THICK’S IN

By Shilpi Shukla

(Article published in Bharat Ratna, a HongKong-based publication)

For those who thought that trimmed eyebrows added to their beauty and feminine charm are certainly running behind the times. Fashion’s back in the thick of things.

That baby face with an eyebrow that says “I know what I want” is what made Brooke Shields so incredible. And now, thick eyebrows are splashed all over the pages of Vogue, Elle, Vanity Fair, Lucky, and Cosmopolitan. Stars such as Penelope Cruz, Salma Hayek, Allison Lohman, Hayden Panettiere, Anne Hathaway and Scarlett Johansson embody the look. Women who are without such a pair can't figure out a way to achieve the same effect. These pairs of eyebrows look groomed and naturally stunning on the faces of these Hollywood beauties.

Thanks to the changed trends. You don’t need to wear that forever-puzzled look on your face anymore, with those over-plucked, ultra-thin eyebrows. Thick eyebrows used to look manly, unkempt, and unclean. Thankfully, the fashion diktat’s a pair of bold, well-defined eye brows. Some women who once plucked zealously are now hoping that the thin brown lines on their foreheads bloom into thickets.

Don’t overpluck

Studies suggest that plucking brows repeatedly causes damage to the hair follicles and the hair growth becomes straggly, sparse and increasingly difficult to grow back as you age. Badly plucked brows lose their natural shape and arch and replicating them is almost impossible. Some patients want to restore their eyebrows to their original thickness while others want a subtle thickening or to reduce scars which may mar their eyebrows. Remember that most people do not need extensive reshaping. The more you tweeze, the more you make it so that you have to tweeze daily. Try to look at tweezing as a way to enhance and define, not a way to remove and redo.

Growing that wildness

For women who overpluck, this season will be about growing your eyebrows back so that they have a natural arch that extends out and ends in a beautiful point. It’s not that difficult to grow your eyebrows to their full thickness. All it requires is some patience and 12 weeks of grooming. Just let it grow and only tweeze the hair below your eyebrows when shaping. If you try and tweeze the hair on top, you often end up looking imbalanced and unaligned.

Tweeze immediately after a hot shower or bath. That is when your follicles are the most loose, and it will help keep the event as painless as possible. Sometimes you will accidentally create gaps in your eyebrows by tweezing. Also, when growing your eyebrows, you will inevitably notice odd patches where the hair is still coming in. Find a shade of colour that matches your eyebrows exactly, and use that to fill in your problem areas. Many women swear by clear or coloured eyebrow gels that can be used to keep your brows in place. The brush looks similar to a mascara brush, and is used to comb your eyebrows in one direction.

When dyeing your hair, consider that brows should often be several shades darker than your hair colour. To best compliment your colouring, consider the best shades of eyeliner and eye shadow as well. Brown brows often look best with green and soft pinks for shadow, and grey and browns for eyeliner. Black brows look best with grey and charcoal for shadow, and black for eyeliner. Blond brows look best with very little makeup-perhaps lights shades of brown and blue for shadow, and little to no eyeliner.

To create your best shape, see a professional esthetician. They can sculpt your first look for you, which leaves you with the job of maintaining that shape with tweezers over time. It is not suggested to attempt to shape on your own, as that often leads to mishaps and disasters.

        Apply olive oil on your eyebrows and massage gently. This is known to be helpful in making the eyebrows grow thicker.

        Castor oil is known to be helpful for growing eyebrows thicker and faster. Apply this oil on your eyebrows at least twice a day.

        Dip a ball of cotton in a bowl of milk and rub the ball on your eyebrow. The proteins and vitamins contained in the milk provide nourishment to the hair roots and make them grow thicker.

        Use eyebrow conditioners that contain essential nutrients helpful for the growth of hair. They can be bought from a drug store.  

        Eat Right: Eat a diet of fresh fruits, green vegetables, and plenty of fluids. This will make your hair (and eyebrows) look healthier. Also, since human hair is largely made up of protein, you should consume a protein-rich diet. Fish, eggs, meat, and dairy products are good sources of proteins. If you wish to take only plant proteins, you should consume pulses and lentils. Along with proteins, a diet containing vitamins (like biotin) and minerals (like zinc) may also enhance hair growth significantly. If your dietary intake of vitamins and minerals is not sufficient, you can also take vitamin and mineral supplements. However, you should try and avoid smoking and drinking alcoholic beverages, as they can impede hair growth.

Dramatise those eyes

·         To balance full eye brows, brush them upward with a clean, dry toothbrush or eyebrow comb.

·         Fill in sparse areas with a pencil or powder (to define your arch)

·         Keep heavy brows in place with a clear or tinted brow gel.

·         Apply a light eye shadow over the entire eye area, from lashline to brow. Pale lilac or pink are the best. Bone workd too for a totally natural effect.

·         Dot a shimmery, stark white eye shadow at the inner corner of each eye

·         Use a violet shadow to build colour at the outer corner, sweeing upward and outward in a cat-like fashion.

·         Use black kohl eyeliner pencil on the bottom lashline.

·         Black liquid liner on top.

Eyebrows are synonymous with expression. Strong eyebrows make you look intelligent, bold and empowered. Shave them off if you want to be considered eccentric and interesting ala the Mona Lisa or Whoopi Goldberg. Raise one and smile slightly if you don’t believe a word of what you are hearing. Feeling flirty? Raising both eyebrows up and down quickly can be a humorous suggestion that you might want to get chatty and cosy with a member of the opposite sex.