Eyebrow Shaping Tips and Techniques

Well-groomed eyebrows help to frame the face, which makes knowing how to shape your arches a coveted skill. Still, the thought of over-plucking or getting the shape completely wrong can be a little bit daunting. So, what's the key? How do you achieve that perfect shape that lifts the face and enhances the eyes? We reached out to experts Anastasia Soare, Jared Bailey, and Sarah Redzikowski to find out.

Meet the expert

Keep reading for the best eyebrow shaping tips and how to get some of the most popular brow looks.

The Golden Ratio

While working as an esthetician, Soare noticed that many of her clients were not paying attention to their eyebrows, often considering them an afterthought. 

"When you spend enough time looking at faces, you realize that eyebrows have the transformative power to change someone's entire look," Soare told InStyle.

Realizing there was a glaring gap in the market, she began to offer brows as a separate service. 

"I was inspired by the Golden Ratio, a concept I learned about during art school," Soare shared. "It hit me that brows should be shaped and tailored according to an individual's particular bone structure, bringing balance and proportion to the face, and so I developed a formula for the Golden Ratio's application."

The Anastasia Beverly Hills Golden Ratio Shaping Technique uses three measurements to craft brows perfectly tailored to an individual's unique bone structure. The brand also launched The Brow, a revolutionary phone app that can help you perfect the Golden Ratio Shaping Technique from the comfort of your own home. The app works by analyzing your face and finding the perfect shape for your unique bone structure. It also includes virtual consultations, tutorials, and product recommendations.

Bailey agreed that brows should always be tailored to your face.

"At Benefit, we use a technique called brow mapping to help identify a shape that will bring balance and proportion to the face and eyes," he shared.

Eyebrow Shaping Tips

Always Use Natural Light

Not everyone's bathroom is built like a terrarium, so if possible, Bailey recommended shaping your brows wherever you get the most natural light. 

"Take a mirror you can prop up and tweeze near a window with even lighting on your face," Bailey said. "Natural lighting helps ensure you get a glimpse of every stray hair."

Say "No" to Magnifying Mirrors

"Using a tiny magnifying mirror should be illegal because you can only see a field of tiny hair versus the actual shape and what it's doing for your entire face," said Bailey. 

Brows bring balance and proportion to your face and eyes, so you must use a mirror that allows you to see your entire face, not just your eyebrows.

Start with an Outline

When grooming at home, it's helpful to start by outlining and filling in your brows. 

"Once your brows are filled in, tweeze only what falls outside of this area. This ensures you'll never overdo it," said Soare. 

Just make sure to use a quality pair of slant-tipped tweezers to avoid breaking off the hair close to the base and causing unnecessary pain.

Trim, Don't Cut

The most difficult part of DIY brow grooming is the trim, but a good trim job can change your entire look for the better.

"To trim your brows, you'll need a tiny pair of brow scissors and a flexible brow gel like Benefit 24-Hour Brow Setter," said Bailey. "Start by brushing the hair up towards the hairline and out towards the temple and let it dry completely. Next, use the tiny brow scissors to clip just the ends of the hair that extend past the shape. If you cut the hairs too short, the coarse hairs will stick straight out rather than lay flat."

Tweeze in the Right Direction

The most common mistake people make when tweezing is removing the hair in the wrong direction. 

"Each hair is connected to a tiny blood vessel that keeps it healthy and allows it to grow back when the hair is removed," said Bailey. "Once that vessel is ruptured, the hair never returns."

To tweeze properly, Bailey noted it's important to hold the skin taut with one finger and then tweeze the hair in the direction it is growing. Typically, that direction is upward or toward the temple rather than straight out.

Make Sure Your Brows Aren't Too Far Apart

Believe it or not, your nose plays a big part in creating precise, picture-perfect eyebrows and helps indicate where they should start. 

"Brows should begin directly above the middle of your nostrils," explained Soare. "Brows too far apart or that overlap these points can make the eyes appear wider or close-set."

Know Where to Arch — and Don't Overdo It

Getting the arch in your eyebrow correct is extremely important when it comes to defining the overall shape. 

"The highest point of the arch should connect the middle of the tip of the nose with the middle of the iris," said Soare. "When the arches are too close, the brows seem nonexistent, and if they are too far out, it can cause the facial features to be overshadowed by brows."

Connect and fill in your eyebrows based on this guideline.

Of course, say no to power-plucking! 

"As tempting as it may be to grab multiple hairs, go for one brow hair at a time," said Bailey. "This will help ensure you don't grab the wrong one and end up with a patch or a hole."

End at the Corners

According to Soare, your eyebrows should end where the nostril's corner connects with the eye's outer corner. 

"Tails that don't hit this endpoint can look nonexistent and highlight wide-set eyes," added Soare. "An open-ended tail can add more space to the parameter of the face, making it look wider."

Eyebrow Makeup

If you haven't shaped your eyebrows in a few months, brow makeup has probably become your best friend. Even for myself, I have to confess that since I realized the magic that brow makeup can do, my reshaping appointments have become less frequent. Most days, I'll draw on a perfect arched eyebrow with a soft pencil or eyebrow powder.

There is definitely an art to enhancing your brows with makeup, but once you get the hang of it, you'll achieve perfection every time. Soare suggested using an ombré effect to fill in your brows will help you get the most natural look.

"To achieve this look, go in with a light hand and start applying product at the arches, working towards the tail. Then, with the last bit of remaining product, fill in the inner part of the brow," Soare explained. "This ombré mimics the density and shadow of naturally full brows."

Popular Eyebrow Looks

The Laminated Brow

"First, I brushed the brows up and used my finger to lay the hairs down flat using Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Freeze," shared Redzikowski. "After the Brow Freeze was dry, I used the Chanel Stylo Sourcils Waterproof Defining Longwear Eyebrow Pencil to draw in hair-like strokes in the direction of the hair growth."

"Take a photo once you think you're done with your brows," said Redzikowski. "This allows you to step away from the mirror and see your brows differently, and often, you will be able to see any asymmetry and be able to correct it."

The Stay-All-Day Brow

"Acacia [the model] has beautiful brows that just needed a little refining," said Redzikowski.

If you have similar brows that you'd like to define, the artist recommended filling in sparse areas with Maybelline Tattoo Brow Pencil and setting the brows in place with Grande Cosmetics Grandebrow-Fill Volumizing Brow Gel in Clear.

"This combination of products is great for oily skin or hot days, as they stay in place, and you don't have to worry about your brow sliding off," shared Redzikowski.

The Full, Natural Brow

To enhance these full brows, Redzikowski started by mixing a setting spray with brow wax.

"I swirled around with a spoolie to form a paste," Redzikowski said. "I then brushed and laid the hairs into place. After the brows set, I used the NYX Lift 'N' Snatch Brow Tint Pen in Ash Brown to create hair-like strokes in any areas that were less sparse but kept the brow very natural."

To help speed up growth for thick, healthy brows, Redzikowski recommended rubbing a drop of castor oil into the brows nightly.

The Brushed-Up Brow

For these brows, Redzikowski started by lightly filling in her brows using Shiseido Brow Ink Trio in Deep Brown.

"This creates shading in sparse areas but allows the brow to still look very natural and not too dark," shared the artist.

Next, she sprayed Urban Decay All Nighter Setting Spray into a tin of Soap Brows and used a spoolie to mix up a paste.

"I gently brushed the paste into the brows until I got the desired shape," Redzikowski said.

The Microbladed Brow

If you're often in a hurry and don't have time to perfect your brow shape, microblading could be your time-saving solution. 

"I had microblading done, and it's a huge time saver, as I never give myself enough time to get ready. [In terms of products,] I love the Charlotte Tilbury Legendary Brows Eyebrow Gel in Star Brow," said Redzikowski. "The tiny brush helps fill in any sparse areas where my microblading is fading and holds them into place. I can do my brows in less than a minute with this must-have product."

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