Of all the tricky grooming hills to climb, men's eyebrows may be the trickiest. Get them right and you're flying — compliments and great selfies on tap. Get them wrong and patchy, bushy, unruly brows may just dog you for the next six weeks. The thought alone is enough to make you want to never touch them in the first place.
But that's the fear talking. Taking care of your eyebrows — and getting them into neat, handsome shape — is easy when you know what you're doing. Whether you've got thin sparse ones; thick, hairy ones; brows patchy from hair loss; or ones in need of a little dye, it's only a few steps between here and great brows.
And ‘great’ doesn’t mean picture-perfect, mind. In fact, some of the best eyebrows out there are good because they’re unique to their owners.
“I love Liam Gallagher’s brows and how he embraced his unibrow — it really adds to his look. I love the embracing of perceived ‘flaws’ and making them something unique to your face and style,” says Sara Wren, director of artistry at Milk Makeup. “Will Poulter also has this amazing arch shape to his brows that really add to what he can do with his ‘brow’ acting.”
But you can still keep your brows well-groomed and unique at the same time. You just need the right tools in your belt. Before you step into the world of tweezing, threading and pomades, get your head around the basics first. GQ tapped the best brow experts to talk shapes and sizes, making them thicker, thinner, dying them, and everything in between. Here's what you need in your wash bag.
What kind of eyebrow shape should I go for?
It goes without saying that your eyebrows are unique to your face, so your face should be the guiding factor here. Jaimineey Patel, head of training at Blink Brow Bar, says that, as a general rule: “Arched brows work well for round faces, as they add definition, rounder eyebrows compliment men with wide eyes and broader forehead and enhance the overall facial features.
“Flat yet thick brows are great for those with smaller eyes, as they emphasise the brows. Straighter brows are always popular with men with oval-shaped faces as they add balance.”
Where should I pluck to get the shape right for me?
As Patel says, go slow and plan ahead. “Mapping brows is a great way to determine shape before hair removal. Taking a pencil and placing it at the inner corner of your nostril, to mark the start of your brows. Then swivel the pencil to the outer side of the iris, that is where the arch should sit and then further swivel to the end of the eye to mark where the brow tails off. Use this mapping and outline the brows, then pluck only excess hair following the mapped out shape.
“Try to then put your tweezers down until you have full growth back to encourage a cycle for a cleaner finish when taking care of brows. Another tip is to get good grip tweezers and be careful to pull from the root to avoid breakage and stubble.”
What are the benefits of eyebrow threading?
Plucking and waxing aren’t your only options for eyebrow hair removal. ‘Threading,’ when the hair is rolled between two fine threads and pulled out gently, is an alternative.
"Eyebrow threading gives a more precise result than waxing and can be done in half the time with appointments taking 15 minutes or less. You don't get ingrown hairs with threading like you do with waxing, and it's a lot gentler on the skin. When done correctly threading can be a minimal-pain procedure with results lasting up to three weeks,” says Barber Social's David Olds.
“Tweezing eyebrows is very similar to threading as it uses the same plucking technique but can only remove brow hairs one by one. It's a great way to maintain eyebrow shape at home in between threading appointments.”
Should I trim my brows with clippers or scissors?
When your brows get too long, trimming the ends can keep everything neat. Olds says: “Eyebrow trimming with scissors or clipper-over-comb can be key to maintaining the perfect brow, keeping hairs at the same length and avoiding any long strays. This is called an eyebrow trim and any good barber will offer the service.”
