What *Not* To Do When Plucking Your Brows at Home, According to an Expert
Amy Clark is Adore Beauty's former Senior Editor and co-host of Skincare School the podcast (and self-appointed beauty road-tester!). Amy's worked as a journalist, beauty editor and podcaster for several years, previously writing and talking about all things beauty at Mamamia and You Beauty. When she's not writing honest, no BS product reviews and taking selfies 'for work', you'll find Amy eating halloumi in a hair towel turban and... taking more selfies.
So, you're thinking about how to pluck your eyebrows? Same.
Sounds like a great idea... until you step back from the mirror and realise you've made a grave mistake.
They say your brow technician has the power to make or break your day, but at-home brow shaping?
That's a whole other level of beauty risk-taking.
That said, if you do want to learn how to pluck your eyebrows at home, keep scrolling for these expert tips.
Whether you're in lockdown, or struggle to get an eyebrow appointment, this article will help you avoid an over-plucking disaster.
How to Shape Eyebrows: A Beginner's Guide.
Firstly, it's important to accept doing your brows yourself probably won't deliver the same results as when you have them done by a brow artist.
They're professionals, after all.
Unless you have super low maintenance eyebrows, DIY brow shaping and tinting is more about keeping them tidy, and feeling good between appointments.
Or look at it this way - if you're spending a lot of time at home, why not use the time to grow out your brows using a brow serum like LASHFOOD BROWFOOD Eyebrow Enhancer Serum 5ml or work towards a new shape?
Eyebrows For Face Shape.
With the above in mind, having an understanding of the eyebrow shape you are after before going in with the tweezers is a good idea.
The best brow shape for you is... whatever you like the best!
However, here are some eyebrows for face shape tips if you're wondering how to pick your eyebrow shape.
1. Best Eyebrow Shape For Oval Face.
- If you have an oval face, your forehead is slightly wider than your chin and you have high cheekbones.
- Basically any eyebrow shape is the perfect eyebrow shape for an oval face.
- Softly-angled brows with a gentle arch curve and slight downward angle tail will add dimension to your face, without looking too harsh.
2. Best Eyebrow Shape For Diamond-Shaped Face.
- Diamond-shaped faces have a narrow chin and forehead, and wider cheeks.
- Want to know how to make your eyebrows more defined? Shape them in a way that helps shorten and soften your face.
3. Best Eyebrow Shape For Round Face.
- On a round face, the face width and length are roughly the same.
- Strong, angular brows with a defined arch can add definition and length to the face.
4. Best Eyebrow Shape For Heart-Shaped Face.
- Heart-shaped faces are wider across the forehead with a sharp chin.
- As for how to shape eyebrows for a heart-shaped face, focus on contrasting the angles of your face with soft, rounded brows.
5. Best Eyebrow Shape For Square Face.
- If your forehead, jawline, and cheekbones are the same width, then you have a square-shaped face.
- Want to know how to make your eyebrows more defined? The answer is bold, thicker brows.
- Thicker brows will balance out your jawline, while a slight arch will soften the angles of your face more broadly and add depth.
Easy Way to Shape Your Eyebrows.
OK cool, but how am I meant to know what soft arches or angular brows look like?
That's where an eyebrow shaping guide tool comes in handy.
To help nail the perfect eyebrows for your face shape, use an eyebrow shaping guide tool like Anastasia Beverly Hills Stencils - 5pk - they're basically stencils that help you see what different brow shapes look like.
As for other at-home eyebrow tools, you'll need:
- A pair of sharp, slanted tweezers like Tweezerman Slant Tweezer - Classic
- A spoolie (naked mascara wand) - You can buy a reusable brow brush like Benefit Pomade Brush or packets of spoolies from the chemist.
- Small cosmetic scissors - Tweezerman Studio Brow Shaping Scissors and Brush is a set that comes with a reusable spoolie!
- If you have fair brows, you could start by tinting them with a product like Baebrow Instant Eyebrow Tint so you can easily see which hairs to remove.
If you want to tint your brows at home, watch our YouTube video below.
How to Pluck Eyebrows... Without Over-Plucking.
Next, we asked our resident brow expert and cosmetic brow tattooing artist Lily (@lcbeautytattoo) from our Customer Experience team to take us through how to pluck your eyebrows at home, step by step.
This is a how to pluck eyebrows for beginners guide, including Lily's expert eyebrow plucking tips for how to pluck eyebrows at home.
1. Making sure you have a good pair of tweezers is essential! Sharp, slanted tweezers like Tweezerman Slant Tweezer - Classic are my go-to for the best grip of the hair.
2. Ensure the skin is clean from makeup and oils - I think it's best to pluck your brows right after a bath or shower, as warm water helps to soften the hair follicle.
3. Brush your brows upwards using your spoolie so you can see what you're working with. Hold the tweezers in your dominant hand and use your other hand to firmly hold the skin taught for a cleaner pluck.
4. The best way how to pluck eyebrows with tweezers is to pluck in the direction your hairs grow, rather than upwards. Start by plucking hairs from underneath the brow, from the middle of the brow length moving outwards to the tail. Only remove hairs that sit outside your natural brow shape.
5. Once you have plucked under one brow, move to the other brow side to make sure you are keeping it consistent. Then, you can pluck hairs from the top of the brow if necessary.
6. You can trim any hairs that go beyond the shape of your brow using a great pair of cosmetic scissors. Brush the hairs in an upwards direction and trim small amounts at a time.
7. Wash face with warm water, pat dry and follow with a basic moisturiser. Make sure not to apply any makeup or active skin care.
Eyebrow Plucking Tips.
Still not sure how to pluck your eyebrows at home?
Here are some more of Lily's expert brow plucking tips:
- Wanna know how far to pluck eyebrows? Don’t pluck into your brow shape, but rather just clean up the hairs around the edges that are out of place.
- Instead of eye balling where you should pluck, I highly recommend you fill in your brows like you normally would, this will ensure you aren’t going to touch a hair that shouldn’t be touched.
- Don’t over-pluck! If you are not sure if a hair should be removed, just leave it! It's especially important not to over-pluck hairs on the tops of brows because it can pull your eye shape down.
- Start by plucking a few hairs from each side, then step back and assess before removing more. Take your time.
- Shape brows near a window, ideally in the afternoon sun, and using a free-standing mirror with a magnified side.
How Far to Pluck Eyebrows.
Your brow should start in line with the corner tip of your nose.
If you were to draw a line on an angle from the corner of your nose to the outer corner of your eye, that's where your brow tail should end.
How Often Should You Pluck Your Eyebrows?
Try to shape your brows at least once a month, no more or no less, unless you don't have any hairs to pluck.
Plucking too soon can create different stages of brow hair growths, and leaving it too long can make it harder for you to follow what you have previously done.
What About How to Wax Brows At Home?
"If you can stay away from it, please do!" Lily says.
"The last thing you want is to accidentally burn yourself, rip off layers of skin or even get wax on an area where you don’t want it... but if you do have a wax mishap, coconut oil will be your saviour because it can dissolve the wax."
In short: Stick to tinting, plucking - and maybe a bit of trimming - when learning how to shape brows.
And remember, brows are sisters, not twins.
Nine times out of 10, perfectionism will only lead to an over-plucking disaster.
Want more at-home beauty tips and reviews?
