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Eyebrows

Dixie

Good day, everyone!

I was wondering, what's your personal preference with eyebrows? How much do you pluck?Do you get them done professionally? Do you prefer a clean look or a more natural one? Have you had an eyebrow evolution? Do you put make up on them?
Share pictures!

I personally prefer a natural eyebrow. A little plucking in the arch if you want, for definition. I don't get them plucked professionally because I had a couple of bad experiences when I was younger. You know, when you're just starting to figuring out about those things and you trust someone that supposly knows more than you but the final result is awful and you don't feel like yourself.

Eyebrows are a fashion accessory too, just like hair

Body Type

46 replies

Latest reply was from Dixie

Hil

(website)

Veteran

I go for a wax every few weeks but I do try and keep things natural, just nice and tidy. I love the difference a freshly waxed eyebrow makes to my face.

Diana

Veteran

I pluck my own, and mostly stick to removing the stray hairs and a tiny bit of arch shaping. I don't like to do more because I think my brows are too sparse anyway. If my brows were denser I would consider doing a thinner brow, but as it is if I make them narrower they'll pretty much disappear on my face.

In case you're wondering, my avatar picture is from my wedding and that brow is mostly pencil! Normally they look more like the pic below.

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Mo

(website)

Veteran

I have had ups and downs with mine. Depends on your age, I think, as the early 2000's were a time of thin brows if you were old enough to participate. I had really thick ones unplucked until I was 26 or so. Then I went too far the other way. Then went thick again. Now trying to find that happy place.
pic 1 last week, pic 2 a few weeks ago. pic 3 2003. pic 4 2011 (too wide for my taste)

EDIT: oh, sorry - no professional wax or pluck or whatever. some old fashioned hard stick brow pencil for 99 cents once in a while on the outside edges, but let's just say the pencil is a decade old so that's how often I grab it. I'm not a big product gal in general.

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Dixie

Hil:
I would love to know a good eyebrow place. Must feel like self-indulging, going to the spa or something like that.

Diana:
I like them! I love that you keep a natural look. You could have a thinner brow but that would imply painting them everyday... It's important also to take in to consideration the life style and personal style of the person when it comes to brows.

Dixie

Mo:
Surprisinly, I actually like you super thin eyebrows look! They look very 00's, and with the long wavy hair you look like a grunge princess. I think you're at a clever point right now, they look natural but polished. Beautiful.

Jules

Veteran

I seem to have brows that are neither here nor there... not strong enough to make much impression, not weak enough to really require/benefit from amplification. I do a little bit of tidying myself because they look a bit stronger when neater. When I've had them done professionally I never get the effect or reaction from people that I am hoping for, it just does not seem to make much difference. I've been considering eyebrow makeup but I find it can so easily veer ageing and just overly made up looking for my tastes - my natural look is low-contrast and subtle makeup seems best. I stopped by a NARS counter and she was going to do them for me but I kind of freaked out because I didn't have other makeup on that day.

Diana

Veteran

Yes, exactly! I don't have the energy to draw my brows on every day. And it makes me look disconcertingly like my mom, who has extremely sparse brows and does indeed draw them on every day.

Angie_T

I started having my eyebrows threaded and I swear by it now. I don't know why but it seems like they have more control over the shape and my brows always look really nice after I have it done.

It kinda stings a bit the first time you do it though!

Janet

(website)

Veteran

I groom my brows myself -- I don't trust anyone else with them. I naturally have fairly thick, dark brows, but I was a little overzealous shaping them when I was younger (growing up I had unibrow, ugh, and even though I'm the same age as Brooke Shields, trust me, I did not look cute with the full brows like she did).

These days I trim them with scissors to keep them shaped, and pluck strays from under the brow line, but they don't grow back nearly as much as they did when I was younger. I also use a tiny bit of eyebrow pencil to fill in a couple of sparse spots -- it's subtle, but I like the effect. My hair is dark, and my eyes are large, so I like having brows with a bit of presence.

I'm on my iPad now, so not much in the way of photos that show them clearly. I guess they're usually partially obscured by either my bangs or my glasses, so I can get away with a little negligence from time to time, but I feel better when I keep them looking good.

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annagybe

(website)

Veteran

I use a Mac tinted eyebrow mascara to tidy up. I maybe get them professionally done oh about once a year. The huge trend in fashion right now is very full eyebrows. To the point, supposedly some people are getting transplants.

Dixie

Hahaha, Jules, I laughed out loud with your reaction at NARS. The same thing happens with me, I don't like other people touching my eye brows. I say, if ain't broken, don't fix it.
Actually, even if I have experimented, I always go back to my natural shape.
1. Young at 17, I lighten my brows to match my lighter hair.
2. Like 3 years ago. A natural tone, but I followed all that stuff of "where your eyebrows are supposed to start if you have close set eyes, where your arch should be, bla bla bla".
3. My current eyebrows. This is pretty much my natural shape. Like always, is about what you're more comfortable in. I'm happy with this style right know

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annagybe

(website)

Veteran

You have a very good shape. I do not see the need for professional anything.

Dixie

Janet:
You're so beautiful. I think I'm in love with you! Hahaha... No, I really like your style and your dark eyebrows make your eyes pop

Annagybe:
I know, that's crazy, huh? But to each its own. The eyebrow mascara seems like a easy, quick way to polish them. I heard T&S giving that tip (I adore them) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_9dqkdwosBU.

Thanks for the compliment!

viva

Veteran

I wish I had more eyebrows. My sister has incredibly dark and full brows that are amazing. Even though we have the same genetic makeup, she was born in Rio, so I think she must have gotten more of the Spanish bloodline. My brows are kind of meh. There is enough to look natural but not enough to look interesting. It's partly hereditary, and partly due to overplucking when younger. So I just pluck the strays myself and fill in with pencil and try not to hate my sister.

Dixie: RE Janet. Get in line. hahaha!!

Niki Lea

Veteran

Once every five weeks or so, I get mine both waxed/shaped and tinted (because they're very blonde and practically invisible otherwise). I also fill in some of the thinner areas with a tiny bit of brow powder. The girl I see now is good about not taking too much off, so they look full but still have some shape to them.

It is kind of expensive going so often though - about $45 a pop. It's a bit ridiculous to spend that much money on my eyebrows every year. But I feel more put together and confident when they look good, even more so than when I get my hair done. I hit the hair salon only twice a year and see my eyebrow girl more than 10 times a year! Haha!

ETA: For $45 I'm also getting another treatment on top of getting my brows done. That pays for the tint, a brow wax, and one more small treatment.

Mo

(website)

Veteran

fun seeing everyone's shares! I think face shape has a whole lot to do with it, too. As Anna mentioned, thick brows are very in, but with my narrow face and prominent nose it comes across as too manly on me I think. By contrast, rounder, more feminine faces and petite noses can do a stronger brow.

shiny

Veteran

I never needed any eyebrow help until I hit my 40s. Up until then, I didn't get why people would pluck or wax or thread or shape - mine were naturally shaped just fine. Not thick by any stretch... I was born a towhead and my eyebrows used to be white-blonde as a child, turning light brown as I hit adulthood.

Around age 40 it all changed. I suppose it's hormones but my eyebrows remained sparse but each individual hair would grow unruly, curly long. Also the eyelid skin started to sag ever so slightly.... and it looked like my eyebrows were sagging into my eyes.... no more wide-eyed & dewey youthful look! What's more, I got more and more uncomfortable wearing eye shadow because no matter what I used it would crease in the lids and look awful.

So around age 40 I explored options and was told by the wax place that waxing was not appropriate -- my eyebrows, while long, were not bushy enough. Fear was that waxing would accidentally remove ALL my eyebrows, and we don't want that!

Threading was recommended to me by my hairdresser. It's perfect for me. I think trimming the brow hairs is the most important part of the process. But threading also gives shape too. I now have my eyebrows threaded on same day I get my hair done, so about every 6 weeks. I pluck to maintain in between, and trim when necessary. But I cannot do anywhere near as good a job -- because I'm blind as a bat looking in the mirror at tiny little eyebrow hairs!!! Luckily as my hair grows out, it is less important to have perfect eyebrows.

After I've had my eyebrows done it looks so good... opens up my eyes, restores youthful look... I feel I do not need that much make-up. A bit of mascara (because otherwise my eyelashes are blonde), light foundation, and lipstick. Done. Or no make up at all-- looks just fine.

Over the past 9 years I've had "oops" moments when the threading person has made my eyebrows much to thin, which is very easy to do with mine. But it grows out. As trends dictate bushier brows, I've asked to leave them a bit thicker. I will never have Brooke Shield eyebrows though. Never have, never will.

I do not like to use brow pencil on them -- I am not very skilled, have trouble seeing up close to apply, but also have had mishaps in which I smeared the brow pencil on to my forehead without realizing... and nobody told me ... which I think is worse than having spinach in your teeth... but is the equivalent of having lipstick on your teeth...

There are videos on youtube that can teach you how to thread your own. It's very simple. I can thread anything but my own eyebrows.

Gigi

Veteran

This is interesting. I've never had my brows done. They are quite full. I don't know what to do with them and have been considering going to a spa to have them done at least once. But I've always been scared, because I've heard so many horror stories!

Dixie

Mo:

I also think that a lot of models/actresses that sport the strong eyebrow look have delicate features so the eyebrows don't overpower the whole face.

I have strong features too and I can feel like the italian chef guy sometimes, hahaha. But I've figure out that heavier mascara and eye definition balances out the strong eyebrow a bit and gives a more feminine look.

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Mo

(website)

Veteran

HA!!

Dixie

Shiny:
Threading sounds like a smart thing to do. I've heard that waxing makes your skin lose its tightness. I'm glad that you've found your niche! Thanks for sharing your experience.

shiny

Veteran

Here are some brow pics for you - these are both "just had them done" pics. So shaped but with a few weeks' of room to still grow out / fill out....

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DonnaF

Veteran

My once thick eyebrows have gotten thinner as I've aged. A professional make-up artist/blogger pointed out that the evil woman icons (think Snow White's step-mother) always have super skinny eyebrows. Oh. Castor oil on my sparse areas got those areas to grow back or even grow hair for the first time. Now I just pluck the obviously stray hairs and have a more natural brow line. But really, my thick specs and frames obscure my brows so it's a wonder I even bother. Old habit, I guess.

Suz

(website)

Veteran

Castor oil! Seriously, Donna? I could use some of that.

Dixie, you are so pretty! Love your brow shape.

And what a treat it is to see everybody else here, too!

I have super sparse brows. I hope that doesn't mean I'm evil. As a teen, thinner brows were "in" and some friends were jealous of me. But in fact I have often wished for thicker or at least darker brows. I mostly tend them myself but once a year go to have them shaped a bit and tinted. The tint lasts all of about 10 days and then I need to start helping them out with a MAC pencil. It works pretty well, though, to give them definition. I actually find defining my brows to be my most important makeup ritual. And if I had to go without any other makeup, I'd still feel okay if iI could do that. Brows frame the face and give it character.

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Anonymous

Whether someone prefers a thick or a thin eyebrow, I do think that a well defined and visible brow can really highlight ones eyes and in some cases give a lifting effect to the face. I have patchy eyebrows which tail off on the outer third. I have only ever plucked a little from underneath for shape. The minute I define and fill with a touch of eyebrow pencil you can 'see' my eyes more.

Anonymous

I had taken my eyebrows for granted for a longtime. When I was younger i plucked them thin as that was the fashion. Never thought much about them, never added any brow pencil or powder. In my 50s noticed my brows were getting sparse and then I started getting monthly facials and my brows started filling in. Now that I am in my late 50s I use a brow gel for a little more definition. I don't do bold brows and I match my brows and not my hair color and it has made me look younger and more awake. I have fallen in love with Anastasia dip brow in taupe. It is the perfect color for me that I have not been able to find anywhere else.

Amazing how one's brows can make a huge difference in one's appearance!

viva

Veteran

Shiny, you look like Michelle Williams!

Dixie

Shiny, they're nicely shaped. Your sprouts are so cute, have you consider growing them out? (1) I think they're such a unique feature.

DonnaF, naturally thin eyebrows don't look evil! I think is the over plucked and extreme arched look the one that can give that impression. And is a nice treat to yourself to shape your eyebrows, it doesn't matter if they're not visible.

Suz, thanks for the compliment, you're very pretty too Lovely smile.

Suz & Diane G You're completely right, there are countless examples of how eyebrows can improve someone appearance (2).

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Irene

Veteran

I'm going to make a confession now: I have natural, shapeless, very thick eyebrows. Not so much as a unibrow, more like stupid chunks of dark hair at the top of my eyes. They are incredibly thick (the hair as well) and grow out incredibly fast. I pluck them every other day. It's been years since I last let them go natural. They would just ruin my whole face. The first times I had them done by a professional I was really upset because they insisted on making them look curvy and rounded. I have a long face; how do you think curved, arched eyebrows look on me? Until I found someone who actually does what I ask her to do: make them as straight as possible, give them shape and not thin them too much.

I have them professionally fixed around three/four times a year.

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