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If you’re looking for a simple way to “clean” your look up for the holidays, one thing I always do is to get my eyebrows done — eyebrow maintenance is such an easy way to elevate your regular look!
I was reluctant for years (years!) to get any professional eyebrow maintenance, but I’m here to tell you that, when done right, it cleans up your face oh-so-subtly, and makes you look more refined and elegant.
I also think that if you wear glasses frequently (as I do) it puts even more pressure on your brows to be perfect. For example, one of my brow’s arches goes much higher than the other, and it’s really noticeable when I wear my glasses, I think because there’s a straight line to gauge how far apart/even things are on your face. (This sounds crazy, but I swear it’s true.)
{related: here’s my review of eyebrow stencils}
I’ve tried plucking them myself, shaping, waxing, and threading, and personally I prefer threading — the look is sharper and more uniform, and while the pain is more intense than waxing the experience is generally shorter — much better for a busy day.
I’ve paid anywhere from $9-$20 for threading, and $9-22 for waxing, so the price is about the same. The first few times I got them done I wound up paying $60 (!!!) but I suspect the woman I went to would call herself a “shaper” since she both plucked and waxed my brows.
{related: is microblading worth it? (from guest poster, Adina J. of Blue Collar Red Lipstick)}
But she cost so much more ($60) and took an hour, so I’d much rather take my quick and cheap threading, thankyouverymuch.
My Eyebrows Through the Ages: Fun with Eyebrow Maintenance
I’ve posted some brow-only pictures below, for those who care to see…
Above: I started plucking my brows in high school, encouraged by one of my frenemies who suggested I do it. Hate to admit it, but she was right — here’s a picture of my brows probably from around the time I started plucking them. (Let’s ignore the overdose of brow pencil. Sigh.)
{related: how to dye your eyebrows with Just for Men}
Above: I always hated that over-plucked look, though, so I was careful to be judicious in my plucking. Here’s another shot of me before I started handing it over to the professionals. (This was before a friend’s wedding, hence the sparkly makeup.)
{related: here’s Kate’s Browvo! review and April’s RapidBrow review}
Above: It wasn’t until 2008 or so when I thought to have them done professionally. This was in part from a girl I knew through work (another frenemy, oddly enough) who encouraged all of the girls at work to use her “brow specialist,” and even worked out a deal with a local salon to let “her” girl come downtown and do all of our brows.
I didn’t know it then, but this was fantastically expensive for essentially a wax job: $60. Anyway, here’s the first time she did my brows. I was surprised that she plucked from the top of my brow — I had always read that you should ONLY pluck from the bottom side. Sadly I think for my brows it does make a big difference!
I first tried threading a few months before my wedding: I’d read good things about it and wondered how it would go. The look tends to be much more angled than a waxing because of the way it’s done — the thread creates a straight line.
This is actually a picture from my wedding day; I’m sure I had my brows done about a week or so before the wedding, almost certainly at the Shobha salon in NYC’s Soho. (While on the pricier side, this is a great way to give threading a try if you’re scared — it’s much more of a salon experience than the $9 places. One of my favorite cheaper places is Yuva Threading Salon.)
Readers, do you wax, thread, pluck, or just go au naturel for your brows? Are you religious about your eyebrow maintenance? Any favorite spots to get your eyebrows threaded, plucked, or other?
Psst: some of my favorite latest makeup products:
As of 2024, my short makeup routine is pretty boring — curled eyelashes + concealer + blush (Nars Orgasm) + powder, with a different lipstick and eyeliner depending on my mood. If I’m feeling extra fancy I’ll add mascara, highlighter, and/or do my brows with this cream and a brush similar to this one (here’s my review). (I also add eye shadows in the “extra” days but it’s a huge variety, maybe 25 or so different ones.)
Some favorite lipsticks include Clinique (Graped Up), NARS lipstick (Damage), Fenty (Goji Gang), NARS gloss (Orgasm, Fast Lane), and Clinique (Black Honey). I use this NYX lipliner (Natural) for almost all of them.
Favorite eyeliners include Chanel (Espresso), Urban Decay (Sabbath, Smoke), and Clinique (Intense Chocolate & Plum).
Anon
I have no arch to my eyebrows, and they are not very thick. not much room to “create” an arch. Boo.
Anna D.
I started plucking when I was about 25, and have been grooming the brows ever since. I now go to a woman who tweezes – very quickly and precisely, she does an amazing job, much nicer than most waxers I’ve ever been to. (I don’t know if there’s much threading out here – there is an outfit at the local mall, but, well, it’s the local mall, so I’m kind of leery. I love my city, and consider it a “real” city, but it’s not on either coast, nor is it Chicago, and we don’t have any significant south Asian population, so I’m not sure the threading is a great option.) It’s $25 a pop, so I go once a month (every other month I get the brows tinted since they’ve started to go gray, and gray brows do NOTHING for me).
On me, getting the brows done really makes a huge difference – it opens up my whole face and makes me look younger. I envy people who don’t need it done. But I also like beauty treatments, so enjoy even having someone yank my eyebrow hairs out one by one. (I know that sounds twisted!)
The funny thing is that while some people’s brows get thinner as they get older, mine have got bushier. I swear age just intensifies whichever negative characteristics you had.
Azure
As my mother says, I have “Brooke Sheilds” eyebrows and do get them waxed for $10 (L.A. suburb).
On a different note, at what age do you think it is reasonable to pluck/wax one’s eyebrows and shave one’s mustache? My daughter is in 3rd grade (8.5 years) and wants to do these things. She’s not that hairy, but her classmates are starting to discuss this and she does have black hair. (We are Asian.)
ex-runner
Am I the only person who waxes my own eyebrows with those little Nads strips? I guess i’m a bit of a control freak – I’d rather do a so-so job myself and not lose half my eyebrow than risk having a bad job done at a salon. I’m definitely intrigued about threading now though!