Guys, taking care of your eyebrows isn’t limited to plucking away the unibrow anymore, there is plenty more you can do to highlight your features and achieve a neat look, not to mention look younger, by occasionally spending a few minutes styling your brows.
Today, men aren’t afraid to explore the ways they can enhance their look. But if you’re just getting into the world of men’s cosmetics, you might be feeling a bit overwhelmed with all the hair removal and enhancement products.
So we give you a detailed guide on how to shape eyebrows for men!
Trimming men’s eyebrows
When it comes to the philosophy of how to trim eyebrows men don’t like to spend too much time on it, but in fact, this is the most important part of the process. The most common cause of men’s eyebrows looking unkept is excess hair.
Men with dark hair and skin usually have strong, bushy brows that grow excessively long, especially with age. They are hard to handle, get tangled, and no gel can keep them in place. They can stick out and ruin the shape of the arch, which is why plucking without trimming is useless.
If your brows are equal in length, you can skip this and go straight to plucking.
The trimming process
You can trim the longer hairs using scissors or an electrical trimmer, but keep in mind that the beard trimmer will also thin them out and they might end up sparse. If you’re going with scissors, choose straight, short-bladed ones.
Start with combing – you will need a dense comb with thin fingers, or a spoolie. Detangle them and comb them upwards. Shorten each of the super long hairs so all of them are approximately the same length.
Keep in mind that the hairs towards the tail – the part of the brow towards the ears – should be a bit longer than the hairs at the nose bridge.
Image by @glam_x_studio
Plucking men’s eyebrows
The next step is to shape arches by removing some hairs above and below the arch. When it comes to ways how to pluck eyebrows men and women both have several options. Apart from tweezing them yourself, it’s also possible to get them waxed or threaded at a salon.
The areas where hairs are removed are between the brows in order to get rid of the unibrow, just above the arch to make them thinner, and just below it, towards the tail, in order to create the curve that opens up the eyes.
It is important to note that shaving is not an option! The razor will irritate the skin and the hairs will start growing much thicker and darker. Not to mention the potential catastrophe of accidentally shaving everything off!
Image by @bluelilybrowbar
Men’s eyebrow waxing
Waxing is the most common hair removal technique other than good old shaving. Most salons offer it, but choose a technician who has experience with men’s eyebrows, as they will know how keep the look natural and subtle.
The process itself is quite simple: hot wax is applied onto the area you want waxed. A cloth is stuck to the wax, and once it stiffens a bit, the cloth is removed with a quick motion, pulling out the hairs.
Waxing is very practical, as regrowth takes weeks, even months.
Image by @marisoltorresmua
Men’s eyebrow threading
Threading is a bit different, although the principle is the same. The technician removes the hairs by twisting thin, cotton threads and catching the unwanted hairs.
Since just a few hairs are caught in one go, and since skin suffers no trauma, threading is less painful and a lot gentler. Each hair is removed individually, so it is done with maximum precision.
If you have sensitive skin or want particularly subtle and neat results, threading is the better option.
Men’s eyebrow tweezing
Tweezing is a quick, simple at-home solution. All you need is a pair of tweezers and a mirror.
Start by removing the unibrow, but avoid over-plucking, as you don’t want to make the gap between the brows too wide. Also make sure you pluck equally on both sides. For some, this might be it. But if your brows are thick and straight, you can make the arches a bit thinner and pluck the lower edge to create a curve.
Make sure you catch the hairs as close to the skin as possible and pull in the direction of hair growth. This will minimize pain and prevent the hair from breaking instead of being pulled out.
Extra tip: To further minimize the pain, try taking a hot shower or just soaking your face with hot water first. This will open up the pores.
How to shape eyebrows for men?
Most men want to keep their natural shape and plucking out the stray hairs – the ones that obviously stick out from the body of the arch – is enough. However, if you want to change up the shape of the arch a bit, you can achieve the ideal brow for your face.
Generally, men’s brows have less curve than women’s. For a natural yet tidy look, pluck out the stray hairs just above and just below the tail, subtly thinning it out and making it pointy. This tiny change can lift the whole face and make it look more youthful.
The ideal arch shape depends on the facial features. The principle of brow shape in accordance to face shape is the same for men and women, so check which eyebrow style suits your face shape the best, and use it as a guideline.
Of course, you can experiment and make your brows as subtle or as dramatic as you want.
Image by @sweetesttouchbeauty
How to get thicker eyebrows for men?
While some men struggle with taming their strong brows, the opposite problem is also very common. People with lighter skin and hair sometimes have thin, barely visible brows that don’t give much definition to the rest of the face.
Patchy or thinning brows regardless of skintone and hair color can happen for a number of reasons, including genetics.
Don’t worry, there are subtle ways to fix this issue.
Brow products for men
There are thousands of products that can give your brows the thickness and definition they may be lacking, it’s just the matter of finding the right one.
We know, the makeup isle can get overwhelming, but stay focused and look for either a gel or a mascara-type products in the shade closest to your natural hairs. These products are easiest to use and will add volume to your arch.
For extra thickness, try a powdery product.
Microblading for men
When it comes to how to do your eyebrows, men are sceptical about permanent makeup, so let’s start by clearing a few thing up first.
No, permanent makeup is not the same as tattooing. And yes, men can get permanent makeup too. In fact, scalp micropigmentation and tricopigmentation were designed for men, while scar camouflage is equally popular with all genders.
Microblading for men is the perfect way to enhance their brows, as this technique gives long-lasting results that look natural.
This treatment implies organic pigments in the color of the natual hairs being inserted into the skin in thin, hair-like strokes between the brow hairs using a thin blade. This way, sparse pathces are filled in and the shape of the arch can be modified.
The pigments stay into the skin for up to 2 years, at which point they fade.
For more information on microblading, check out our Ultimate Guide to Microblading!
Image by @omg_microblading
Other permanent makeup solutions
Besides microblading treatment for men, there are several spin-offs on microblading that can give amazing results, too. Such is nano brows or feather eyebrows which can give natural, masculine results.
Final thoughts
If you’re looking to keep your brows tidy, or if you’re unhappy with your brows, don’t waste time wondering do guys get their eyebrows done. Take your brows into your own hands!
If your brows are thick and bushy, the solution is very simple – an occasional trim and the optional tweezing/waxing session.
If your problem is quite the opposite and your brows are thin, sparse or too light, or if you have no brows at all due to a medical condition, microblading is a permanent, practical solution that gives results so subtle no one will be able to tell you’ve had work done.
Cover image source: Freepik
