Have you ever wanted to spend two weeks in self-quarantine to hide your eyebrows from the judgy gaze of the outside world? Fam, we’ve all been there. At least, I hope it’s not just me. 

I’ve been guilty of everything on this list and worse. Sometimes I didn’t even know how bad it was. I look at old pictures where my short, need-thin brows made my head look massive, and cringe. 

My mom was a bit of a hippie and didn’t teach me the basics of body hair grooming. It’s probably for the best, honestly. A lot of older folks learned really weird stuff about biology back in the day that turned out to be false. Maybe your mom also told you if you ever shave, your hair will grow back three times thicker and you’ll morph into an unlovable yeti. 

Eyebrow education is super important because mistakes can affect the symmetry of your face. Bad brows can also ruin the painstaking makeup job you've done on the rest. Brows should frame your face and enhance your natural beauty, not drastically alter it. 

Some don’t have the time or inclination to follow beauty influencers religiously, or grew up pre-YouTube. And everyone can do with a refresher.

Which of these eyebrow crimes have you committed?

Overplucking

 

Did you fall victim to the beauty trends of the 90s and early 2000s? Then you’re familiar with the dangers of overzealous tweezing. Keep these golden plucking rules in mind for the future:

Never pluck hairs above your brows! It can interfere with your natural brow shape. The odd stray here and there is ok. Professional threading is the way to go if it’s called for.  

Overplucking can damage hair follicles and cause hairs to stop growing. Topical brow products can be used to promote hair growth. Use a serum with natural ingredients and simple daily application like the Power Brow Enhancing Serum by Wink Brow Bar.

Put plucking, waxing, and threading on hiatus for a while. Give your brows time to heal and grow out. 

For DIY, your best bet is to visit a salon like Wink Brow Bar to have them shaped by a trained professional, and then maintain them at home. 

Copying Celebrity Brows

One of the biggest mistakes you can make is putting someone else's brows on your face. You should work with your natural brow shape, not against them. You (probably) don't look like Huda, so chances are her brows won't look as good on you.  

A visit to a professional brow artist can give you a proper foundation to work with. They’ll style your brows so they flatter your facial features. Simple upkeep will keep them looking fabulous. 

Trying To Mirror Them

Your brows are not exactly the same. Our faces are not perfectly symmetrical, so identical brows can throw off the natural balance of your face and look inorganic. In a quest to create twins, you can also end up overplucking one. Yikes!

You want your brows to look similar, but not the same.  

Wrong Color Product

Oops, guilty. I'm a brunette and I've spent most of my life erroneously applying brow products that were way too dark. One uniform color looks harsh and unnatural. Your brow product should be 1-2 shades lighter than our natural hair color. 

Or you can match the lightest shades of natural or artificial highlights in your hair. Blondes should go 1-2 shades darker. Blend lightly into your brows to create depth. 

Use spoolie to comb and blend into brows for a softer, natural look.

Using A Magnifying Mirror 

These mirrors have their uses, but tweezing is not one of them. Small problems appear huge and can lead you to skin picking and overplucking. The close-up view distorts your perspective. You may end up accidentally removing hairs you need and won’t realize it until you've taken a step back and looked at your entire face.

Use plenty of natural light and stand arm's length from a regular mirror. Don't forget to work on BOTH brows in tandem for the same reason.

Doing Brows BEFORE Bathing

Hot water and steam opens pores to make depilating easier and gentler on the skin. Hair follicles soften and glide out like butter, resulting in less irritation. Exfoliating is another trick that facilitates hair removal (that includes beards- tell your boyfriends!) 

Wrong Products

You gotta know what to use to get the best results. Because you deserve to have the heavenly brows of your dreams. Pick up a pencil to fill in small spots with light, thin, hair-like strokes using short flicks. Use powder for filling sparse areas.

Brow gel is crucial to hold your brows in place. It can be used to set your makeup, or even on bare brows for an effortlessly polished look.

Rough Makeup Removal

Scrubbing clean may not be so detrimental on most of the face, but the eye area is delicate. Hairs are prone to damage, and eye zone makeup is typically layered, darker and waterproof. This is when an extremely soft microfiber makeup remover can come in handy. 

Wink Brow Bar’s Power Makeup Eraser gently removes the most stubborn product with nothing but warm water.