Eyebrows frame the face. This is why the shape and appearance of your eyebrows is so essential to how you look. Even a minor adjustment to eyebrows can cause a major change in your appearance. So lets start with the basics.
Eyebrows 101
The safe rule for any eyebrow to look good is to start the eyebrow at the corner of the eye (Diagram A), place the arch at the side of the iris (Diagram B), and end the brow at the corner of the eye (Diagram C). The goal is to get an eye’s width between the two eyes, and to have nothing hanging over the outer edge of the eye. For those who love numbers, from point A to B=60% of the total length. From point B-C=40% of the total length. This is the way a normal eyebrow will look most flattering on most people.
Of course there are always exceptions. Some people have wide set eyes or close set eyes. Some eyes droop, or some brows are very heavy and strong. In all these cases the above brow will look good, but there are other tricks that a good brow designer will use to frame the face better. Quite frankly, these cases are why most people entrust their brows to someone like me.
As many of my devoted eyebrow fans know I have a very unique philosophy on eyebrows. Not everyone will agree with me, but those who don’t I send to someone else who can make them happy. For me eyebrows are one of the most important features of the face, and to make them look their best I think you have to follow a few simple rules.
Eyebrows are sisters not twins.
Your face isn’t perfectly symmetrical, so why would you want your eyebrows to be perfectly symmetrical? Your eyebrows should, like sisters, look very similar to one another, but they aren’t supposed to be mirror images of each other. By trying to make them mirror images you are just exaggerating your features’ asymmetrical flaws.
You are not J-Lo a.k.a. Stick with your natural shape
People laugh when I say this, but the number one thing I hear from a new client is “Here’s a picture of the eyebrows I want”. And invariably the picture is of J-Lo! I am not kidding. I couldn’t make this up if I tried. I sometimes wonder if Jennifer Lopez knows her eyebrows are in such high demand…
Your face has it’s own shape, and your brow bones have their own natural structure. If you don’t look like J-Lo I can guarantee that even if I could get your brows the exact shape as hers, they still wouldn’t look that way on you. Bone structure, features, face shape, and eyebrow hair growth all factor into your own, ideal, natural brow shape. I know there are places out there that tell you to pick a template and then shape your brows to it, but those brows always look unnatural and separate from the features of the people wearing them. It’s like trying to make an Andy Warhol painting look good in the same frame as a Raphael painting. The two artist just aren’t the same and therefore they each need a different look.
Train Don’t Trim
You’ve seen these around, heck this might be you! There are many people who feel that eyebrows need to be trimmed super close to the face. They feel that if they have any length to the hair it will go wild and get out of place. BAH! Trimming here and there is necessary especially if you have curly or bone straight brows. But over trimming brows not only makes them look messy as they grow in, but can leave gaping holes, and thin spot in the brows. This is why I teach my clients to train their eyebrows!
Eyebrows are just hair. They can be trained just like the hair on your head. It takes about 3 month of persistence, but it works. Ask any one of my clients. They can each tell you that training takes time, but is worth it. Not only does training your brows keep your brow shape longer, it makes it appear more natural, and can even fix problems you have with your brow shape.
Let them grow!
Most people have a tendency to over pluck. They get into the mindset that just one more hair will make the sides perfect images of each other (please remember my 1st rule!). This leads to people taking off too much hair. Also people don’t know how to create a good brow shape so they just blindly tweeze away. Too thin brows can’t frame the face. I am not saying you need Brooke Sheilds size brows, but quite frankly those look better on most people than pencil thin!
Creating good brows is often a time consuming and annoying process. Often you have to walk around for a couple of months with eyebrows that don’t look their best as you grow hair back in. You have to learn to love the new “look” you have, even if it’s totally different from what you’ve been wearing for the past 10 years. I don’t know how many times someone has left me worried that they look “like a freak” because we took out 5 hairs on each side of the inner brow. “It looks so big!” they always say. I tell them to try it out until the next wax and see what people say. “Give yourself time to get used to it. It’s not any different than getting a new haircut. You need time.” Is what I always reply. 9 out of 10 times the person is happy in 2 weeks when I see them again. If they aren’t, guess what, those 10 hairs will grow back if you just don’t touch them!
20 thoughts on “Eyebrows Only”
Thank you for your hope about eyebrow training. I had an eyebrow transplant and the hairs are growing in wildly. When you say “train” I assume you mean with hairspray or gels the hairs will get trained to lay flat and in the right direction. Do you think “training” of transplanted hair will be trained in 3 months? I hope so!
Wow hair transplant to the brows. To be honest I had no idea there was such a thing! Hair can be trained so I would keep up with the products.
Try a really good hair gel to keep those brows in place. You do want
to make sure that the skin can breath for best growth. I also believe in rubbing them in the direction you want them to grow and telling them to lay flat. 🙂 Training is mostly just product and brushing them or pressing them the way you want. Also sleep with them producted every other night. This will give added training time.
Hope that helps some! Keep me apprised of how the training goes.
Ii am a 56 year old woman whose eyebrows quit filling in after a disasterous plucking when I was 18. I can’t afford transplants and hate the way my eyebrows look. Any suggestions for stimulating hair regrown? Thanks!!
If you aren’t growing naturally anymore I’m afraid you are out of luck. Once hair growth has stopped its stopped. My suggestion is to find a good tattoo artist, or to learn to use your bowder to fill them in every day.
I wish I had a better suggestion, but I’m afraid you’re in the same situation as many women!
Thank you for convincing me that eyebrow training was the way to go.
Its been 3 months since I decided to let Ms. Cybil take care of my eyebrows…..and my eyebrows have never looked better. My face now has a entire new look and I love it. Eyebrow training is #1
Hello 🙂
I am actually looking online right now to try and find something on “how to train eyebrows” I know the basic idea but what is the actual process? How can I train my unruly hairs to grow in a certain direction ?? Please help I cannot find any information
Thank you
Training eyebrows – you need to use a stiff gel and start combing them down with it so they stay in place. Also whenever you get the chance, push them into place with your fingers. They will eventually start to sit where you want them to – that is, if you have realistic expectations about how they should sit!
Good luck!
Cybil
Thanks for your site, it took a while to find useful information on eyebrows.
I had really nice eyebrows, and a beautician told me to trim them, so i let her–I think this was a mistake. Now they constantly need trimming, have lost their nice shape and a few have started to stand out and will not lie back into shape.
So I tried threading with a poor result-also the threader threaded the top of the brow which I understand you are not supposed to touch (and there was no problem there-it was neat). In addition she informed me that trimming was fine and would not make them grow outwards unless they were trimmed too close to the root-so she prceeded to trim (unevenly.
I would appreciate your comments on how to get them back to normal and what not to do (they do grow quiet long but used to sit back nicely). I would also appreciate a recommendation for the best gel to force the stubborn ones to start to lie back again-they are very stubborn.
thank you
Thank you.
I really have enjoyed reading these forums and thanks for the help and to know others are suffering too..
I had never tweezed my eyebrows until I was in my mid 30’s, I only trimmed the bottom with mini trimmers, and decided to get the waxed, and mone being fine we went with tweezing and ended up with a mess so bad and went home and plucked the rest out to restart the growth..I was so upset and now i am afraid they wont come back, its been 8 days and little hairs are coming in but very slowly, I been in tears and so upset and worried if they will all come back, with this situation is there anyone who can give me some good news that i will get them all back, I am using raw pure apple cider vinegar, it stopped my hair loss..And I use billion dollar brows booster at night, I did recently order fantacsia’s new kit for over tweezed brows that has a serum that is suppose to help regrow and stimulate the follicles, I have no self esteem, and i have serious health issues so I have made thigs worse with the worry, if anyone knows or can give me advice or some good news about what chances i have that they will all return, I am leaving them alone…Thanks I do hope to hear from someone..virgolay
Need help on training eyebrows too…
Virgolady,
8 days isn’t very long so mop up the tears and give yourself a little time. 🙂 If you leave the brows alone for a few months the hair will grow back. Hair grows slowly! Think about how long it takes to go from short hair to long hair. I sell an eyelash growing solution that works on brows called Revitalash. There are a few others on the market. I don’t know how well those work. I know the one I sell is a miracle, but give yours time. Apply your solution nightly, gently stroke the brows that need to grow in, think positive thoughts, and wait. I bet they will come back!
Feel free to check back in.
Cybil
Alright since so many people are asking I will get a blog up about fixing your eyebrows and training them to grow. 🙂 Thanks for the posts everyone. It’s good to know that my articles are helping people!
Cybil
Dear Cybil, thanks so much for you encouraging words, where do i get the revitalash? and if you have seen it work then its worth it to me,In my situation I have been told I should get them all back, but I have read the sad stories that some have plucked and theirs are not coming back and have not for years..Does it take years of plucking and waxing to destroy a follicle? I never have waxed and plucked very little but not until i was mid 30, then stopped and used the trimmers… I would like to know how some stop the growth or destroy the follicle so dont ever make this mistake again, I just hope this one time horrible mistake is not something i will too have to pay for, This is why I ask what it takes to destroy the follicle.. My little sister plucked for about ten years some times overly and she stopped decided to grow them out and every lash returned..she now goes and has them shaped by a professional..I have had hairloss and used thymuskin and the vinegar (pure raw) and it stopped mine, but I dont think its made for the eyelashes which are not falling out so i need something to help them grow and restore them, please let me know where to get this revitalash and how to use it..Do I stop the others, its worth what ever helps to get these eyebrows back..Thanks Hugs Rhonda
Sorry this comment took so long! I didn’t get an email letting me know you posted again! I sell Revitalash, but you can find it many places. If you want to order one there is a link in my blog article titled “Lashes are the New Boobs”. I also put up an article on how to train the brows since so many people are asking. Feel free to email me directly if you need anything else!
Oh thank God I found your website.. I seriously ruined my eyebrows when I was about 11 I was teased by a boy for having fine hairs which appeared to make a unibrow. Being self conscious I SHAVED the middle and ever since then it hasn't been the same. I've never shaved them again and now only pluck the fine hairs.. But I've also been trimming.. But trimming them makes them look so stick-like. I hate it. I'm glad to know that you can train the hairs. THANK YOU. Hopefully they'll look normal soon.
It's not that I terribly have the ugliest eyebrows…It's just that I'm so tired of pulling those hair because sometimes it really hurts.
Try tweezing after the shower or apply warm, damp towels to the brows for 10min before hand. The heat softens the pores and makes the hairs easier to pull. 🙂
Hi all
I just wanted to say I had an eyebrow transplant late march 2011. They are growing well and my left side is a bit more unruly than my right but its getting better. At night before bed what I do to help train them to lay flat is I use a clear soap. I wet it slightly and put it on my eyebrows in the direction they are growing. it dries and stays all night until I wash it off in the morning and it is helping. I hope thats useful information
What is your opinion on waxing ? Can I wax my brow and just not trim it ? What do yo suggest
I think trimming or what I call, “barbering” is really important. It’s like trimming your bangs. 🙂 For many of my clients, how I barber their brows is even more important to how the shape turns out over time.