Do you pluck your eyebrow?
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free skin care · Mon Aug 27, 2007 6:11 pm

I am curious do you pluck your eyebrow by your own ? and How?

I did it once. It looks terrible. Embarassed

Mon Aug 27, 2007 6:24 pm

I do. I just started about a month ago. My left eyebrow looks great but my right eyebrow looks weird... the hair grows differently (? I don't know how to explain it... like the bottom hair doesn't go as 'up' as the hair on the left side...)) so I don't know how to pluck it so that it looks right =(

free skin care · Mon Aug 27, 2007 6:34 pm

i do it myself also. i would like to go to an esthetician to do it once and then that way i have a good brow shape which i can trim at every week without screwing it up.

free skin care · Mon Aug 27, 2007 7:20 pm

I find plucking is the best way to have good control, although the natural growth of the brows also affects the final finish. My brows are definitely not identical, and I don't try to force them to be either. I go for threading once in a while to reshape the brows and just follow the shape until it gets unsightly again.

Mon Aug 27, 2007 7:20 pm

I would do it myself if I knew how but like summerheaven my left eyebrow always looks better than my right one. I've always wanted to get them threaded but do estheticians shape them according to your face or do they just give you the half moon + arch?

free skin care · Mon Aug 27, 2007 7:20 pm

I have done mine myself for years. A few years ago I asked the lady that was cutting my hair to wax my eyebrows and it actually took a layer of my skin off with the wax and I had huge scabs along the underside and between my eybrows. It was horrible and I will never, ever get them waxed again. Of course I suck at plucking eyebrows and overplucked them so now I'm trying to grow them back in. Rolling Eyes

free skin care · Mon Aug 27, 2007 7:21 pm

I trim mine too. But since I have very thick and black hair I have to be careful not to pluck one hair wrong so that my eyebrows get 'broken'. So up to now I only trim the finer hair below my brows. I'm afraid to let anybody else to do it for me - a badly trimmed brow will take ages to 'recover' Shock

!!

free skin care · Mon Aug 27, 2007 7:57 pm

I do pluck my eyebrows with tweezers. I once overplucked so my brows were too small but then I just let them all grew back in and was more careful next time. I just pluck the bottom (closest to my lids) one by one and am careful not to go crazy. I like my brows thick.

free skin care · Mon Aug 27, 2007 8:33 pm

Ddang, I think your shaping question depends heavily on the esthetician. I only get my brows waxed from someone who was specifically recommended to me as a terrific brow designer, and I go to someone who does just that - "design", and not just "rip". She's very savvy about what looks good for what reason, and I feel very confident seeing her. I don't think it's a good idea to go to someone who isn't specifically experienced in both shaping and safe waxing - most good waxists will be very receptive to your input if you have a specific thing you want. For example, I really don't want mine thinned down too much, as I like my thickish natural brows - I just go maybe twice a year to have them cleaned up under and above and between, plus a teensy bit of arch shaping, and I pluck myself in between appointments. I find if I'm super-diligent about plucking right after the appointment, then it's really easy to maintain the shape for quite a long time on your own.

And DianaP, that's so awful you had to go through that! I would never wax either if I'd had that happen. I've read about similar horror stories with waxing, and I was gun-shy about doing it for years because of such tales. I actually made my waxist raise her hand and swear to me that she would not take my skin off with the hair, haha, and she explained some more about different types of waxes and specific angles/techniques you can use to minimize the risk. Of course, if you use Retin-A or anything similar, you should not get facial waxing done as it increases the skin-lift risk. And I've heard before that all that pulling can eventually lead to sagging skin, but I still do it, just infrequently.

But lastly, have any of you thought about the Anastasia brow stencils? Personally, I don't think any of those would be great on my eyes, but I know some gals like 'em and they might be a cheaper alternative to regular waxings, as long as you can find one that fits your face well. They also have really adorable little kits complete with scissors, wax, the best tweezers EVER, and stencils, all in a little case, plus lots of other combos - check Sephora for the whole range, but that's pretty much regarded as the "Brow line" as far as I know. I personally just ordered one of their brow powder + wax palettes and I'm super-excited to receive it and start playing around!

Hope this helps!

Mon Aug 27, 2007 8:54 pm

Ginnielizz, thanks for the reply! Many of my friends have recommended places for me to get them done but they're usually walking in with already beautifully shaped eyebrows and just wanting a clean-up. They already have the shape they want but I'm totally clueless with what I want mine to be. I'm not gonna lie - I'm 19 with a pair of fuzzy caterpillars on my face Sad

If anyone in the Vancouver area could recommend a good esthetician, it would be super duper!

free skin care · Mon Aug 27, 2007 9:02 pm

I have been doing my own for years. I am happy with the shape and everything. But sometimes I do worry about over pluck, especially when I see other woman with thinning eyebrows.

Mon Aug 27, 2007 9:52 pm

Several times, when my waxer was overzealous, I've lost some skin - ouch!

I'm on to "threading" now because it gives you the same sort of 'clean' feeling of waxing and is easier on the skin. My GF says it causes less wrinkles because it doesn't pull the skin, but I don't know about that...

free skin care · Mon Aug 27, 2007 9:58 pm

yes i do! usually once or twice a week. my problem is a few days after plucking, when the hair start to come out again, but too short to be pluck, that looks really ugly!!

anyone got any solution to this?? Rolling Eyes

free skin care · Mon Aug 27, 2007 10:08 pm

I pluck my own, I dont think I could trust anyone else to do them...ever.

free skin care · Mon Aug 27, 2007 10:23 pm

Heh, ddang, all I can tell ya is that I will hook you up with my gal if you're ever down in Seattle. Smile

But hopefully some other Vancouver gals can point you in a good direction. Also, for those of you who are totally freaked out by the skin loss potential of waxing, some salons will do a pluck job for you (i.e. shape and groom the whole brow just with tweezers and scissors). The drawbacks are that it takes longer, is more painful sometimes since you have to sit there and feel them get every hair, and is sometimes more expensive, but the plus is no damage to skin the way waxing can do (either short- or long-term), and it's much more precise.

But ddang, if you're totally clueless as to what shape you want, why not Google some sites that have guides or tutorials with pictures, and then have at it just a bit? In case it helps, too, here are a few general shaping tips:

1) Try to avoid the "sperm/tadpole" look - you don't want the part closest to the nose to be lots thicker than the rest of the brow - just a little bit, and it should taper nicely rather than being a big bulb shape with a tail. Laughing

Sounds simple but it's really easy to accidentally make it look like that!

2) Generally speaking, the idea behind shaping your brows is to get a more defined arch. HOWEVER, the arch part should NEVER be thinner than any other part of the brow - the ends toward your temples are where it should thin out. Just don't overdo it. Most experts seem to recommend only plucking from below for the arches (unless you have serious stray dark hairs above).

3) In general, less is more - most people are flattered by fairly full and natural brows with just a little definition and cleanup, so even if you THINK you have caterpillars, go slow and pluck less than you think you need to the first time through. This also goes for "clear-cutting" the area between the brows - you want to keep that dead-center part clear of hairs to avoid the "unibrow" look, but it's really easy to accidentally crop the start of your brows farther in than you really mean to - my waxist has been chiding me about this for months, and has specifically rewarded me with free products when I leave those hairs alone so they can grow in! It's a really, really rookie mistake to make, but very easy to do.

4) On that same note, it's really easy to accidentally overpluck your brows on one end or the other, so they wind up being uneven - and it's often undetectable to YOUR eye, but other people (especially, ahem, professional waxists) can tell. So instead of eyeballing it, a really good trick my gal taught me is to press your fingernail into the skin lightly where each brow begins and ends. You'll be able to "feel" whether things are even or not much better than you can see it - and that way you'll know when you need to chill on the tweezing and let some of your hairs grow back in for symetry's sake. Smile

Hope this all helps, I know it's overwhelming when you start but I think the most important thing is to just not go overboard and wind up with pencil-thin brows if you don't want them. Of course, every face is different and everyone's style is different, so you may find that you like a thinner brow or a different shape, but for starters I think those tips are pretty solid for flattering most people's faces. Good luck and post if you need support! Smile

(Man, there's no emote icon with an eyebrow for me to cleverly insert here...)

free skin care · Mon Aug 27, 2007 10:59 pm

I'm addicted to plucking! Seriously Laughing

I pluck at least every other day as i HATE HATE HATE the little hairs that poke through. When i first started i went overboard and they were waaay too thin ... now they are much much better.
I love my tweezermans - they are the best tweezers. And their brow gel also rocks.

If i were a newbie i would get them waxed by a professional and then i would just pluck out the strays that grow back - that way you wont be in danger of the dreaded 'tadpole' look ...

free skin care · Mon Aug 27, 2007 11:00 pm

oddly, i also find that when other people wax/pluck me my eyes water but when i do it myself i'm fine.

Mon Aug 27, 2007 11:40 pm

I pluck my eyebrow like every two weeks. I think once you start to do it routinely, you don't lose too much shape and easily to take care!!

free skin care · Tue Aug 28, 2007 12:30 am

I've been plucking my eyebrows for years and years. I've seen some pretty horrible wax jobs and consequently I have never had my eyebrows professionally shaped. I follow my natural eyebrow shape, and enhance the arch, using tweezerman tweezers. I only pluck underneath the brow, and I also trim some of the extra-long hairs. My brows grow very fast and thick, so I ideally pluck the strays every day (at least every 2-3 days.) The pain was bad at first but I got used to it, and I got much better at shaping with time.

Tue Aug 28, 2007 12:31 am

I pluck my eyebrows anytime I see a stray hair or such. But I've always wanted to go get my eyebrow done at least once. I'm actually moving to Everett, WA and ginnielizz I was wondering who the waxer you might be speaking of is. I'll be heading there late Sept. and would love to get my eyebrows done. Wink

free skin care · Tue Aug 28, 2007 3:36 am

Years ago, I had my eyebrows waxed into shape, then I just started plucking any stray hairs that appear. That way, they keep their shape and I can maintain it myself.

Tue Aug 28, 2007 5:19 am

After a serious over-plucking incident that occurred years ago, yet remains etched in my memory like it was yesterday, I now try to control myself with plucking Smile

I get my brows professionally shaped/waxed and then I just tweeze the strays that come up. After a few months I get them waxed again, so I just maintain but never try to shape them (learnt my lesson - symmetry and I don't seem to get along...).

free skin care · Tue Aug 28, 2007 6:33 am

I pluck my eyebrows and have for years. Once a week I spend about 30 minutes removing all strays and shaping. During the week, I touch up as needed. I too find my Tweezerman's indispensable for this task. The ultra pointy ones are very good at plucking the tiny short hairs that are just coming in. I used to have to wait for a couple days before I could get those guys.

I tried waxing my brows years ago. Results were disastrous; a bit of wax dripped where it wasn't supposed to and I wound up with a perpetual look of surprise until they grew in. Laughing

free skin care · Tue Aug 28, 2007 8:19 am

I went to an eyebrow specialist once a month for over a year (at $48 a pop Shock

). Then I just decided that was wasteful to spend that much. I already had the correct shape for my eyes (b/c of the specialist), and now I just groom them myself.

free skin care · Tue Aug 28, 2007 8:55 am

I have mine professionally done by an eyebrow specialist at a reputable day spa. She does an outstanding job (never ripped any skin off!)and the shape lasts quite awhile maybe 4-5 months. It is so inexpensive to have it done professionally I would never bother attempting to shape them myself. My Spa charges $12 for an eyebrow shaping.

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