If eyes are the windows to the soul, then eyebrows are kind of like a set of gorgeous curtains that frame your eyes perfectly. Grooming your brows gives you an opportunity to really put all of the focus on your beautiful eyes, but it can become more difficult to nail a great brow look the older we get. It’s not just your imagination: your brows can become more sparse with age, especially over age 40. While a great brow serum is your best friend at any age, so are some smart brow grooming hacks and tricks. Put down your brow pencil (at least for the moment), and pick up these three life-changing makeup hacks that are perfect for filling in sparse brows.
Hack 1: Outline brows with wax
The secret to gorgeous eyebrows starts with how you shape them — and what you use to shape them. In this case, Makeup Artist Anastasia Tomchenko, co-founder & CPO of Glambook, recommends starting things off by shaping your eyebrows with wax. Yes, wax!
“To create the perfect shape for your eyebrows without using a pencil, apply wax to your eyebrows,” Tomchenko says. ““Wait a minute for it to dry, and then use a marker to lightly draw in hairs where they are missing. For example, you can use Anastasia Beverly Hills, which is my favorite. Then, use a marker to draw in any missing hairs. This technique creates the effect of well-groomed and fashionable eyebrows. Some people prefer their eyebrows to be more fluffy, and they lift them up with a brush, while others prefer a softer lift. The important thing is to mainly brush them upwards. Building the eyebrow by filling in the top, not the bottom, will give a lifting effect, open up the eyelid, and create the illusion of a more open eye.”
Previously, eyebrows were entirely shaped with a pencil and filled in with color, creating the effect of tattooed eyebrows, Tomchenko adds. “This technique is now outdated and looks very unfashionable,” she says. “Current trends focus on natural beauty. When we use wax or soap for our eyebrows, they naturally have gaps. If you add a few hairs with a marker to these gaps, you can create the effect of fashionable and natural eyebrows.”
Hack 2: Pay attention to the eyebrow tail
We tend to focus a lot on the beginning of the brow and the arch, but actually, the brow tails lighten and thin with age, and you may see some patchy areas in this area, notes Dr. Anna Chacon, a board-certified dermatologist and published author based in Miami Florida. “Fill in the tail region with a brow pencil, then fill in the entire brow with colored brow gel,” Dr. Chacon suggests. “To make your arches appear bigger, use brow powder to fill in any uneven areas.”
Hack 3: Make sure you’re choosing the right colors
Last (but not at all least), the importance of choosing brow makeup colors that work well with your natural hair color is SO important when it comes to brow perfection. Even if you’re a redhead and assume your brow pencil should match your hair exactly, Dr. Chacon says people are sometimes off in their assumptions about the ideal brow shade for them.
Brown/Black Hair
If you have brown or black hair, choose a color that is at least a couple of shades lighter, Dr. Chacon suggests. “By doing this, you can make sure that the color of your brows looks natural and isn't too dark. Going 1-2 shades lower than your hair color will prevent the color from becoming overly strong or defined. The oils in your skin also have a tendency to make the eyebrow color look darker. If you don't want your brows to look too dark after you color them in, you can start with an eyebrow color that is one shade lighter and then choose an even lighter shade.”
Light Brown/Dark Blonde Hair
If you have light brown or blonde hair, go the opposite route and choose a tint that is 1-2 shades darker. “A bit darker eyebrow color can help it stick out on your face if your hair is lighter in hue,” Dr. Chacon says. “The color must be both light enough to look natural and dark enough to define your brows. Start with an eyebrow color that is one shade darker, and if you want your brows to look more defined, consider an even darker shade.”
Blonde Hair
“If you have blonde hair, go for taupe,” Dr. Chacon says. “This will make sure that your brow color contrasts with your brow hair without looking too dark or unnatural. If your hair is very light brown or has blonde highlights, you might also want to try a taupe shade.”
Red Hair
For red hair? Avoid red tints and pencil and instead, go for blonde. “Light blonde eyebrows will go well with the red in your hair,” Dr. Chacon says. “As redheads typically have extremely light eyebrow hair, the lighter the shade of blonde, the better.”
Prepare to get the best brows of your life — these simple tips will help take you there.
