A bi-weekly trip to your brow girl can add up quickly! But considering having a killer brow game is essential, how do you decide if it's worth it or not? Well, plucking and trimming your brows is much easier than you think. It's a learning process, but it's not impossible. It's really just a matter of knowing the proper technique, and which products would best serve your needs.
Here at TatBrow, we love the thought of everyone being confident and dependent on their brow skills. Yes, getting your brows done professionally can be a nice splurge; however, spending a chunk of your hard-earned doe every two weeks isn't! Let's learn how to trim your eyebrows and keep them on point.
Trimming vs. Plucking: What's the Difference
Everyone knows what plucking their eyebrows entails, but what's the difference between trimming vs. plucking? Let's break it down!
Plucking is quite self-explanatory. You simply follow the shape of your brow and clean up any stray hairs that are affecting the look of your brows. Trimming is a bit different.
First off, you always trim your eyebrows after you pluck them. The reason for trimming is to clean up the final look. Trimming your eyebrows is key to ensuring the finished look is clean and looks well-maintained!
Trimming the eyebrow hairs may be more necessary if you have naturally bushier or longer hair on your brows, but we suggest everyone does it.
Everything You'll Need
Before you begin your eyebrow transformation—here's what to keep in arms-reach.
- Tweezers: Whether you're full-on revamping your brows or just need your tweezers to clean up some strays, they’re an essential tool when trimming your eyebrows.
- Brow Scissors: You don't want to use any old kitchen scissors when trimming your brows. For one, even if they're a smaller pair, it's not the safest way. You want to be extra cautious when using any sharp objects near your face and eyes (duh), which is why we say ditch your everyday scissors and invest in a solid pair of brow scissors. Expect your eyebrow scissors to have broad slanted tips. This design helps get all those brow hairs, long or short!
- A Spoolie: A spoolie is a makeup brush that resembles a mascara applicator. You can buy them at any makeup store or drugstore. However, you can definitely use this as an excuse for a spur-of-the-moment Ultra or Sephora trip!
Think of the spoolie as a comb for your eyebrow hairs. The spoolie helps make sure all your eyebrow hairs are evenly trimmed.
How To Trim Your Eyebrows: Step-by-Step
Now that you have your station prep and ready to go, let's get to trimming!
Step 1: Pin Your Hair Back
Before you get to the filling, plucking, and trimming, pin your hair away from your face. You want to be very meticulous and precise when dealing with your brows, so the last thing you need is your hair getting in the way.
Step 2: Fill in Your Brows With a Pencil
Filling in your brows doesn't have to be super well-done; you just want a basic outline of your eyebrows. This helps you avoid any brow mishaps—aka, you over trimming your brows.
Step 3: Brush Upwards
Time to put that spoolie to use! To ensure you trim all those extra-long hairs, take your spoolie and brush all the eyebrows hairs up towards your hairline—tails included.
Step 4: Start Trimming
During the trimming process, it's important to take your time, and this is not a step you should rush.
Take a close look at the brows that are brushed upwards, and begin trimming at the tail end of your eyebrows. To avoid trimming the hairs too short, cut the hair where they start to bend or curl—repeat this step on both sides.
If you trim the hairs too short, it will leave your brows looking sparse, and we doubt that's the look you're going for.
Step 5: Evaluate Your Brows
After you've trimmed both eyebrows, take a step back and closely evaluate your brows. Make sure to take a few big steps back from the mirror. Sometimes, it's easier to see any unevenness when you're further away.
If anything looks drastically uneven, give the scissors a second run-through, but only if it's totally needed! We know how easy it can be to get tweezer—or in this case—scissor happy.
Step 6: Finish Off With Styling Gel
You heard us, grab a good-quality styling gel and get to work on your brows. Right now, the biggest brow trends are all about full and luscious eyebrows. When you apply a brow gel to your freshly trimmed brows, we promise it will look bomb!
You don't want to apply the brow gel in a straight-across motion. Ideally, this style looks best when you have some fun with it.
The applicator will look just like the spoolie you use to brush your brows up with. You want to brush your brows in a slight upward and out motion.
Step 7: Admire Your New Brows
Once you've finished the steps above, take a step back and admire your hard work.
If You're Trimming for a Friend
Now that you're an expert on all things eyebrow trimming, we're sure you'll have a friend or two that's going to ask you for a little help.
Being able to tweeze or trim someone else's eyebrows is usually a gift you're born with, but we're ready to coach you up a bit.
You'll need all the same tools, and you'll follow the same techniques; there are just a few things you want to keep in mind.
- Throughout the entire process, make sure you are continuously checking your work. It can be easy to make mistakes when you're inches away from someone's face. Backing up ensures everything looks natural from a normal point of view.
- Be extra careful! Yes, it's important to be careful when you're working on your own brows, but when you have sharp objects inches away from your bestie's eyeballs, it's key you take your time and be extra safe!
Other Ways To Style Your Brows
Yes, styling with a brow gel is super cute, but that's not to say there aren't alternative ways that are just as to die for!
Microblading Pen
TatBrow’s Microblade pen is the perfect item to add to any makeup collection. It's easy to use and will quickly become a staple in your daily makeup routine.
Precision Pen
Like the microblade pen, our Precision Pen is easy to use, even if you aren't a makeup guru. We're all just trying to figure life out; it's important to keep our makeup simple and easy!
Key Takeaways
Eyebrows are beautiful, unique, and not as much of a hassle once you get the hang of doing them. Anything can feel intimidating at first, don't let nerves deter you from trying something new. Not only can doing your eyebrows yourself become something fun (and even relaxing), but it will save you tons of cash in the long run. Who doesn’t love looking fab on a budget?
Sources:
Why do we have eyebrows? | Science Focus