Help for Your Disappearing Eyebrows

There are some days I look in the mirror, and my eyebrows look like they are fading away. So I go to my make-up drawer, pull out the eyebrow pencil, fill in my brows, and instantly I look perkier and a whole lot younger.

If you’ve got the same problem, I suggest you take a closer look at your eyebrows.

Eyebrows are important. They frame your eyes ( the same way a picture frame accentuates a painting) and give your face a natural lift.

The problem is the age we age; many of us find our eyebrows get lighter, a lot thinner, and even turn gray.   Years of waxing, threading, and tweezing away those little hairs also make our once full,  nicely arched brows lose their shape.

Disappearing eyebrows are so gradual you barely even notice it happening,  but the result is weak, skimpy brows that make our faces look undefined, tired, and old.

So what’s a 40+ gal to do punch up her brows and bring her face back to life?  I talked to my friend, celebrity make-up artist Sana Young, about this problem and she gave me these seven tips.

1. Put Down the Tweezers

We’re all guilty of doing this at times. We’ll try to get the perfect arch and end up with eyebrows that are way too thin. The best thing to do is to hide your tweezers and leave the plucking to the professionals. I know, it’s hard to do, especially in-between salon appointments, but your brows will thank you in the end.

2. What to do with Faint, Thin, Light Brows?

Use a pencil to fill in your shape to give an illusion of fuller brows. Gently color in the upper hairline to give your brows a lift with an arch. It’s better to use a good eyebrow pencil instead of powder with an angled brush. The pencil will provide you with that defined look and last a lot longer than powder. Just check out Sharon Stone’s eyebrows and you’ll see an excellent example of this done right.

Another solution is to use a product called Toppik Hair Building Fibres. These fibers are made of high-grade keratin protein and can be applied to the roots of your fine eyebrow hairs with a spray applicator to help camouflage areas of sparse growth.

3. Match the Color 

Try to match as closely as you can to your natural hair color. If you can’t find a color close to yours, try to go a little darker, but not lighter because it’ll age you. To help your brows look more natural, blend the color with a cotton swab while brushing your brows into place. You could also use a brow gel to help set the tone and brow into place if you’re worried about it fading.

4. Learn How to Shape  Your Eyebrows

Natural, fuller and groomed brows are in! To get your thin brows to achieve this look by filling it in with a pencil. A pencil will define the arch and length easily and can be a part of your everyday look. Keeping your eyebrows thicker will give your eyes an instant lift while making them look open and almond-shaped. Avoid shaping your eyebrows yourself, as we tend to overdo it and completely ruin our shape.

5. Should You Thread, Try Eyebrow Waxing, or Tweeze? 

Threading is thought to be the best technique because it gives you a defined look and lasts a lot longer. If you have sensitive skin, threading is best for you because it’s gentler compared to waxing and less painful. It’s more effective than tweezing because a large area of hair is being removed all at once rather than plucking them one by one. It also pulls out the shortest of hairs, making it easier to maintain more often. Once again, it’s best to leave this method for the professionals.

6. Ingrown Hairs

When the sharp tip of the hair curls back into the hair follicle, we get ingrown hair. This can cause irritation and sometimes redness that we don’t want especially in our eyebrow area. A tip to help is to apply heat over the area, which will soften the skin and relax the hair follicle. This will get the hair to come up to the surface and take away the redness.

7. Tattoo Your Eyebrows

If you’re tired of waxing, threading, or tweezing and you’re looking for more of a permanent solution, tattooing your brows might be for you. This will allow you to get those perfect brows and make them appear fuller as well as open up your eyes. But beware; make sure to check references and techniques used by tattoo artists. This is permanent!

Try out these tips and tricks to get that fuller bold brow this season. Leave a comment below about your own eyebrow tips and if you have any makeup questions, for Sana from Meccage Make-up email us at questions@fabulousafter40.com.

Watch for Sana’s next post on how to get Fall’s bolder brow.