How to Perfect the Brow

This season has been all about brows - plucking till the arch gets right, filling in the tail to create a symmetrical frame for the face, and delving into the once unknown world of eyebrow threading.
As an Iranian, I was *blessed* (I use this term loosely) with naturally thick eyebrows and eyebrow hairs. Of course this came with its own downfalls - a ticket to the mimicking of my caterpillar eyebrows at the age of 11! For that reason, I started to tame my eyebrows at the end of junior school and I remember oh-so-well that moment my mother finally gave me the go ahead to get my eyebrows done for the start of secondary school - eek!

Eyebrow Threading:
That brings me to the treatment of my eyebrows - I have been threading them every two weeks professionally for a total of 11 years (wow, that's a lifetime of thread to face action). One thing that I'm eternally grateful for is that my mum kept all tweezers at home hidden well away from me. For that reason I never took it upon myself to pick a pair of tweezers - clearly I was alien to the satisfaction that comes with plucking stubborn hairs. My eyebrows are therefore well trained in growing out regularly and mostly all in one length i.e. no waiting around for smaller stubborn hairs to grow out in between threading treatments. Facial hair threading is an ancient method originating in Persia and Central Asia, though only recently has it gained popularity in the Western beauty world. Therefore, I have been exposed to threading at home since a young girl - it's a method that most Iranian women have mastered, though I haven't caught onto the skill of 'double and twist' just yet!

Here, the different face shapes show you what eyebrow style works best

Face Shape & Eyebrows: 
Eyebrows are the key components of framing your face, therefore there are a variety of shapes and styles that compliment different face shapes better. Once you have determined your face shape, you can then found out which eyebrow shape suits you the most. For instance, a long face (check above diagram for reference) could do with a flat eyebrow (check the space between the brown bone and brow tail - no real height in the arch or curve) to create the illusion of a shorter and more proportionate face. Alternatively, if you have a short face you can create the illusion of an elongated face by thinning your brows, but also creating a more arched shape will widen the space between the brow bone and the brow tail, which also widens the face. If you visit a beauty salon that offers threading treatments, which I highly reccommend you do, your beautician can help you determine the best brow shape for your face. In general, I only ask for a 'tidy' as naturally my brows tend to grow in a shapely and arched manner.

The Golden Ratio:
As a general rule of thumb, the 'Golden Ratio' (originally trademarked by world famous makeup artist, Anastasia Soare - founder of Anastasia Beverly Hills) represents balance and proportion in the face starting from the brows. The GR technique three precise points on the brow:
1) The imaginary line running through the middle of the nostril to the highest point of the eyebrow arch.
2) The line running from the tip of the nose to the iris of the eye.
3) The line that runs from the point of the corresponding nostril to the outer edge of the eyebrow tail. 
Use these three guidelines to determine the beginning of your brow, the highest point of your arch, and where the tail of your brow should end. Again, you can discuss these proportions with your beautician. Most salons have the 'HD' brow option, which offers shaping, and dying of the brows to create the illusion of fuller brows without makeup!

I brush through my brows using the brush (top), then stroke pomade into brows following natural hair direction using an angled brush (bottom)

Little Tips:
If you find that there are bald patches in your brows, dip a q-tip into some castor oil and gently pat it onto the area that has little-no hair growth. Castor oil has hair activating qualities and can be use to thicken and encourage hair growth!
I like to use Anastasia Beverly Hills, (available here) Brow Pomade in colour 'Chocolate' to further fill in and define the shape of my brows. By using a fine angled brush I pick up the pomade on either side of the brush and make gentle strokes within my brows following the natural hair direction.

Ladies, ditch the tweezers and opt for threading!

Saina
xo