It’s one of the most underrated parts of your face, but your eyebrows are crucial in framing all the beautiful aspects of your visage, from your eye shape and nose, to your jawline and lips. Perfectly shaped eyebrows are essential to bringing out the absolute best of your face, as they act both as complement and counter-balance to everything else. However, this is where a lot of people mess up: they either get too eager with the tweezer and start plucking away like their brows are a chicken being prepped for trussing, or they just let it grow wild like an unkempt garden.
A lot of this brow mismanagement comes not just from a lack of technique, but also, a lack of knowledge about their brows. Different types of brows require different techniques, which means that some brows might take to waxing better than threading, pencils over pomades, and brushes over other shaping tools. Crafting that perfect, goddess-like arch is going to take time, patience, skill, and above all, knowledge about the kind of brows you have.
But it’s not just techniques, different eyebrows also benefit from different styles: thinner eyebrows work well with certain shapes while fuller brows might require something completely different. It sounds complicated, and like it requires a lot of effort, and that’s because it is. But trust me: once you’re able to shape your brows the right way, with the right tools, and with the right style, you’re never going to be able to see your brows the same way again.
In essence, whether full or thin, eyebrows look better darker. This helps its function as a counter-balance to the rest of your face, while its shape works as a complement for your eyes and cheeks. How to make your eyebrows darker requires knowing what kind of brows you have, what tools are perfect for it, and what techniques you should use.
How to Make Your Eyebrows Darker…If You Have Full Eyebrows
Some people win the genetic lottery and are born with full, lush eyebrows that require only minimal maintenance to keep it shaped perfectly. While you technically won’t need it, making your eyebrows darker when they’re already pretty full is pretty easy, and it requires some basic plucking, shaping, and keeping it in like with the face of your shape. Again, eyebrows are supposed to complement your face, it’s not supposed to take up a plenary majority of someone’s view.
In order to maintain a balanced look, the first step is to remove any obvious stray brow hairs in the area surrounding your brow ridge. As you do this, try to define the brow arch in the outer third, making sure that the brow tail has a nice, crisp taper to finish. In this way, you’ll be able to maintain eyebrows that are dark, with a full silhouette, while keeping it looked well-groomed and neat. Use a non-crunchy clear brow gel to keep everything neatly swept in place in order to better frame your eye’s shape.
To keep everything in place, it’s best to use a brow pencil for full eyebrows. A brow pencil will help you fill out any gaps or sparse spots, giving your brows a strong, fluid arch. To do this, all you need is to outline your brow and go through the gaps. Normally, these gaps will be around the perimeter of the arch, so there won’t be much need for you to fill out the center of your brows (unless, of course, you have any noticeable spots, in which case, this might be a sign of eyebrow hair loss and it’s something you should get your beautician to look at). Use a spoolie to brush through your brows, as this tool will help you darken your eyebrows without too much of a heavy stroke.
How to Make Your Eyebrows Darker…If You Have Thin Eyebrows
Sometimes, however, you don’t win the genetic jackpot and you’re born with thin, sparse eyebrows. Or, maybe, your thin eyebrows are the result of a bad wax job or even over-plucking. Not to worry, defining thin eyebrows to make them darker is still a definite possibility, and there are ways to get thicker eyebrows. But even with a thinner brow, it’s still possible to make them look dark and defined, and it all starts with proper trimming.
Again, start by plucking out obvious stray hairs in the perimeter of the brow. The more maintained and neat your brows are, the easier it will be to define them. To get them even neater, apply a thin layer of wax just to get rid of all strays (or ask a beautician to do this for you). This will give your eyebrows more definition, thus making them darker. Use the same technique as above when using your brow pencil: create an outline and start brushing around the perimeter and shading in any obvious sparse spots.
Try not to overdo it with the cleanup, though: stray and out-of-place hairs should be plucked out, but try to leave as much hair as possible to make your eyebrows darker. As much as possible, avoid using any lotions, foundations, sun screen, moisturizers, serums, face cleansers, and hair dye on your eyebrow. These substances can, and probably will, clog up your brow follicles, leading to shedding and preventing the growth of new eyebrow hair.
How to Make Your Eyebrows Darker…If You Need To Reshape Your Eyebrows
As with everything, moderation is key: yes, you should pluck out any obvious strays, but the keyword there is obvious. If you’re having a hard time determining what that is, always, always¸ ask a professional beautician. The best way to make your eyebrows darker when you need to have them reshaped is to let your eyebrows grow back. This will take around 6 weeks to around 4 months, depending on your hair growth cycle. After that, it would be best to see a pro.
Professional beauticians won’t just pluck and re-shape your brows, though: they’ll also advise you on the best shape possible depending on your face. Most beauticians, though, agree that a natural trim with a slight feather is best for a fuller, darker eyebrow. As much as possible, keep your brow’s tail aligned at a 45-degree angle to your eyes, as this makes it look as natural as possible. Of course, this will depend on your exact brow length, which, in turn, is determined by your specific facial features.