Brow Beauty: Tips for Shaping, Waxing & Tinting Brows

natural brows are in - tips for brow beauty from spa phoenix

In addition to being professional makeup artists, Spa Phoenix estheticians Heidi, Melanie, and Karen are certified in brow and lash tinting, waxing, and skin analysis. So you might call them our resident Brow Beauty Experts.

All agree that brows are overlooked... male and female clients alike benefit from a little attention to their eyebrows.

Here's the lowdown on brows from Spa Phoenix's resident beauty experts:

• Guys, Divide and Conquer
For men, brow care and shaping is simple. "Divide and conquer," says Heidi. Wave goodbye to your unibrow. Remove the hairs that grow over the bridge of the nose. Some men need to have it waxed. Most can be tweezed. Finish with light tweezing or clipping of stray or sprung hairs, keeping a natural and not overgroomed look.

• For Brows, Fat is Where It's At
Heidi, Melanie, and Karen and every other beauty expert consulted agrees - the most common mistake in women's brow shaping is taking them too thin.

According to Melanie, the up to the minute look that flatters almost all women is "full and natural, groomed but not over arched or overplucked."

• Thin Brows Date Your Look and Age Your Face
An overplucked brow is more than a sign that your look is parked in the past. It ages the face by exposing and drawing attention to the eyelids and forehead, two areas of the face that don't need highlighting to show aging.
divide and conquer - once the bridge of the nose is cleaned up, men's brows should be groomed to a natural shape

• Brow Raising
Overwaxed and overtweezed? Brows will grow back to natural contours. Resist the urge to thin the thicker brow if brows are uneven or reveal a bald spot. That' s stinkin' thinkin. During the regrowth, enhance thin spots with brow powder.

• Use Brow Powder, Not Brow Pencil
Heidi feels that penciling in the brow gives a result that's often too heavy and defined. Brow powder applied with a brush is lighter, more natural alternative.

• Go Two Shades Lighter Than Hair Color When Choosing Brow Powder or Pencil
"Most of my clients with darker hair try to match their hair color," says Heidi. "But brows look their best when they're actually lighter... two shades lighter." For blonde and brunette alike, she recommends a medium brown as the "can't go wrong" shade.

• Eyebrow Stencils - Not the Greatest Thing Since Pre-Mixed Cosmos
Eyebrow stencils are new on the market. Devised by celebrity makeup artists, the guide for unsteady or un-confident hands would seem to be a "Why didn't they think of it sooner?" beauty aid. But according to Heidi, the stencils she has tested are a big let-down. "The stencils are ginormously large." The effect is theatrical - think Kabuki.

• Brow and Lash Tinting
Karen gives the lowdown on tinting. The dyes used for brow and lash are vegetable based and non-toxic. "Eyelashes are always black." Period.

"Most clients who want brow tinting are like me - their hair color is so blonde that their brows disappear. They need color that's darker than their own hair color."

• Eyebrows in History
Every era has its own standard of brow beauty. In portraits dating from the 1820's, American gentlewomen wear tiny brow wigs of mouse fur. In 1930s Hollywood, it was Jean Harlow and Claudette Colbert's thin line brow. In the early 1980's, the beauty convention was the thick, natural brows made popular by models Kathy ireland and Brooke Shields.

The look today is well-groomed, with thicker brow shapes that follow the natural profiles of the brow bone. Brows are shaped by a combination of tweezing and waxing for a look that's not overdone.

For both men and women, the unibrow is out. Again.