6 Brow Mistakes You're Probably Making
Photographed by Brayden Olson.
In today’s beauty world, it’s hard to imagine a time when we wanted anything other than the biggest, baddest, boldest brows in town. Yes, those days (a.k.a. the ‘90s) of tadpole brow shapes and Sharpie fill-in can finally be written off as cringe-inducing mistakes of the past.
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So, with those fumbles out of the way, it’s safe to assume we’re no longer making any other big brow mistakes, right? Actually, wrong. According to Maribeth Madron, Maybelline New York brow expert, some of the ways we maintain our arches could actually be doing them — and, by proxy, our faces — some harm.
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Ahead, find out all the ways you’ve been doing wrong by your brows — big time.
Illustrations by Anna Sudit.
Waxing Or Threading
Tough break, brow fans: Apparently, these methods are generally not right for your face. “Waxing and threading are a fantastic method for cleaning up body hair or chin hairs — but not brows,” says Madron. “Waxing rounds your brows, which in turn can make your face appear older. As for threading, when one thread is in the technician’s teeth when they’re pulling the hairs, they end up looking over their shoulder, so they can’t even see what they’re doing.” Tweezers it is!
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Tweezing Once A Week
So, wax and thread are out. But, if you think a quick tweeze every now and then should be able to keep you in top shape, it’s time to reconsider your brow-maintenance strategy.
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“A couple of hairs should be pulled every single day,” says Madron. “It’s the only way to maintain your arches. If you wait a week or two you’re going to have hair sprouting everywhere, and it’ll be hard to know what’s new growth and what needs to stay.”
Matching Your Arches To Your Hair Color
The only people who can really get away with this simple option are ladies with dark hair that’s all one shade. Yep, if you’re on the brunette end of the color spectrum but have highlights, you should be matching your brows to those lighter strands. “By making your brows lighter — with a brow mascara, for example — your eyes will really pop,” explains Madron.
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If you’re a blonde with fair to medium skin, it’s the opposite rule. “Anyone with light everything needs to go a little bit darker. Look for the absolute darkest lowlight of your hair, and match that.”
Doing Brows First, Then Base
Considering how brows are the frames of our face, it’s understandable why some of us might think doing them before blush, bronzer, and the rest would make sense. But, this could be a huge mistake, Madron explains. Ordering our routine this way can seriously mess up the rest of our makeup application. “It’s important to finish your complexion first. If you’re washed out, with no blush or color, you’re going to totally overdo the brows,” says Madron. “It’s similar to the way ladies always end up overdoing liner and mascara if they’ve left their brows until last.” The formula for success: base, bronzer, blush, brows, and then everything else.
Using Just One Brow Product
Remember how proud you felt when you bought that very first brow pencil? The knowing that, from this day forward, you would be polished and never have scrappy-looking arches? Well, imagine that feeling times three — because that’s how many brow products we should be using daily, according to Madron. “Pencil for structure, powder for color, and then a gel to settle the hairs and keep them in place,” she says.
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Filling From The Edges In
Logic would say the best place to start anything is, well, at the start. But, beauty logic often disagrees, with brows as one example. “What you really want to do is start in the middle of your brow, where it’s naturally fullest,” says Madron. “From here, work lightly toward the tail. When you’re done, go back to the start of your brow and add a few, fine flicks, so the inner corner is lighter and more natural-looking than the outer one.”
By: Gyan Yankovich.
