[Saving $$$]: DIY Eyebrow Maintenance

If you really know me, you know that after several awkward years in eyebrow hell, I emerged an eyebrow maniac. My name is Aly and I am addicted to maintaining my eyebrows at home to always keep them arched like I just walked out of the salon (or at least until I think they look decent). Plus, I'm "frugal", so saving $7 bucks every 2 weeks is a HUGE reason as well (Hey, that's a nice lunch or 1.5 gallons of gas)! The economy sucks right about now, so any little bit of savings will help your bank account, right?

Well, here are some of my tips on how to maintain your eyebrows at home and my general thoughts about this risky endeavor.



The last time I got my brows done professionally was in February. Since then, I have been maintaining them myself. They usually look okay when I keep up with them. Unfortunately, they don't have that freshly waxed look (I kinda miss that...), but they look okay enough for me not to go back to the salon for a few months.

DISCLAIMER: I do not advise home maintenance for people who are pluck-happy or who don't know when to stop. For those people, the results could be disastrous. Also, in general, please tweeze at your own risk. I have definitely messed up a couple of times, but in my case, the benefits outweigh the risk. If you don't trust yourself, don't try it. Anyway... I hope I didn't scare anyone away... I just want everyone to be careful because eyebrows frame your face and it sucks to mess them up!

My eyebrows, a few weeks ago.

1. Get your eyebrows arched by a salon professional who you trust. If you just moved to a new area or if you have never gotten your eyebrows waxed before, ask someone who has nice eyebrows where they get theirs done! The arch is the most important thing if you are going to be maintaining it for an extended time between waxes. You don't want to maintain something that doesn't look good to begin with. If they have been arched perfectly, they will correspond to the lines on the image below.

2. Get the proper tools! The most important tool that you will be working with is the pair of tweezers that you have. In the past, I have used brands such as Trim and some of the others that you will find at the drugstore. Those don't work! My brow addiction came on once I discovered Tweezerman mini tweezers. They get every single hair - even the tiny ones. You will also need a small pair of grooming scissors. You can get the ones with the rounded tips if you are scared of cutting yourself. You also need a brow brush/comb, brow gel or clear mascara and an eyebrow pencil in your shade.

3. After your trip to the salon, you can sit pretty for however long it takes for those tiny hairs to start growing back in. Zap them as soon as they come up! This is the key to at-home maintenance. Never ever let your eyebrows grow too much before plucking. The longer you wait, the higher the chances are that you will over-pluck in an effort to regain control of them. When plucking, take your time and only pluck one hair at a time. Make sure you are doing this in a clean mirror (not a magnifying one).

4. If your eyebrow hair is unruly, use your eyebrow brush/comb to brush the hairs down and then trim lightly. Never trim too much, or your brows will be bald! Some length is needed to cover the ends of your brows. Just barely trim the hairs along the shape of your arch. This trick will also keep your brows looking freshly done.

5. When you finish, lightly coat your brows with brow gel to keep them in check. There are tons of fancy products on the market to achieve this, such as brow wax, but I haven't tried them as yet, so I won't recommend them at this point.

6. If you have accidentally plucked that one hair that seemed to make all the difference (don't you hate that?), use an eyebrow pencil to fill in the bald spot. Use very light strokes to draw short, hair-like lines. This way, it looks very natural. Also use eyebrow pencils if you want to add some va-va-voom definition to your perfect arch. Again, use light, short strokes to accent underneath the arch, going down to the tail of your brow. Use the brow brush/comb to blend the color for an even more natural look. Brow powder is also another option, instead of a brow pencil. I like the one featured above, by Clinique.

These are my tips for maintaining your eyebrows at home. My way is definitely not the only way or the best way, so please share your knowledge of any other techniques or products. Also, again, please be careful when messing with your brows. Any type of plucking at home is always an at-your-own-risk thing.