Quarantine Brow Game
Ok, so we’re stuck inside and we’ve accepted this new reality after the initial shock of learning our brow techs are not “essential". Safety first of course.
We do need to figure out these brows though!
So here are some tips I’ve used from when I first started grooming my own brows to things I still do now. These tips will also also be helpful for anyone who’s never really attempted this (especially the white eyeliner).
I figured it might be helpful to share.
Here’s a link to a pictorial for my visual learners. Buy any dupes you can find. Here’s an Amazon list with everything here.
What you’ll need:
Tweezers - On the more affordable end is Revlon’s Tweezers at $5.36. The Tweezerman has a long and great reputation and is a bit of an investment at $23. On the high end side is the Joey Healy Elite Sculpting Tweezer at $35.
Spoolie - If you’ll likely fill in your brows at some point, something like this 2 in 1 angled brush + spoolie will work. If you won’t be doing any brow powder or gel, a simple brow brush/spoolie or edge brush with work, I tend to prefer the wooden ones at beauty supply stores, but get what you can. Below I’ll list an option where can combine this with your 4th tool.
White Eyeliner - There are tons out there, but if you don’t use white eyeliner for anything else, let’s keep it simple. Wet n Wild will do the trick.
Brow Scissors - These sometimes have different names, but ultimately they’re a mini pair of scissors used around the face. Now, if you’ve never done this before definitely err on the side of caution. I always take my time with this whole process because one wrong move and it’s gonna be an awkward few weeks before those brow hairs grow back.
Micellar Water + Qtips - These are kind of a bonus, because you may already have something will work, bust just be sure to have a couple of qtips. Heck, use a little oil on the qtips if you have to.
Now that you have your supplies all sorted, it’s time to snatch the brows.
With clean hands and tools:
Brush brows into place. Usually around the front (closest to the nose) to the iris (typically where a natural arch begins or midway) the brows tend to look best brushed and and very slightly over in the direction they grow. Then the rest of the way, brows typically look best when brushed in the same direction of growth and slightly down. Play with it and see which way you like best before moving on to step 2.
Grab your white eyeliner and sketch it out. You can do this one of 2 ways. I find it the easiest to simply use the pencil to neatly go over the hairs that are completely out of line. This way it will help you target the brows that need to be removed so that you definitely don’t make the rookie mistake of removing 1 or 2 brows beyond the line that ruin the shape. You can repeat this on top as well. The other option is literally to go around the entire brow creating a clean shape and then when you have a shape you love, tweeze everything out side of that. This draws inspo from what’s called “mapping” in microblading. This is where the qtips and makeup remover come in. If you make a mistake, simply clean it up with a qtip and the remover you have on hand. Some brow hairs will be obvious and some might need this step the closer you get to your actual desired brow shape. No tweezing until steps one and 2 are perfect.
Now that we’ve clearly outlined the shape we want, and the strays that have to be removed to help us reveal that shape, it’s time to tweeze. Now remember, take your time. I’ll usually take my non-dominant hand to gently hold the brow near the tail end so the skin is taut or with the index and middle finger I’ll place the fingers in a V shape around the are I’m tweezing with slightest pressure in opposite directions. It really helps to minimize the discomfort. Now, just follow your map, and again, take your time.
Congrats! The hardest part is over. We’re not outta the woods yet though. This where I’d grab my spoolie. I like to brush the first half of the brow (nose to about iris) straight up, and the rest of the brow on a diagonal in the direction it naturally grows. I don’t go right to the base to cute everything above the line. I think the brows look best and more natural if I just find the longest ones, and trim those with my little scissors. It helps to have some length there. This is just a little maintenance. Not a haircut fam.
Take your time. Trim the longest bits, then brush back into place. Repeat these steps until you love what you see. Better to go slow and tweak than to go fast and ruin your brows.
Clean up is easy with your cotton swabs/q-tips and micellar water.
That’s it. Your quarantine brow game should be all the way up now.