What grooming tools do I need for beautiful eyebrows?

As we move along in our eyebrow series, and now that we covered the Importance Of Eyebrows HERE, and Shaping The Eyebrows HERE; this post is all about grooming tools and methods to help achieve the best possible results. When it comes to grooming the eyebrows, some of us prefer to do it ourselves, and some of us resort to professional services depending on our needs. I personally do my own brows and have always done so; my preferred method is tweezing.

For me, tweezing is the most precise way to shape and groom my brows, especially that my brow hairs are quite thick and “strong” and sometimes it takes for me to yank at them with all my strength to remove them…(cursing those little strays). Brow Scissors: if you have long and unruly eyebrows, it’s imperative to have a pair of brow scissors to trim the excess off. Brow scissors which have a “curved tip” tends to give the most natural result, ensuring you trim the hairs in the direction of growth…at an angle.

Straight tip scissors can leave the hairs looking too blunt and sharp. I picked up my scissors at Forever 21 (of all places) for $2 so you can easily find a perfectly good pair in any drugstore or beauty supply store. Tweezers: this is one tool that I would recommend to invest in.

Tweezerman tweezers have been a cult favorite for many years with good reason. The quality and the precision of Tweezerman tweezers take the hassle out of grooming the brows. They pick out even the tiniest and most stubborn of all brow hairs and they come in straight, slanted or pointy tips to cater for all your brow grooming needs.

Eyebrow brush/spoolie: An eyebrow spoolie – which looks like a mascara wand, is a perfect brush to tame those brows, or to comb them into shape when you’re trimming them. A quick brush-over can make a world of difference, even if you haven’t had time to do your whole brow-routine. A disposable mascara wand would do the trick just fine, or there are affordable drugstore brands such as the one I featured in the picture by Sonia Kashuk.

Eyebrow Gel: This is optional, but it does help finish off the brows and most importantly keep them in place. Again, if you haven’t had a chance to do a full groom, you can brush the brow hairs in place with a clear gel and this will not only lock them into place but also give them a glossy. More polished finish.

There are so many brands from drugstore to high-end that make clear brow gels but in all honesty, they all do the same thing. Eyebrow threading has become a hit over the last few years but it actually dates back decades as a preferred way of eyebrow/facial hair grooming, especially in the Middle Eastern and Asian countries. Threading is done by tying the ends of a long piece of thread together, twisting the middle section couple of times into a cross.

By moving the thread back and forth against the skin, the cross section of the thread grabs the brow hairs pulling them off the roots. There are many salons which offer threading and it will last around same time frame of waxing – which is 3-5 weeks on average. Threading is a good option, if you don’t like tweezing or if you have sensitive skin that waxing may not be an option.

If you already have a good shape to your brows, waxing is an easy and quick method of maintaining the shape and keeping the strays at bay. I personally never used wax for my eyebrows, for the reason I mentioned before that my brow hairs are thick and stubborn to be completely cleaned off by wax, and also that I have sensitive skin. Another con of waxing is the tugging and pulling motion in an area where skin is thinner and more delicate.

But for those of you who prefer waxing, there are many face strips and waxing kits designed specifically for the face and brows which you can purchase at drugstores. The thought of having eyebrows tattooed on your face can be quite scary but if you naturally have little or no brows, or lost them due to medical reasons or even over-plucked them that they no longer grow back, you can opt for getting eyebrow tattooing done. I must admit, cosmetic tattooing has come a long way since the days of single black lines across the brow bone and red-raw drawn on lips.

The techniques and the colors available these days are very impressive which can help achieve the most natural looking brows, as if they were your very own to begin with. The most crucial aspect of eyebrow tattooing is where you get it done and the consultant you choose. If you’re considering this method, make sure to do intensive research.

Ask the salon or the consultant to provide you with before and after photos of their clients, look into the type of products and tools they use and always make sure to have a detailed consultation where you agree to the shape and thickness of the brows before going for the real thing. The cons of eyebrow tattooing, apart from reacting to the dye – but I would think professional places would do an allergy test beforehand- is being stuck with a shape you don’t like. This is why, going back to my suggestion before, it’s very important to do your research and make sure you’re 100% happy with the “blueprint”.

Eyebrow tattooing can cost from $300 upwards, with top up treatments ranging anywhere from $150 and up. I hope these pointers help you decide what sort of eyebrow grooming/shaping method is the right option for you. Now that we have the basics of eyebrows covered, I will be telling you guys all about eyebrow products and how to’s in the next part of these series.

What method do you use to groom and shape your brows?