Tinting your brows with henna is a quick, easy and affordable way to enhance your brows. It won’t give you the longevity permanent brow makeup can, but it will make your brows look fuller, thicker and just as trendy. And it’ll definitely last longer than your average brow pencil.
A form of tinting, henna doesn’t only color the brows hairs; it also stains the skin underneath for an extra volume effect and that Instagrammable on-point brow look.
You must have seen pictures of amazingly shaped brows right after applying the henna, but you’re probably wondering what happens to henna brows after 2 weeks. Let’s find out.
How Long Do Henna Brows Last?
First off, it’s important to understand that henna brows give 2 effects, and those effects have different lifespans.
- The stain on the skin can last 7-14 days (7 for most people)
- The hairs stay tinted until they reach the end of their growth cycle, so around 6 weeks.
So technically, henna brows last for 6 weeks, but there’s a catch. Since not all brow hairs are at the same stage of the growth cycle at the moment of tinting, not all of them will fall off at the same time. You’ll lose the tinted hairs gradually, and the color will therefore gradually go back to its original shade.
This is a good thing, because your brows won’t change color overnight, but rather slowly fade back into their natural shade.
You might feel the need to color your brows with a makeup product towards the end of the 6 weeks.
Image source: Instagram @lifeartbyhella
What Do Henna Brows After 2 Weeks Look Like?
Your henna brows after 2 weeks will still look good!
The shade from this skin will be washed off by this time, but your brow hairs will have more or less the same shade as right after the procedure. Within 2 weeks, not that many of your natural hairs will have fallen off, so the color will be equally intense in all parts of the brows.
You won’t have the shaded look, but since the tint colors even the thin baby hairs that are not visible on bare brows, there will still be much more volume in your arches than there would be without tinting.
You won’t need any extra brow makeup, your arches will still be enhanced and look great.
You might want to pay some attention to the shape of your brows, though. Before you got your brows tinted, you probably shaped them into the arch you want by plucking out the stray hairs. You can keep shaping your brows in this way as often as you feel the need to.
For many examples of great henna brows, check out our gallery.
Image source: Instagram @esthetics4you_
Can I Prolong My Henna Brows in Any Way?
This depends on what you mean – the stain on the skin, or the color of the hairs? Let’s discuss each.
The Stain
The stain that henna leaves on the skin is washed off slowly, bit by bit whenever you wash your face. It’s also affected by the natural oils your skin produces. The sebum is pushed out to the surface of the skin through pores, and it also removes tiny portions of the tint.
Obviously, you can’t not wash your face, but what you can do is stop yourself from rubbing your brows and taking off the color mechanically. No scrubs! It’s also a good idea to switch to gentle cleansers that won’t wash the tint off so quickly.
That way, you can try and make the stain last out for as long as possible, but no matter what you do, your henna brows after 2 weeks won’t include the shadow on the skin.
The Hairs
There’s really not much you can do to prolong your henna brows past the 6 week mark, since you can’t control the length of your brows’ natural growth cycle. There’s also the question of your hair’s natural properties and how well it absorbs and retains color.
What you can do is make sure they last out the 6 weeks by keeping them out of the sunlight as much as possible (sunlight fades the dye from the brow hairs). The same goes for avoiding harsh skincare which contains brightening ingredients.
Avoid any scrubs that could pull out the natural hairs which are around the end of the growth cycle, but still hang on.
Image source: Instagram @cornerbrows
How Often Can I Refresh My Henna Brows?
Henna brows will fade away completely within 6 weeks, and you shouldn’t refresh your henna until they do. Meaning, all of the tinted hairs should fall off before you tint your brows again.
If you put henna on top of existing henna, there could be a chemical reaction that could potentially damage your brows.
So, don’t refresh henna brows sooner than 6 weeks apart.
For more information on henna brows and how to do them, check out this guide.
Important!
If you’re getting henna brows for the first time, or you’re trying a brand of henna, make sure to do a patch test before applying the dye to your brows. Henna is a natural, plant-based dye, but certain types of it are known to cause allergies in a portion of the population. So always test the dye on a hidden spot and wait 24-48 hours to see if there’s a reaction. You don’t want your brows going red and rashy!
Cover image source: Freepik
