Omm.

It’s all in the brows.

Eyebrows are a major facial feature. Depending on the shape and angle, brows can transform an expression from surprised to angry in a mere nanosecond. And as for the decade, well the trend for brows can be a Clara Bow thin hairline or the bushy shags sported by a teenage Brooke Shields – and anything in between. So how best to keep your brows in shape? Waxing, plucking, threading, perhaps an eyebrow transplant? culture investigates… By Jenny Burns

“A well-defined, clean brow is almost as good as a face lift,” says Svetlana Burckhardt, director of EyebrowExperts. “It draws attention to your beautiful eyes, opening them and creating a sophisticated look. The wrong shape brow can be very aging and unattractive. Creating the right brow shape gives balance and symmetry to the face, making you appear younger and making the most of your individual features.”

For example, Svetlana adds, overly thick brows make the eye appear smaller, as the stray hairs grow down into the crease area of the eyelid, closing the space between the brow and the crease. Too long brows create an illusion of drooping eyes and change the whole face, imparting a sad look. The stray hairs that grow down from the outer corner of the eyebrow make the eyes look older. A unibrow makes the eyes look close set and creates a stern, angry and unpleasant look. A rounded arch makes the eye appear smaller and gives a quizzical or a stunned appearance to the face. It also gives an illusion of a permanent frown line.

So what’s the best way to keep your brows looking trim, taut and terrific? The most common method is to use tweezers to thin out and shape the eyebrows. Waxing is also popular and can achieve a clean, hair-free result in a relatively short time frame. Small scissors are sometimes used to trim the eyebrows, either along with another method of hair removal or alone. Some people even completely wax or shave off their entire eyebrows, then, either leave them bare, stencil or draw them in with eye liner, or tattoo them on.

“My preferred method of brow shaping involves a combination of trimming, waxing and plucking,” comments Svetlana. “Waxing is ideal as it’s quick, removes a section of hair at once and gets the initial ‘sting’ over with quickly. However, it will not grab the ultra fine, short regrowth. Plucking is necessary for this and is required for the precision work. Trimming gives a polished appearance and keeps brows looking full and healthy.”

Another method of shaping eyebrows that is becoming more popular today is the age-old art of ‘threading’, an ancient technique of hair removal commonplace in many Asian countries and Arabic nations. It was originally practiced when a woman was getting married or during special occasions or had reached womanhood. Eyebrow threading is a depilation technique that originated in India, although it is also widely practiced in the Middle East. Salons in Western nations offered the service to Middle Eastern clients for decades before European and American women became interested and the popularity of eyebrow threading skyrocketed. The hair removal technique is not just for the eyebrows: threading can be used to remove other facial and body hair as well.

Eyebrow threading involves twisting a piece of thread, usually cotton, into a double strand. This double stranded thread is used to pick up a line of hair and then remove it at the follicle, creating a very clean, precise hairline. Unlike tweezing or plucking, eyebrow threading removes one clean line of hair all at once, making it much quicker and easier to shape the brows. Eyebrow threading also will not harm the skin like wax and some depilatory creams can. Eyebrow threading is the technique preferred by Indian movie stars, who are often distinguished by their crisp brow lines.

Eyebrow threading can be used to eliminate a unibrow, raise the arch of the eyebrow, or add shape and definition to the brow. Because it removes hair by the follicle, it is a reasonably long lasting hair removal technique as well. This technique is also not terribly expensive because it is easy to do quickly and does not require costly chemical ingredients.

It is important to find an aesthetician who is experienced at eyebrow threading. Inexperience can result in uneven brows, hair breakage, ingrown hairs, or unnecessary pain. Most urban areas have a variety of spas or beauty therapy outlets offering eyebrow threading, and many online resources offer reviews of the service, including photographs of clients. If you are unsure about a provider, look for one that is frequented by Middle Eastern and Indian clients with perfect eyebrows – the proof is in their faces.

“Threading is growing in popularity but is quite a tricky technique and it is essential you are in the hands of a very experienced practitioner, as I have seen many mistakes as a result of this technique,” Svetlana agrees. “The main problem is that it is very easy to remove too much hair and the hair grows back very, very slowly.”

We’ve talked about removing eyebrow hair, but what about those who spent too much time in the 70s plucking their eyebrows to death and now have barely a hair left? Never fear – with the popularity of cosmetic surgery, help is on the way.

To create a fuller look, eyebrows can be cloned in an eyebrow transplant, wherein individual strands of the eyebrow are mimicked to create a natural looking eyebrow of the desired shape. Eyebrow brushes and shaders are also used to further define the eyebrow. An eyebrow lift, cosmetic surgery to raise the eyebrow usually in order to create a more feminine or youthful appearance, is another option, as are Botox injections, which temporarily raise the eyebrow and smooth the surrounding skin.

Discovering the best shape for your eyebrows without sacrificing their natural appearance is what you want to accomplish when shaping your brows. Pencil thin or overly bushy eyebrows are dated looks that can be distracting rather than enhancing. So what are EyebrowExpert Svetlana’s do’s and don’ts when it comes to best brow practice?

DO…

•  Go to see a professional, especially for your initial shape.

•  Use good quality, slanted tweezers for plucking at home between appointments

as these allow the best grip and make plucking as pain-free as possible.

•  Consider a brow tint one or two shades darker than your natural brow colour to

define brows.

•  Carefully fill in any gaps with a brow pencil when growing hair back in.

•  Brush with a brow brush or old, clean mascara wand and keep in place with a brow

gel or clear mascara.

•  Listen to an expert’s advice about the correct brow shape for your features and face

shape.

DON’T…

•  Over pluck! Hairs can be difficult to grow back.

•  Tint your brows at home. Leave this to a professional.

•  Attempt to create a high, defined arch if this is not the correct shape for you.

•  Wax your brows at home, unless you are very confident and well practiced.

•  Go too heavy with the brow pencil. A natural, groomed look is the key.