Men need regular eyebrow maintenance, just like women do. Yes, you made it the first 20 years or so of your life without needing to do anything about your brows—but things change.
As men get older, their eyebrows require more work to keep them neat and tidy. It doesn’t matter whether you have big and bushy eyebrows or scraggly ones, every man can benefit from grooming their brows regularly.
But before you reach for the tweezers or try the latest eyebrow grooming fad, there are three of the things men should know:
- Not every eyebrow shaping technique is a good idea.
- Over-tweezing is a common mistake that many men make when shaping their eyebrows.
- Eyebrow maintenance should be part of every man’s grooming regimen.
WHY MEN NEED TO GROOM THEIR EYEBROWS
We’ll get straight to the point: Bad eyebrows can hurt your appearance. Out-of-control eyebrows that are verging upon a unibrow are never a good look on a man.
On the same level are the thinning eyebrows you often see on older gentlemen. Apart from fine lines and wrinkles around the eyes (which you can treat with a men's skin care kit), there is no bigger indicator of a man’s true age than his eyebrows.
For men in their 20s and early 30s, eyebrow maintenance usually means keeping things neat and tidy. Some young men will need a few simple plucking of hairs, while others will need more work.
Men in their late 30s and above will need to be extra careful about plucking their thinning eyebrow hairs. Fortunately, there are eyebrow shaping solutions which can make eyebrows appear fuller without looking unnatural.
Whether you’re trying to score a date, land a promotion or feel more confident, being proactive about your eyebrow grooming regimen is essential. Well-shaped brows may not guarantee you a hot date or new promotion, but numerous studies have shown that looks do matter in how successful we are (see claim: “…This effect is moderated by male physical attractiveness…”)
Besides, nicely-shaped brows are a confidence-booster. With a few simple eyebrow shaping tips, you can achieve perfectly natural-looking brows that enhance your handsome appearance and your confidence.
DIY EYEBROW SHAPING—BEST PRACTICES
If you’re intimidated by professional eyebrow services or don’t want to spend the money, shaping your eyebrows at home is an affordable option. However, going the DIY route comes with a few challenges—namely, messing up your eyebrows and being forced to live with the consequences.
The most important thing to keep in mind is that you don’t want to overdo it, regardless of whether you pluck, wax or thread them. It may be tempting to pluck every gray or straggling hair you find, but you will quickly regret it once you take a good look in the mirror.
Do: Stick to Tweezing
There are other ways to shape your brows other than tweezing, but that doesn’t mean you should use them. For most guys, minimal tweezing is all that’s needed to get enviable eyebrows.
At-home waxing kits do have the benefit of removing super-fine hairs that are difficult to pluck. The problem is that waxing can involve a bit of a learning curve. Do you really want to take the chance of ripping off half your eyebrow? We didn’t think so.
Don’t: Go Overboard
As we said before, going too hard with the tweezing can leave you with sparse-looking brows that look worse than before. Start slow and avoid taking too much off.
Remember, bushy eyebrows aren’t necessarily a bad thing. George Clooney, Robert Pattinson, Dave Franco and plenty of other good-looking male celebrities have bushy brows that are well-kept and natural looking.
So long as it’s not a unibrow or out of control, embrace your thick brows! All you need is a bit of tweezing and perhaps a tiny amount of styling cream (we like this one from Pete & Pedro) to tame wild hairs.
Try Men's Skin CareDo: Find Your Eyebrow Start and End Point
Before tweezing any hairs, you must first identify where your eyebrows stop and start. To do this, take a fine-tooth comb and hold it vertically in the middle of your nostril.
Once you’ve identified where your eyebrows should start, you’re going to use a high-quality tweezer and begin plucking any big, rogue hairs in the middle. You should leave a few tiny hairs to make them look natural.
To find where your eyebrows should end, take the comb to make a line from the tip of your nose to the outside corner of your eye. Remove any excess hairs on the outside of this line.
Don’t: Trim from the Top
Once you’ve tweezed up the start and end points, it’s time to shape them a little more. To do this, always tweeze excess hairs from the bottom of your eyebrow.
Why start from the bottom? If you’ve ever seen a man with overly-arched eyebrows, it’s probably because they tweezed them from the top. You need the hairs on top of your eyebrows to keep them looking full and youthful.
Now, there are times where the eyebrows can grow super long and need to be trimmed. To trim these hairs properly, use your fine-tooth comb to brush the hairs up and use precision tip scissors to trim the hairs peeking through the comb.
Do: Use the Right Tools and Products
For a simple tweezing job, all you need are a pair of high-quality tweezers, precision tip scissors, a comb and a mirror. However, some men can benefit from other tools and styling products.
For instance, we’ve mentioned the styling cream to help men tame bushy eyebrows. There is also a handy tool called a precision eyebrow trimmer which makes it easy for men to remove unwanted facial hair.
Precision eyebrow trimmers often have two detachable heads: one for trimming larger facial hair and another for safely removing hair near the brow line. If you have facial hair that needs trimming as well, this tool is a great one to have in your grooming arsenal.
Other eyebrow products worth picking up could include an eyebrow brush and clear eyebrow gel. Once you’ve successfully trimmed your bushy eyebrows, you can use an eyebrow brush to sweep them into a neat formation. Then, you can lock their shape into place with a high-quality clear eyebrow gel.
Don’t: Be Afraid to Use Brow Gel
Brow gel is an effective way to fill in any sparse spots in your eyebrows and instantly elevate your look. However, you need to be careful when you use it.
Just as with any type of makeup for men, there is a right way and a wrong way to use brow gel. Rule No. 1 is to go easy on it.
Keep in mind that brow gel won’t work if you have obvious patches in your eyebrows. Some bald patches will fill in naturally, but some men decide to undergo a male eyebrow transplant to restore their brows to their natural shape.
Do: Leave Some Grays
As tempting as it may be to pluck all your grays, it’s best to leave a few in there. Plucking too many gray hairs will make your brows look sparse.
If you have gray hairs in your eyebrows, you probably have them on your head as well. In this case, your eyebrows absolutely should match the color of your hair.
Don’t: Try Shaving Your Eyebrow Hair
Shaving your eyebrow hair is a bad idea for numerous reasons—first being that it grows back quickly. You’re shaving the hair from the surface, which means that it will need to be shaved again within days.
Additionally, the hair can potentially grow back coarser than before and stand out more on your face. Save yourself the hassle and stick to shaving only your facial hair.
PROFESSIONAL EYEBROW GROOMING AND TREATMENTS
The obvious benefits to getting your eyebrows done professionally is that they have a high chance of looking great—if you choose the right professional for the job, that is.
An experienced professional should be no stranger to doing men’s eyebrows. Although it might be pricey, consider this: You can get it done once to see the shape of your brows and then simply maintain them at home.
Take the skin care quizDo: Your Research
We’ve all seen a bad eyebrow job before, and it’s not pretty. If you’re entrusting someone with your eyebrows, you need to make sure that they are good at what they do.
When finding a licensed professional to do your brows, carefully read their reviews and see if you can find any male client reviews. If they don’t have male reviews, don’t write them off—some guys may be hesitant to write an online review.
Always schedule a consultation first. This gives you the opportunity to ask whether they have had male clients, what their philosophy is and how they would approach your eyebrow situation.
When you meet with them, it’s absolutely vital that you check to see if they have amazing, natural-looking eyebrows. If their eyebrows are bad, don’t be afraid to walk away.
Don’t: Get Waxed
You may have seen your girlfriend or wife go and get her eyebrows waxed. While it may work for her, it’s usually not the best solution for a man’s eyebrows.
First, waxing usually removes all the fine hairs around your brows and in the middle of your brow. For women, this look is ideal—for men, not so much.
Like we said, leaving a few hairs in strategic places is essential for men. It gives them the manly, yet well-groomed appearance that most regular guys seek.
Not to mention that waxing can result in burns and acne in some customers. If you’re already dealing with acne between your eyebrows, the last thing you want is to irritate this area of your face even more.
Do: Find a Microblade Specialist
Waxing is out for guys who want a natural brow appearance—but what about microblading?
Microblading is a tattooing technique which enhances the natural look of brows by adding slight pigment to the skin underneath the brow. Basically, it’s a more permanent alternative to eyebrow gel.
More men are opting for microblading services but be warned: Men shouldn’t let anyone but a licensed microblading specialist touch their eyebrows.
Microblading is still a relatively new treatment and many professionals don’t have much experience with male clients. To avoid looking overly-feminine, be choosy with who does your microblading.
Don’t: Rule Out Threading
Threading uses a string technique to remove unwanted facial hair. Once a women-centric service, many men are now stepping into salons and asking for work to be done on their eyebrows as well.
Although threading is one of the more precise methods of hair removal, you still need to be careful with who does the service. Make sure that they have worked on male clients and understand that you want to look masculine, not feminine.
Don’t: Be a Cheapskate
If you want your eyebrows shaped correctly, don’t go to the cheapest place you can find. Always go to a licensed professional who has years of experience.
Threading is a low-cost service which can run under $30 a pop, so there is no reason to skimp on it. However, microblading services can run anywhere from $300 to $850.
Keep in mind that microblading is a long-term procedure (it lasts up to two years). It’s also a procedure that demands a licensed professional.
For the best results, don’t allow your wallet to dictate where you go for professional eyebrow services. By choosing a high-quality salon for eyebrow shaping, you’ll likely feel more comfortable during the actual treatment—and more satisfied with the results.
FINAL WORDS
Shaping your eyebrows and maintaining them periodically should be a regular part of your grooming and skin care regimen. They may be small things to focus on, but your eyebrows can dramatically change the appearance of your face.
Just remember to start slow and don’t be afraid to seek out a professional. At the very least, they can give you a starting point to see where you should be tweezing in the future.
References
Brooks, A. W., et al. “Investors Prefer Entrepreneurial Ventures Pitched by Attractive Men.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, vol. 111, no. 12, Oct. 2014, pp. 4427–4431., doi:10.1073/pnas.1321202111.
