The newest eyebrow trend is bleached eyebrows. It gives off a very high-fashion vibe and it’s very much of a statement look.
And while you might love the idea of that, doing such a drastic change can seem scary. Subtler eyebrow lightening is the perfect first step! It helps bring the look closer to the fully bleached eyebrow yet it’s still a much gentler way to change things up.
So if you’re looking for a way to participate in this trend but not go full-on bleached, here are 3 natural ways to lighten eyebrows without bleach.
But first, let’s explain the difference between bleached brows and lightened ones.
Bleached Vs Lightened Brows
Contrary to what many might think, lightening and bleaching your brows aren’t the same thing; there is actually one pretty big difference.
Bleaching means extracting the color from the hairs completely while lightening only lifts a few shades of the original brow color.
Let’s put it this way: if you are looking for a statement, runway eyebrow look, bleaching is what you want. Eyebrow lightening is not that. It will work for someone who wants just a slight change to their appearance, possibly just to match the brows to the hair.
Lightening your brows is a great gateway for getting to bleached brows. Jumping shades lighter is much more palatable than suddenly having almost no brows. Of course, how light your brows will turn out depends on how light they are to begin with, naturally.
Image source: Instagram @rimachaghoury
How to Lighten Eyebrows Without Bleach
So, if you are chasing the bleached brow aesthetic but are afraid to fully commit to bleach, there is no need to use bleach right away.
Bleach carries more risks – mostly of overprocessing the hair which can lead to eyebrow hair breaking and falling off. It can also pose a risk of an allergic reaction, so if you are just trying to strip a few shades off of your natural color, it’s better to go for natural methods.
Here are 3 easy ways to lighten eyebrows without bleach:
Lighten Eyebrows with Makeup
The easiest way to lighten eyebrows without bleach is simply using regular makeup. For this method, you can use concealer, color correctors, or eyebrow gels and pencils made for blondes. You can even use a beige gel liner.
Just make sure you pick a suitable shade. If you want your brows to blend with your skin, pick a shade that matches it as closely as possible.
Apply makeup with a spoolie and thoroughly brush it in forward and backward motion. This really packs on the product and covers the root of the hair, ensuring there is no darkness visible. An extra tip is using peachy color correction to cancel out the darkness of the eyebrow hairs.
It’s good to start at the end of the brow and work your way inward. Then, when you’re done covering it, just brush it in the direction you normally would. You can fix it in place with a transparent powder.
This technique allows you to experiment with the lightened or a bleached brow trend without having to commit long-term.
However, that is also the biggest con of this technique. It only gives you a temporary effect until you take your makeup off. But at least you can instantly switch back to your natural color in case you don’t like it.
@izzipoopi I had sm fun doing this hahahahah
♬ original sound - IZZI
Here’s a Couple of Products Great for Lightening Your Brows
Lighten Brows with Lemon and Chamomile Tea
According to the Internet, you can lighten your brows by mixing equal parts of lemon juice and water, then applying the mixture on the brows with a cotton swab. Please keep in mind that this mixture is very liquid-y so pay attention not to let it drip into your eyes.
The way to make it thicker is to add chamomile tea into the mixture. Cut open a few bags and apply it like a paste.
This method can lighten your brows, however, you’d be satisfied with the results only if you’re looking to change a few shades as this cannot give you any drastic results.
We need to note that we don’t recommend using anything with lemon so close to the eyes.
Lemon juice can irritate the skin and even cause a rash. Putting it on your skin, and exposing it to the sunlight (which this method encourages) can cause phytophotodermatitis – an inflammatory reaction of the skin.
Lighten Eyebrows with Baking Soda
According to TikTok, you can lighten your brows by only using baking soda paste!
- The paste only requires mixing a teaspoon of baking soda with a small amount of water. The consistency should be medium thick.
- Massage the paste into your brow hairs and leave it on for 15-20 minutes.
- Rinse it off.
Another way to make the paste is to mix 1:1 baking soda with your regular shampoo. This will make the paste thicker.
For better effect, people also mix baking soda with hydrogen peroxide. However, this then falls into the category of chemically processing your brow hairs, which is basically bleaching.
While baking soda alone might lighten hair color, not everyone should be using it. Those that have sensitive skin might irritate it with this ingredient. They should dilute it more, but then the effect won’t be the same.
Also, keep in mind that it might take a few tries to get the desired color. So use this technique carefully. You can use it a maximum of 2-3 days in a row and then give your hair and skin some break. Wait a few days before applying it again.
NOTE
Baking soda and baking powder are not the same thing!
Baking powder is a cooking-only ingredient that does include sodium bicarbonate but also includes other ingredients like cornstarch, etc. You’d have to use baking powder in a much higher quantity to get enough baking soda in the mixture.
So, you need baking soda, not baking powder.
Safety Precautions
Although you’re not using bleach, these other methods can be harmful to your skin as well. So you need to make sure your skin can handle it.
Irritating ingredients, no matter how natural they are, cannot go onto damaged skin. So you can’t have any cuts, abrasions, sunburns, or other skin conditions (not even eczema).
The hair also needs to be in good shape to be able to handle all the drying side effects.
It’s important to check what you can put on the brow hairs if you’ve also had other treatments done. For example, brow lamination is already chemical processing of the brows. So using bleach right after it is the biggest no-go!
And last but not least – don’t forget to patch-test everything beforehand! We know it can be annoying to wait but better safe than sorry. Irritated, itchy skin is much worse.
If All Else Fails, Just Try the Bleach
Natural alternatives are great, but in the end, if you’re looking for a dramatic lightning effect, you’ll just have to go with bleach. Here’s all you need to know about bleaching your brows, and here’s a list of products you need to do it.
Cover image source: Freepik
