Should you wax thin eyebrows? The answer to that question depends on your beauty goals. Here is a quick guide to what you need to know.
You should wax thin eyebrows if you want to correct their shape quickly and easily. In general, however, waxing is more suitable for people with thicker, bushier eyebrows.
Is Waxing Good Or Bad For Eyebrows
Waxing is neither good nor bad for the eyebrows. It will, however, inevitably cause some damage to the skin in your eyebrow area.
For most people, the skin will heal quickly. Your regular skin-care routine will help to keep your skin in good condition.
In particular, moisturizing will help to repair any damage caused by waxing.
Should You Wax Thin Eyebrows?
You should wax thin eyebrows if your main goal is to remove stray hairs. Waxing can also be used to shape thin eyebrows. Threading and plucking are, however, more precise.
Who Shouldn’t Wax Eyebrows?
Those with Sensitive skin
If you have sensitive skin, then you might find waxing too aggressive.
Threading and/or plucking are likely to be better options for you. These are more precise.
They do, however, still pull out hair by the roots. This means that these methods might still be too invasive, particularly for sensitive skin. If so, you may need to stick to trimming with scissors.
If You Have Used other treatments
Similarly, if you are using chemical peels or retinol, then you also need to avoid waxing.
Your skin will be too delicate and sensitive for these kinds of ingredients. Some medications could also make you unable, or at least less able, to tolerate waxing.
You can check this with a pharmacist or doctor.
If you’re on your period
You might also want to avoid waxing your eyebrows when you’re on your period. This often causes hormonal fluctuations that can make your skin more sensitive.
Periods can also increase your response to pain in general.
Recent tanning sessions
It’s also advisable to avoid using sunbeds for at least a day or two before and after having your eyebrows waxed.
Tanning essentially means burning your skin very lightly. It will therefore make your skin more sensitive to waxing.
Should You Wax Eyebrows At Home?
You should wax eyebrows at home if you want to shape your eyebrows without paying a hefty price.
With that said, waxing at home tends to work best when you’re simply removing stray hairs.
If you actually want to shape your eyebrows then it’s better to have them waxed at a salon.
There are two main reasons why having your eyebrows waxed at a salon is better for shaping them:
- A salon will have you lay back while the beautician works. This helps you to stay still and gives the beautician much easier access to your eyebrow than you would have yourself.
- Even a newly-trained beautician is likely to have a lot more experience than you do yourself. This means that they are more likely to be able to create the eyebrow shape that you want. They can also advise on what eyebrow shape would look best on your face.
Alternative Ways To Shaping Thin Eyebrows
The main ways to shape thin eyebrows are waxing, threading, and plucking.
Waxing is quicker than threading and plucking. Threading and plucking, however, allow for much more precision than waxing.
As all three treatments pull hair out from the root, they all last for the same length of time.
This is typically 4-6 weeks.
You can also shape thin eyebrows by trimming them. This is relatively quick and completely painless.
The effect, however, only lasts for a relatively short time. Depending on how quickly your hair grows, this could be as little as 2-3 days.
Waxing vs threading and plucking
Waxing
With waxing, warm, liquid wax is applied to your face. The beautician then covers this with a strip of paper or cloth.
They will then quickly pull away the cloth moving against the direction of the hair growth. Once the treatment is over, the excess wax will be washed off.
Waxing also involves tolerating a relatively high level of pain for a very short time.
Threading
With threading, the beautician essentially shapes a length of thread into a lasso. They then use this to grip the hair and pull it out quickly.
Plucking
Plucking follows the same idea as threading but uses tweezers instead of thread. Plucking is more precise than waxing but less precise than threading.
Threading and plucking both involve tolerating a lower level of pain for longer. With that said, plucking is relatively easy to do at home.
You could, therefore, pluck your eyebrows a little at a time.
You would, however, need to be confident in your ability to shape them properly.
How to prepare for waxing eyebrows
If you’re having your eyebrows waxed at a salon, be prepared to communicate effectively with your beautician.
You will get the best results if you are very specific about what you want (and don’t want).
Try to bring in some photographs. If possible, print them out so your beautician can see them during your treatment.
If you’re having your eyebrows waxed in a salon, then the beautician will clean them for you.
If, however, you’re waxing your eyebrows at home, then it’s important to clean them thoroughly first.
This means not only getting rid of any dirt or oil in the eyebrow area but also getting rid of any traces of cleansing products.
How to take care of waxed eyebrows
If you have your eyebrows waxed in a salon, your beautician will probably apply a product to help soothe the irritation. This will probably be cortisone cream.
If you’re waxing your eyebrows at home, fragrance-free aloe vera gel is a good alternative.
For at least four hours after your eyebrow treatment avoid:
- thick moisturizers
- makeup
- fragrances and fragranced products
The pores on your skin will be open. These products could therefore easily sink deeper into your skin than they normally would.
This can irritate your skin further and trigger breakouts and pimples. If your skin’s redness is bothering you, try using a cold compress to soothe it.
You should also avoid hot showers and baths.
Again, the heat will probably irritate your skin even further. It might not trigger breakouts and pimples but it will almost certainly slow the healing process.
Grooming waxed eyebrows
Once your beautician has achieved the eyebrow shape you want, it’s advisable to leave their work alone as much as you can.
It’s fine to pluck the odd stray hair but resist the temptation to do anything drastic.
Essentially the same comments apply if you waxed your eyebrows yourself.
Resist any temptation to overgroom them.
After your eyebrows have healed, putting a little bit of castor oil on them at night will help to keep them in great condition.
In the daytime, you can use makeup to enhance your eyebrow shape.
Alternatively, you might want to look at eyebrow treatments such as henna brows, powder brows, or microblading.