Like the hairs on your head, your eyebrows will have a natural direction of growth. If you don’t like the way your brows are growing, you can easily change it with a few tricks. In this article, I show you just how easy it is to fix eyebrow hairs growing in the wrong direction.
You can easily fix eyebrows growing in the wrong direction with regular makeup. Alternatively, you can brush the hair into the shape you want and use a styling product to fix it into place. For a longer-lasting solution, you could use trimming, plucking, threading, and/or waxing. Your final option is lamination or semi-permanent makeup.
why do my eyebrows grow upwards?
The front of our brows tends to grow upwards whereas the hairs towards the end grow sideways. This is different from person to person and there is no sense or logic to the way brows generally grow. Either way, your brows are doing their intended job of protecting your eyes. There is no right or wrong way.
Current trends in beauty show a preference for eyebrows growing upwards. With that said, there is also a strong emphasis on authenticity and owning your natural features.
This means that eyebrows growing downwards is also perfectly acceptable.
All that matters is that you’re happy with how you look.
How To Fix Eyebrow hair Growing In The Wrong Direction
There are 7 main ways to fix eyebrows growing in the wrong direction. These are:
- Distract
- Conceal with makeup
- Brush and fix
- Trim
- Pluck
- Thread/wax
- Conceal with semi-permanent tattoos
You can use any of these techniques individually or combine them.
It’s advisable to start with the lightest-touch approaches first. Only move on to more heavy-handed approaches if absolutely necessary.
Let’s get into it.
1. Distract
If your eyebrows are fairly close to the shape you’d like them to be, then distraction may be all you need.
Avoid statement eye makeup, in particular, avoid liquid liner with strong edges (e.g. cat eyes and wings).
Instead, go for statement lips, bangs, and/or jewelry.
2. Conceal with makeup
Similarly, you can “fake it till you make it” with makeup.
If your eyebrow growth is only slightly different from what you’d like, regular makeup may do the trick.
If they need more adjustment, then tint or henna brows may create your desired shape.
3. Brush and fix
If you need to take stronger action, then brushing and fixing your brows may be the way to go.
Start by brushing your eyebrow hair into its natural shape. Then brush your hair where you want them to be.
Once you have achieved the shape you want, use makeup to fill in any gaps and then fix your brows into place.
4. Trim
If you have thick eyebrows, you may find that you need to trim them to shape them effectively.
Sometimes trimming will do the job on its own. At other times, you may need to brush and fix your brows after trimming them.
Always use sharp scissors to trim your eyebrows and work slowly and carefully. Remember, cutting hair is a whole lot easier than growing it back.
5. Pluck
Plucking should be (almost) your last resort rather than your first step.
Ideally, it should only be used to tame occasional hairs that don’t respond to any other approach.
Be particularly careful about plucking hairs at the corners of your brows, especially the inner ones.
Overplucking here can lead to an obviously lopsided appearance.
What’s more, the hairs in these parts of the brow can take the longest time to grow back.
If you’re concerned about hairs growing across your brow, try drawing two lines on each side of your nose.
Then pluck any hairs that grow within those lines. If you’re not sure whether or not a hair is within the lines, try trimming it first.
Only pluck if you’re sure trimming isn’t enough.
6. Thread/wax
Ideally, threading/waxing eyebrows should be left to the professionals.
They can be great ways to reshape your eyebrows. It is, however, very easy to make mistakes.
What’s more, any mistakes you make will take a long time to grow out.
If you must thread/wax at home then make sure you clearly define the shape you want to create.
Mark it in something bright and obvious like an eyebrow pencil or lipliner.
Then be sure to stick to your guidelines.
As always, it’s better to err on the side of caution.
7. Conceal with semi-permanent tattoos
If you’re really unhappy with how your eyebrows look, then semi-permanent tattoos could be the solution you need.
These are an effective way to create the illusion of eyebrows that grow exactly how you want them to.
The effect can last for up to three years with annual top-ups.
What if my eyebrows grow in different directions?
It is quite common for eyebrows to be ‘all over the place’. The beautiful brows you see on Instagram and Tik Tok tend will often have undergone some sort of waxing or tinting and in many cases, they’re not even real.
If your eyebrows are growing in different directions, try one of the following:
- Identify the ‘mismatch’ and use makeup to make both brows even
- Use brow gel on the hairs whose direction you want to change.
- Trim or pluck the hairs that are out of place. Do this very carefully.
- Get a brow lamination treatment
What Tools Do You Need To Shape Your Eyebrows?
The main tools you need to shape your eyebrows are:
- a spoolie brush
- baby scissors
- slanted, angled tweezers
- a mirror, preferably with lighting
- eyebrow makeup and styling products
You might also want to consider tint, henna brows, and/or semi-permanent tattoos such as microblading or powder brows/ombre brows.
It really is worth investing in a high-quality pair of hair scissors and a high-quality pair of tweezers.
Ideally, you want scissors with fine, sharp blades and tweezers with fine ends.
These help with accuracy. Likewise, you want tools with absolutely smooth edges.
Once you’ve assembled the tools you need, the other key must-haves are good lighting and plenty of time. You want your lighting to come from the front and/or the sides.
Overhead lighting can create shadows that mislead you.
You also want plenty of time so you can relax and work carefully.
If you’re using a mirror with magnification, use the regular side, not the magnifying one.
Using magnification can give you a misleading impression and encourage you to overdo your shaping.
Can You Train Eyebrows to Grow In the right Direction?
It’s very difficult to train your eyebrows to grow in the desired direction.
With that said, as long as you use the right approach, there’s no harm in trying. If you’re lucky, you’ll succeed.
If you’re not, you’ll still be styling your eyebrows into the look you want.
To train your eyebrows to grow in a certain direction, start by brushing them in the direction they usually grow.
Then groom them into the desired shape.
Try to use brushing and trimming as much as possible. Keep plucking as a last resort.
With that said, if you decide that your eyebrows need to be plucked, pull the hair in the direction you want it to grow.
Once your eyebrows are in the shape you want, add a styling product to hold them in place. Eyebrow wax is the usual choice.
How To Tame Eyebrows That Stick Out
1. Brush your brows into their natural shape
Brushing your brows into their natural shape helps to reduce the likelihood that your grooming will leave you with bald spots.
2. Brush your brows into the desired shape
Your strategy is to do as little work as possible to achieve the desired effect.
In principle, if you get the exact look you want by brushing, you can skip straight on to fixing your brows in place.
In practice, you’re probably going to need to do a little more work to get the exact look you want.
3. Trim back the hairs that still stick out
Always trim before deciding whether or not you need to pluck.
Start with the longest hairs and work down towards the shorter ones. It’s fine if you end up with hairs of slightly different lengths.
This gives a more natural look.
4. Decide if you need to pluck
Plucking isn’t forever. Eyebrow hair grows back in about 6-8 weeks. It can, however, feel like forever if you overdo it.
That being so, it’s advisable to pluck slowly and mindfully. Keep checking your progress and stop plucking as soon as you’ve achieved the look you want.
5. Fill in any gaps
There are loads of options for filling in gaps in your eyebrows. Gel and pencil are probably the most obvious ones.
You can also use brow fillers, powders, waxes, and putties.
If you don’t have a favorite already, just try out different products and see what works for you.
6. Fix your brows in place
Any styling product that works on your head hair will usually work on your eyebrows too. This can help prevent eyebrow smudging as well.
The exception is hairspray as it’s too easy to get this in your eyes (even if you close them). All regular hair-styling products will also usually have eyebrow equivalents.
In general, mousses and wax are your best option for a natural look plus plenty of hold.
Best Way To Trim Eyebrows
The number one way to ensure that you’re giving your eyebrows the best possible trim is to invest in a high-quality pair of scissors.
When you’re trimming aim to keep a straight line from below the front of the brow to the arch.
Start with the longest hairs.
If in doubt, leave them a little bit longer than you think you want them. Then check and see if you do actually want to trim them again.
Work your way through to the medium-length hairs and then, if necessary, to the shorter ones.
Keep checking the result as you go and stop as soon as you’ve achieved the look you want. If you’re not quite sure, stop anyway and do something else for a while.
Then look again and see how you feel. Allow your hairs to be slightly different lengths.
This creates a much more natural look.
If you want to grow your eyebrows quicker, make sure you follow these three steps:
- Lay off the tweezers (and waxing/threading)
- Condition your eyebrows (at least at night)
- Consider taking vitamins for hair-growth