Let me tell you a little story about my eyebrows.

Growing up, I never considered eyebrows a beauty feature on the face. I don’t think I even cared about eyebrows – to me, they were just there. In 5th grade, I loved Kelly Clarkson’s and Lindsay Lohan’s eyebrows. They were perfectly thin (but not too thin) and dark. I inherited my dad’s eyebrows – thick and bushy; by the time I was in 6th grade, it was clear that I had a slight unibrow (I remember in 3rd grade, an older girl said I had “one eyebrow” and I didn’t understand what she meant back then).

In 5th grade, I over-plucked them. Picture short, thick and unshaped eyebrows. They didn’t align with the corners of my eyes. They were extremely short. Embarrassed by them, I swore I wouldn’t touch them in ages.

By the time 7th grade rolled around and graduation came, my mum plucked the middle of my eyebrows, and I was unibrow-free! They were still bushy, but they weren’t short.

I first started grooming my eyebrows in the early years of high school. To this day, my method hasn’t changed – I get them threaded once every few months or so, and in between my threading sessions, I’ll maintain them by plucking.

Nowadays, I’m extremely conscious about my eyebrows. They need to be groomed, or I’ll feel like everyone is staring at me for having big bushy eyebrows.

If you’re like me, there are many ways to groom your eyebrows:

Threading

My favourite and only method for grooming and shaping my eyebrows. Threading is a traditional Indian-styled way to remove hair. They use cotton threads and their body to guide the threads to areas that need removal. It removes the hairs right out of the hair follicle which can last up to 2 1/2 to 3 months (depending on how fast your hair grows). It’s more precise than waxing and possibly even less painful than waxing. It’s not messy and can be done in 5 minutes. Locally, I pay only $10, but threading is still cheaper than waxing (the average price is approximately $8-10). For my local Vancouverites, I love going to Silky Touch Esthetics on Fraser and 41st!

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Waxing

This is a very common method and many first-time groomers will resort to waxing. Eyebrow waxing prices range from place to place, but from what I’ve seen, the average price is probably about $15-20. Waxing can be as precise as threading or plucking and the results can last for months. This method can be messy too, and even unsanitary if the salon isn’t high quality. However, the biggest downside to waxing is the high possibility of your skin sagging from all the stretching. Also, if your stylist isn’t skilled in waxing, they can rip off bits of skin. My best friend’s sister got her eyebrows waxed once and the stylist ripped off some of her skin.

Laser

I have yet to do laser hair removal or even consider it since it’s the priciest. However, I would be extremely uncomfortable to have such a powerful laser near my eyes. The results are permanent but it may require multiple visits and a few hundred dollars (per visit).

Plucking

This is everyone’s go-to method. I only pluck AFTER I get my eyebrows shaped. If little hairs start growing, I’ll pluck them away at home. I know very few people who groom their eyebrows by plucking because it takes massive skills (in my opinion) to carefully shape your eyebrows and not mess up. I highly recommend getting it done professionally and then maintaining them at home and following the shape your stylist has done.

DIY Kits

Of course, there’s also DIY. These kits are available in drugstores and beauty stores and it’s pretty much like waxing but they also provide eyebrow shape stencils/templates. Each brand has a different way of using its kit, but it’s along the lines of placing the stencils onto your eyebrows and using a white coloured pencil (some kits provide powder instead) to trace the stencil. Then, after preparing the wax, place the strips outside of the stencil drawing and wax the excess hair off. I recommend a second pair of hands to help if you consider doing DIY.

Tips for eyebrow grooming

• Instead of getting it done every month or so, maintain them at home to save money.
• Always ask the stylist to shape your eyebrows to a ‘natural’ shape. From there, you can decide if you want them thinner or let them grow a bit and get a thicker shape.
• If you’re scared of the pain, take some painkillers before your appointment.
• Get inspired by celebrities’ eyebrows. Show your stylist a picture and they can determine if that shape suits you.
• Pluck after a warm shower. It opens up your pores and reduces the discomfort of plucking hair from the roots.
• DON’T SHAVE YOUR EYEBROWS! I had a friend in high school who decided to shave her eyebrows and couldn’t control how/where she wanted to remove the hair. She underestimated the razor’s positioning and ended up shaving more than she wanted. Also, according to her experience, it left an odd, dry, and uncomfortable feeling after shaving.

Although naturally bushy, I feel blessed with dark eyebrows as it saves having to fill them in every morning! Back in the early 2000s when pencil-thin eyebrows were in, I was extremely self-conscious about mine, so I’m glad natural/thick eyebrows are here to stay!

How do you take care of your eyebrows? Have any tips to share for first-timers out there?