So we’re living in social distancing at the moment and your brows are starting to get a bit bushy! Unfortunately, COVID-19 has made it next to impossible for you to book in with your favourite brow specialist, but that doesn’t mean you have to be stuck with yeti brows till this blows over. As a professional, I usually wouldn't tell anyone to do their own eyebrows at home (we’ve all seen what happened in the 90’s). However, these are odd times and we all need to do our part to keep ourselves healthy, safe and still look good while we do it. So before you panic and reach for the tweezer, I’d like to help! To get you through this difficult time of social distancing I have put together my top 9 tips for maintaining your brows during the COVID-19:
1- Consistency is Key for your eyebrows
Try to keep consistency when plucking, if you visit your eyebrow specialist every 4 weeks, you'll need to do a quick tweeze every 4 weeks at home, if it was 5 weeks then revisit your brows in five weeks… and so on. By keeping your brows on the same “cycle” as you typically do when getting your eyebrows professionally waxed, you’re keeping the guesswork out of sneaky, unexpected regrowth popping up every few days. This is extremely important because it can keep you from the dreaded overplucking… Tweezing can be highly addictive, trust me on this one!
2- Invest in a good pair of Tweezers
You can’t tweeze your eyebrows without tweezers! Now, I’m not suggesting you go out and buy the most expensive pair on the shelf, but make sure you invest in a decent set. Chemist’s like Priceline usually carry high quality tweezers that won’t cost an arm and a leg. Already have a good pair of tweezers? Great! Just make sure they are sharp enough. A dull pair of tweezers can end up causing you a lot of pain from skin picking (ouch!).
3- Respect the key 3 points of your brows
The three points of your brows are gospel to any brow pro! What are they you may ask? Rather than write a novel here, I’ve put together a great video on the three points of your brows on my IGTV on Instagram.
4- You Do Not need a Close-up!
Magnifying mirrors are great for checking out that zit you noticed on your chin, but they are not your friend when you are tweezing your eyebrows. These types of mirrors often give you a warped, unrealistic view of your eyebrow. So, if you’re using it as your reference for your eyebrow, you’ll most likely end up over indulging with the tweezers and overplucking.
5- Tweeze like a Pro!
Want to know how the professionals pluck? Make sure you pluck the hair on the “dragging” movement (i.e. with the hair, not the opposite direction). By plucking this way, you are bringing the actual root of the hair out.Plucking the hair the wrong direction can often lead to snapping the hair, giving you black dots under the skin, and potentially leading to ingrown hairs.
6- Don’t go Crazy on your Eyebrow Arches
Underneath the arch of the brow is where 99.9% of people get it wrong. Trying to arch your brows by plucking too much in that area will only damage the look of your brows, making them thinner and over arched.So be careful when you’re tweezing that area!.
Gwen Stefani’s razor-thin brows of the 90’s
7- Good Brow Makeup is key
Make sure you have some good brow makeup to leave them looking full and tailored! I recommend a nice brow pencil like Poni cosmetics which is available for purchase at the studio, (or I can post it yo you) or NYX has an amazing brow pencil as well, this will help fill out your brows and add definition to them. Brow gel is another great addition to your brow arsenal. In fact, it’s a great way to tame your brows between tweezings. Perfect for taming downward growth and longer hairs. My personal favourites are Zebra Gel also from Poni cosmetics and Australis Clear Gel.
8- Stop Touching Your Brows!
Just like we are following instructions to keep our hands off our face, this especially goes for when you are tweezing your brows. Keep tweezing to a minimum, and remember that you may be left with a 90’s throwback eyebrows if you go heavy on the plucking!
Hopefully these tips help you during this time of social distancing and isolation. If you have any questions about eyebrow care during isolation please feel free to email me.
Stay safe everyone!