In this regular new series, Ageless Beauty, The Telegraph’s beauty experts Annabel Jones and Lisa Armstrong tackle the beauty conundrums they’ve been searching for answers to and share their favourite tips and tricks. This week, they share how to keep your brows thicker and more youthful. Ask them your questions below
I attend a book club with two friends my age once a month. Both smart, busy, accomplished women in the throes of midlife, they’ve become my barometer for the types of beauty topics you might be interested to know more about.
At our last rendezvous, after discussing the merits of The Bee Sting by Paul Murray, the conversation turned to eyebrows. Both women had recently had theirs tinted and, for one in particular, it had been transformative – she has naturally pale eyebrow hair and thus monthly tinting had alleviated the need to fill hers in, which if you haven’t much to work with can end up looking well, filled in.
Eyebrows are the frame to the picture, they bring everything into focus and present your features in their best possible light. When accentuated in a way that flatters your natural eyebrow shape they have lifting capabilities, directing your eye upwards, which frankly helps when the bottom half of your face begins its descent south.
I too used to tint mine, before I discovered microblading. Microblading is a form of semi-permanent tattooing that is done in fine strokes that mimic real hairs. If you go to someone good then it’s so realistic it’s undetectable and can last up to two years. I found Daxita Vaghela at Atherton Cox in London’s Marylebone, after asking well-browed colleagues for their recommendations.
She has trained in not only the technique itself but in matching the colours of the ink perfectly to your skin and hair shade. Moreover – and this is important – she uses inks that fade to nothing, as opposed to ones that turn reddish brown. This can happen with poor quality inks when they oxidise. What you want is ink that decreases in strength over time at which point you can have a top up. If you do nothing, eventually the pigment will disappear leaving you at square one should you decide not to go back for more.
The process isn’t without discomfort but it’s made easier with an application of numbing cream 15 minutes prior. Once it’s kicked in and the treatment commences, you’ll feel a weird scratching sensation as the pen marks the area. My eyebrows were a little red for a day or two and sore once the anaesthetic had worn off. Vagella sends you on your way with a special soap and cleansing pads to keep the area clean, and within a few days the skin underneath is healed and your newfound shape is apparent.
It’s been about two years since I had mine done and it’s been without exaggeration one of the best investments I’ve made, saving me time and money on tinting and grooming. Aesthetically it’s given my eyebrows a certain strength – my natural hairs are sparse and lack character.
That said, as the effects have begun wearing off I’ve been filling in the gaps, especially for evening. I’m fond of thin pencils. These allow you to draw in fine strokes invisibly which I set in place with a clear grooming gel. I have two favourites: Merit’s Brow 1990 Sheer gel pencil and Kosas’s Brow Pop Nano Ultra-Fine detailing pencil. Actually there’s three. Victoria Beckham’s Baby Blade Microfine brow pencil is equally accurate at recreating natural hairs.
I use a technique I learned from a makeup artist many moons ago. Using the spoolie end of the pencil, I brush my eyebrows down first. Then I fill in the gaps – mostly the bit at the top of the arch – before brushing them back up. This gives a subtler finish and prevents you from overdoing things – otherwise known as “eyebrow blindness”. Then I’ll set the shape in place with a clear brow gel or a tinted one that matches my eyebrows. Note: eyebrow hairs tend to be more mousy than elsewhere therefore it’s usually better to avoid overly warm hues as they’ll look a little off. For those with silver hair, Jones Road has added grey to its Brow Pencil range.
Once I’ve added definition to sparse areas, I go over my work with a grooming gel. Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Freeze Gel is genius at setting brows in place all day and particularly useful if you’ve got thick hairs that need taming. For something less static, I find Charlotte Tilbury Legendary Brows one of the best tinted eyebrow gels due to its micro sized brush – thicker brushes tend not to be as precise and can distribute too much product in one go. Some days a clear brow gel will suffice. For this Glossier’s Boy Brow Grooming Pomade in clear is hard to beat.
We haven’t discussed plucking mainly because I don’t. A few stray hairs lend an air of nonchalance that I find alluring.
Annabel’s top picks
Merit Brow 1990 Sheer Gel Pencil in Taupe, £26; Kosas Brow Pop Nano Ultra-Fine Detailing Pencil in soft brown, £21; Victoria Beckham Baby Blade Microfine Brow Pencil, £32 in light brown
Jones Road The Brow Pencil in Grey, £22; Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Freeze Gel, £24; Glossier Boy Brow in Clear, £22
A friend undergoing chemo has lost her eyebrows and it’s surprisingly devastating. You can wear a convincing wig or a scarf if your hair falls out, but eyebrows are trickier. I’ve seen a lot of bad micro bladed brows, although yours look great, Annabel. Does it work when you have no brows at all? (Note from Annabel: yes, it can be transformative for cancer patients who have lost their hair).
My friend shows how big an impact eyebrows have on our face, yet we only tend to take any notice of them once they’re dwindling. When I was young and bushy of brow, the only upkeep I ever did was pluck them. Now I tend them with all the diligence and love of Monty Don nurturing his herbaceous borders. And yes, that does mean using Revitalash on them twice a week. Revitalash does a serum specifically for brows but I use the lash one on both brows and lashes – the ingredients are pretty similar. So far, so good.
That said, Revitalash is not without controversy. In very few instances, there have been reports of irises changing colour. But it really, really works.
An optical trick for thickening is to get them dyed. The therapists at Blink Brow Bars are second to none and if you ask them they will dye the paler hairs over your normal line which instantly makes them look thicker in the most natural way – they’re your own hairs after all. Accentuating the hairs above the arch also helps lift the eye. Blink does an at home kit that’s easy to use and economical.
If you have Botox, I’d recommend easing off the battle against lines and wrinkles, and instead just having a few micro dots above the brows. It needs a light touch otherwise you can end up with a startled looking pair of circumflexes, but done skillfully (Dr Shotter is a master of this) it really opens up droopy eyes and diminishes any lopsided droop. So does wearing a taupe-y colour on the lids. RMS’s Re LUminiser is a lovely subtle powder that brushes on lids and temples like silk – no sparkle.
There’s nothing wrong with asymmetry – a completely symmetrical face looks weird. But if one brow is significantly lower than the other, evening them up can make a big difference to how youthful you look.
If Botox is categorically not your thing, Trish McEvoy’s Brow Perfector is a clear wax that holds brows in place all day. Just brush them into the position you want and swipe the pencil over them. Also, this is where a chunky pair of specs comes into play. The right shape will also lift the face and provide character if brows are on the sparse side.
If tinting your brows isn’t for you, but you’re not ready for micro blading, Anastasia Beverly Hills’ Volumising Tinted Brow gel comes with a teeny brush for precision coating – again, you can colour in pale hairs to make your arches look more luxuriant. Much easier and more natural looking than a pencil.
Trish McEvoy Brow perfector pomade, £25; Blink Brow Bar At Home Brow Tint Kit, £42
RMS Beauty Redimension Hydra Dew Luminizer, £40; Anastasia Beverley Hills Tinted Brow Gel, £22
Ask Annabel and Lisa
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