DORÉ

I’d like to go ahead and declare it the year (okay, maybe even the decade…check back with me in about 7 years) of the eyebrow. The big, full, kinda messy, borderline unruly, eyebrow (just like Jillian’s, in the photo). You can thank Cara Delevingne and the many Instagram #TBTs of a 1980s Brooke Shields.

I think our brows are rebelling after all of the over-plucking of the 1990s. You remember those pencil thin brows? Drew Barrymore, Courtney Love, Gwen Stefani– I’m looking at you. I’ve always been a bit paranoid about my brows. I’m careful not to over pluck (but still try to avoid a unibrow) and stay pretty far away from waxing (again, unless I’m creeping too close to unibrow territory. Frida Kahlo, I am not). I haven’t let anyone touch them since I moved to New York four years ago, waiting until my pilgrimage home at Christmas to let a professional give them a little TLC. I totally baby my brows.

I spend a good deal of my morning routine working on them, but I still had a few questions when it comes to brow maintenance. I decided to ask brow guru, Anastasia Soare (celebrity brow expert and founder of Anastasia Beverly Hills). Here are her tips and tricks on everything from tweezing to filling ’em in!

What’s the best way to care for your brows? Should you be waxing, tweezing, threading? And how often?
Tweezing controls the amount of hair that you remove, while waxing leaves an absolute clean, and perfect shape. As waxing removes a lot of hair quickly, it is dangerous for those of us that don’t have thick brows as you cannot guarantee how much you take off.

We use a combination of waxing for the overall brow shape and tweezing for fine, tiny hairs. I find that this gives a preferred result with clean, defined lines.

Every person is different, and there’s no set formula for brow maintenance. Most women need a touch-up every two to four weeks. My mantra is, stay away from the magnifying mirror! Only tweeze stray hairs you can clearly see in your regular bathroom mirror.

What are solutions for over-plucked brows?
Over-tweezed brows are the #1 beauty mistake women make. The reason for this is because it is so easy to remove one or two too many hairs and suddenly your brow is too thin. I have two major rules when it comes to plucking your own eyebrows. The first rule is to throw away your magnifying mirror! I find that clients who use a magnifying mirror focus on the brows individually and end up tweezing back and forth on each brow in an effort to make them match. To make them truly as even as possible, look at your entire face in a regular mirror and examine how each brow matches the other in the big picture.

The second rule that I tell clients is to set a guideline! Use a stencil, or a brow pencil to outline the desired shape of your eyebrows. After you like the way the shape looks on your face, tweeze only the hair that lays outside the outlined area above or below the brow. Remember to draw a guideline that is full and natural looking before tweezing.

Any tips for growing out your brows?
When you find your brows over-tweezed, growing them out is the only option. But, many women feel messy or unkempt due to the tiny stray hairs growing in. My advice for this is to fill in your brows with brow powder and a good quality brow pencil [like Brow Wiz]. After you have the right brow shape, you can hide stray hairs that fall outside your shape with a good quality concealer until you are ready to commit to a full shaping.

As we age, many of us start to lose some of our brow hair. Also, if you sleep on one side your face or another, the pillow can actually rub brow hairs away. I suggest using a serum to help encourage the growth of brows like Brow Enhancing Serum Advanced. [Brow Enhancing Serum Advanced is peptide-enhanced to encourage the growth of sparse brows, with an innovative new formula that also prevents brows from falling out. You should begin seeing results in 6-8 weeks. Generally, Brow Enhancing Serum Advanced is safe for everyone to use. What we do advise is to look at the ingredient list, and if it contains something that you know you are sensitive to, simply avoid use. Also avoid use if rash or irritation appears.] After that, it’s all about filling in what you don’t have. Again, brow powder and pencil in combination go a long way in creating amazing, natural-looking brows.

What are the brow maintenance essentials? Wax? Powder? Gel?
If you have very sparse hair, you’ll need a pencil or a pen. Brow powder is great but if you don’t have hair, the powder has nothing to adhere to.

Everyone could use a little brow gel, whether it’s clear or tinted. This will keep brows in place all day long and set the look. If you have light hair, a tinted brow gel will kick the color up a notch for an extra bold look. If your hair is already dark, you can use a clear brow gel which is essentially a top coat for your brows.

What kind of brow brush is best and how should you be using it?
The type of brush you want to use depends on the type of product you fill your brows with. For a powder, using a stiff, synthetic bristled brush like Mini Duo Brush is ideal. You want the cut of the brush to be angled to help apply the powder directly to the skin behind the brow hair. I use the brush in tiny, hairlike strokes to gently brush the powder onto the skin. You can also use the brush to add a general shadow behind the brow hair in a gentle sweeping motion.

For pomades, a brush with a slightly thinner edge [like Brush #12] helps to apply the cream in hairlike strokes. I use the brush in the same manner as the Mini Duo Brush, making sure to create small, precise strokes of color. With both brushes, be sure to blend the product through the brow hair with a spooley for a natural finish.

Check out some of our favorite brow products below!