Brow Love
They say the eyes are the windows to your soul.💖 Within our home, we ensure that the window treatment is neat, clean and gorgeous. We sometimes change the curtains based on the season or sometimes just to spice things up. 😇Similarly with our eyes, we should seek to enhance their beauty by ensuring that it’s surrounding features (brows and lashes) are kept presentable. Keeping these features gorgeous and flawless can be prettty simply with regular grooming. For this article I will focus on Brow Grooming.
What do you want your window to say about your soul ?💋
When grooming your brows, available options range from techniques that requires daily attention but can be completed quickly to those that are done less frequently but require longer processing time. Regardless of your preferred method, brow grooming is a two strep approach. First you will need to shape your brows by removing unwanted hair and then define (fill in) the desired shape with color to ensure your brows look full.
Popular brow shaping methods:
1. Waxing
2. Tweezing
3. Shaving
4. Threading
How long does hair removal last ?
Waxing, tweezing and threading are more long term methods of shaping your brows as they remove the hair directly from the follicle. Hair removed via these processes usually last two to three weeks. If you ask me not thinking about your brows for almost one month is pretty good. 👏 The results from shaving is more short term usually lasting a few days.
Interested persons can currently access brow waxing service for approximately JA$800 to JA$1,500, threading for JA$1,500, tweezing and shaving for JA$500. If you are a "do it yourself " kind of girl, a waxing kit can be purchased online for less than US$30 and tweezers for JA$500. For threading it is important to use 100% cotton thread, as it is strong enough to remove hair without breaking and will not damage your skin.
Remember however that while you may be the only one using your tools, regular cleaning is still essential.✔
Defining your brows
Unless you are naturally blessed with thick equally disbursed brow hair, even though you have shaped your brows by removing unwanted hair, you will still be required to fill them in with color. Regardless of the method, it is important that the selected color matches your natural brow color. For most women of brown complexion, dark brown color is usually the best match, however depending on your brow shade medium brown or auburn may be suitable matches. To spice things up some persons may choose to change their brow color by using colored pencils such as blue, red, pink, green or any dramatic color. What's life without a little spice ?🤷♀️
Methods for brow defining
The preferred method utilized by a woman to define her brows depends on factors such as her experience with makeup, her level of patience and available time.
Below are a few popular methods:
1. Eyebrow pencil
2. Brow powder
3. Brow gel
4. Tinting
5. Micro blading
Eyebrow pencil
The eyebrow pencil made popular in the 1920’s has been one of the most popular tools used by women to define their eyebrows. This is because it is easy to use and very inexpensive. 💰Using an eyebrow pencil, simply requires using the point of the wax pencil to shade or fill in your brows. For an individual who may wish to have a more finished professional look, a spoolie/brush can be used to blend the color onto the hair softening the finish especially at the head of the brows. This creates a more natural looking brow. An eyebrow pencil ranges from JA$100 to JA$1,000 depending on its features. Popular brands are NYX, L’Oreal, Maybelline and Fenty.
Eyebrow pencil features include:
1. Pencils which requires the use of a detached sharpener.
2. Pencil with sharpener built into the cover.
3. Auto pencil (does not require a sharpener).
4. Auto pencil with spoolie (the spoolie is used to comb your brows before filling them in)
Brow powder
This method will require a little more expertise and patience than using an eyebrow pencil. Brow powders are usually compressed and packaged in travel sized compacts requiring application via an angled brush. Some brands will provide a small brush in the kit, while others will require you to source your own brush. Brow powders will last for a few hours before fading, but is subject to smudging. It is not uncommon for an eyebrow kit to have two shades allowing you to customize your brow powder. Prices range from JA$500 -JA$2,000. For women of dark complexion, the preferred shade is dark brown.
Brow Gel
A brow gel comes in a cream format either in a jar or compact. Like the brow powder, it requires application with an angled brush. Each application will last for a few hours. It also comes in waterproof versions which will last as long as 24hrs. Because of the lasting power of the gel, only a small amount is requires per application. Personally i have nevvvvver finished a brow gel, i normally damage the container and end up throwing it out. 🤷♂️ Popular brow gels brands are Anastacia Beverly Hills, Maybelline, bh Cosmetic and e.l.f with prices ranging from JA$1,700 to JA$3,500
Brow Tinting
Brow tinting is a technique that adds semi-permanent color to your brows giving them a fuller look which last up to one months. 🙆♀️How long the tinting last will depend of how well you care for your brows and follows your aesthetician instructions. This option is ideal for women with busy schedules or women who do not have the skill to fill in their brows on their own. It is important to properly research the aesthetician you are using as an improper tinting may be challenging to correct. Currently this service can be accessed for approximately JA$1,500. The application time is approximately thirty minutes.
A few maintenance tips are:
Do not get your brows wet for 12 hours after your application
Avoid oil based cleansers
Avoid oil based makeup or makeup removers
Don't touch your brows excessively
Don't apply exfoliating products to your bows
Micro Blading
Similar to brow tinting, micro blading adds semi permanent color to your brows, but uses a tattooing technique causing the coloring to last for one to two years. The lifespan of your microblading can be extending by doing touch up sessions. If you are someone who changed brow shape regularly, ensure you thoroughly consider the pros and cons of this technique. Currently this service is offered at approximately US$400 and has a processing time of approximately one hour.
A few maintenance tips are:
Avoid getting your brows wet for approximately one week
Avoid sweating in your brows during the healing stage
Minimize sun exposure during the healing stage
Avoid skincare products that contain Retinol & salicylic acid
Now don't forget !!
Whether you are getting these services done by an aesthetician or doing it yourself, it is important to ensure that it is done hygienically.👌 If you are getting your brows groomed professional pay special attention to the environment. Look at the condition of the area being used for the service as well as the tools. If they do not seem tidy and clean, it may be an indication of the company’s hygienic practices. 🤦♀️You also want to ensure that for non-reusable items, new ones are used or for items that are reusable evidence is present of proper sanitization. Ensure that the aesthetician cleanses his/her hand before starting the service. Most importantly select a method that works for your lifestyle and budget.