It’s been said that shaping your brows can instantly give your face a lift, making you look years younger with the pluck of only a few hairs. Knowing what shape works for your face and when to stop plucking is the tricky part. We asked Deanna Netti Cahill, known as the Brow Diva, to give us some tips on how to get the perfect brows.
SC: How can we get the perfect brow shape? What steps should we follow?
Deanna Netti Cahill: Eyebrows are individual to each person, but there are some very easy general rules you can follow to enhance your brow shape. Taking a brush or pencil, measure a line straight up from where your nostrils meet the bridge of your nose; this is about where your brows should begin. Now, measure a straight line from the outside corner of your mouth to just beyond the outside corner of your eye to approximate where the tail end of your brow should hit. The highest point of your brow the arch should start just past the outer edge of your iris.??
SC: Here’s a too common disaster: what do we do if we over-pluck? Can we hide a too-thin brow?
DNC: Were all guilty of getting over-zealous now and then with the tweezers! Dont worry though! Filling in your brows with a brow powder will hide a multitude of over-plucking sins. Make sure to use a color that blends well with your brow hairs. This will reduce the contrast between your skin and your hair, which will fake more density and cover bare spots. Brow Diva offers Brow Powders in six shades so youre sure to find the perfect one for your hair color. Each powder is named after an old Hollywood movie star.?
SC: ?What if our budget is thin and we have to DIY in-between appointments? How often should we maintain our brows such as getting them shaped or tweezing them ourselves?
DNC: Most people get their brows done professionally every three to six weeks. If you are tweezing at home, try not to tweeze more than once a week. Brow hairs grow at different rates, so if you pluck only the obvious ones once a week you can save money on getting them sculpted. The right schedule will ensure that your brows stay looking neat and that you don’t overdo it!??
SC: Is there a way to lessen the redness that appears after waxing or tweezing? When should we wax/tweeze for the least amount of pain?
DNC: Using a gentle wax will go a long way in reducing redness. You can also apply a cool compress after waxing/tweezing to help alleviate irritation. Each person has a different pain tolerance and different reactions to hair removal. It’s best not to do any waxing if you are using anything prescription strength for your skin, such as RetinA or Accutane. This makes the skin more prone to over-exfoliating during the waxing process, which will cause the normal redness you experience to last much longer.?
SC: ?A stronger brow as opposed to a thin brow has been a growing trend lately. How do we still keep this brow groomed and shaped without it looking out of control?
DNC: A thick brow doesn’t need to be a bushy brow. To achieve the perfect full, soft brow, trim your brows lightly and tweeze only the obvious stray hairs outside of your natural brow line. Trimming your brows can sound daunting, but it’s actually very easy to do yourself and makes a huge difference.
SC: What products do you recommend for shading your brows? Is it necessary to always fill them in?
DNC: We believe that every woman needs a brow product for that perfect, soft finish. You wouldnt believe the dramatic improvement that even the most perfectly shaped brows can get by using product! Brow powders and brow bases are easy ways to enhance your brows without them looking over-done or drawn on. Brow Diva offers both powders and bases. Bases are great for filling in super sparse areas and creating the allusion of hair where there is none. Powders are perfect for people who have a good shape and just want to fill in the little areas between hairs for that perfectly polished look.
Deanna Netti Cahill, a.k.a. the “Brow Diva,” is a professional brow sculptor and owner of the Brow Diva studio in Rochestor, NY as well as the Brow Diva product collection. She has over 20 years of experience in the industry and has grown a loyal customer base of people who are after the perfectly sculpted brow.
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I’m so bad about upkeeping my eyebrows! Something to work on in 2010 for sure. Great tips!
I just don’t trust myself to shape my eyebrows myself
I have no eyebrows and once had my eyebrows tattoed on, but the lady who did my brows had them too high on my forehead and they made my features look strained or tenselike. I am told that when I apply my eyemakeup or rather my eyebrows that the look really good. I am now almost 69 years old and the way I do my eyebrows is entirely different in shape than when I was younger. Instead of using the rule of thumb for the mid arch of my eyebows as suggested, I find my brows look better if my mid line is at the end of my eye and then not drawn downward at the end but instead in a soft flowing line across from the highest arch-this works best for the shape of my face and features and draws less attention to down lines in my ederly face. I draw my line first with an medium blonde eyebrow pencil and then enhance them further with soft feathery strokes of a brown eyeliner. I am fair and blonde, but if I go too light, with my complexion color, my eyebrows fade out. So this might be something some blondes would like to try, because I have not found good color ranges for my type of blondeness. And why don’t I have any eyebrows? A thyroid disease.