long and heavy enough to help them flatten out. The best way to do it is to brush the brow hair up and trim one at a time. Once you get the right length where it still lies flat, keep it as a guide.

Tweeze Out the Weeds

This is the best means for you to maintain your new brow line. It’s not really as hard and painful as it sounds. There are helpful tips to make it more bearable. First, make sure that you have a clean pair of tweezers that you’ll only use for this purpose. You want to keep it sanitary to avoid infection. It is advisable to pluck your eyebrows after a shower when the hair and skin are more amenable to it. You can also steep your brow area with a warm moistened towel for several minutes to produce the same effect. However, rubbing ice over the brow area can produce an analgesic effect to reduce pain.

Once you’ve identified the hairs to remove, tweeze in the direction of the hair growth and start underneath the brow line from the inside out for a more uniform look. Be sure to tug from the base of the hair to pull it out from the roots and not just cut it. Take one hair at a time to avoid any mistakes since some hairs might not grow back. And, on that note, do not get carried away. Always apply toner to the area afterwards to clean and close the pores and avoid infection.

Wax On, Wax Off

Eyebrow waxing is a popular method that is quick and efficient. But, despite the availability of do-it-yourself kits in the market, it is best done by professionals. It is a very meticulous process that involves the use of waxing strips cut out in the middle like stencils. It can come in different shapes and angles but will still be standard for everyone so you won’t get one that is uniquely fitted to your face. It will definitely give you a cleaner, fresh look compared to tweezing but be prepared for some temporary pain and discomfort.

Thread off the Strands

If you can’t take the plucking and your skin is too sensitive for waxing, there is another popular alternative. It is an ancient technique that uses a doubled-up cotton thread to twist around brow hairs one by one, and then pulls them out from the roots. I doubt if you’ll have the time and patience to develop the skill – and doing it to yourself is a feat – so it will be better left at the hands of a skillful aesthetician at your favorite salon. Threading also allows a unique shaping of your brows to fit your face since the threads can be easily maneuvered to produce a desired effect. Well, there will be pain, of course, but since it is way faster than tweezing and waxing, you’ll get over it soon.

For comments and suggestions, you can email the writer at backtobasics.edc2@yahoo.com.