Eyebrow Grooming

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A recent study from Canada found that eyebrows are a more identifiable feature than your eyes are. Eyebrows accentuate your eyes and they’re an important aspect of your facial expressions because they communicate emotion.

Groomed brows will give you a neat and polished look but you will still look masculine. As men age generally, the brow hair, nose hair, and ear hair, grow faster so even though you’ve never paid much attention to it now, bear in mind one day, it’ll hit you too.

Why Do You Need To Groom Your Brows?

Basically, it gives your face definition, shape and it enhances the look of it. Overgrown eyebrows definitely have the potential to distract from your face as well as your eyes and leave a negative connotation when people look at you. Even though we don’t think about it much, it really stands out. Think about the guy with a unibrow or the guy with really overgrown eyebrows, it’s just a very bad look.

Is this a good look?
Is this a good look? [Image Credit: Wikipedia]

Most women groom their eyebrows diligently and they usually have very extreme shapes that are really defined and they pay a lot of attention to them. For men, that’s over the top and the goal is to have some definition but overall, a natural looking shape. That means the lines around your brows shouldn’t be sharp. Also, avoid extreme shapes or angles because that draws attention to your brows.

Overall, eyebrow grooming is as important as other grooming aspects such as your hair, your beard, or your shave, and you can easily combine it, let’s say, with nose hair trimming.

Where Should You Get Your Eyebrows Groomed?

You can get your eyebrows groomed while getting your hair cut
You can get your eyebrows groomed while getting your haircut [Image Credit: Pinterest]

1. The Barbershop

First of all, you can do it so at the barbershop while you get your haircut especially if you trust them and they know what you like. Depending on where you go, it can cost anywhere from five to ten bucks. Going to the barber is a particularly good approach for men who have full brows and they just need a little trim, meaning just shorten hairs. It’s also good for men that can just keep the existing brow shape in place without having to make any modifications.

eyebrow threading
eyebrow threading

2. Eyebrow Studio

It’s a great option for men who don’t want to mess it up and want to get exactly the shape that they want by a pro who does nothing but eyebrow grooming. Now generally, they are experts with women so it pays to ask them if they’ve worked with men and ideally show you examples of what they can do so you know exactly what you get before you have your eyebrows groomed.

Sven Raphael & Teresa having an eyebrow grooming session
Sven Raphael & Teresa having an eyebrow grooming session

3. At Home!

The third option is to shape them at home either by yourself or by a partner who is skilled with it. In my experience, this is the best option for the majority of men because you can conveniently do it at home, it’s inexpensive, and it gets you exactly the results you want.

Must-Have Eyebrow Grooming Tools

Stainless eyebrow scissors
Stainless eyebrow scissors [Image Credit: Etsy]

1. Small Pair Of Scissors

You want a very small pair of scissors with a point that allows you to be very accurate. Thicker, more bulky scissors simply won’t work.

You need a comb that is just the right size
You need a comb that is just the right size

2. Stiff Comb

If you have something that’s too small and flexible, it’s going to be hard to get the hair in the right direction. Likewise, a comb that is too big won’t work because it’s too bulky.

3. Trusty Tweezers

You want a quality pair of tweezers such as these ones from a manicure kit that really grips the hair and allow you to pull it out without causing you pain.

Pluck eyebrow to shape
Choose a quality tweezer that would really grip the hair and let you pull it.

Step By Step Eyebrow Grooming

1. Determine The Shape Of Your Brows.

So first, hold your comb vertically over the center of your nostril which determines the length of the inside brow. Of course, you do this on both sides. Some men argue that it looks better to have the brows aligned with the outside of your nostrils. Personally, I think the center of the nostril is better because especially if you have a bigger nose, the center will create a more harmonious look whereas if you have shorter brows on the inside, it will just make your nose look even bigger which is not advantageous.

Align the outside of your nostril with the corner of your eye and where the comb meets the brow, that’s where the brow should end. Align the outside of the nostril with the outside of the iris and where the comb intersects with your brow is where the high point or the peak point of the shape of your eyebrow should be.

Use your comb to make sure you follow the shape of your brow
Use your comb to make sure you follow the shape of your brow

2. The best tool to shape your eyebrows is a pair of tweezers.

You can keep holding your comb into three different positions just so you make sure you don’t forget the shape and you get exactly what you want and something that’s consistent on the left brow as well as on the right brow.

So with the tweezers, I first pull the hair in between my brows then I pull the hair underneath the arch as well as a tail which is the outside edge of the brows. When you use tweezers, you want to grip the hair firmly and then pull in the direction of the hair growth, not too fast, otherwise, you may risk breaking the hair off. Also, avoid pulling it against the growth direction because it may break as well.

Trim brows that are too long
Trimming helps shape the brows.

3. Trim The Length Of The Individual Hairs.

To do so, break each brow into two sections; the body, which is closest to the nose and a tail which is closest to your ears. For the body, use a fine-tooth comb and comb the hair upwards and towards the center of your face. Start by matching the angle of the comb to the angle of your eyebrow and then slightly tilt it upwards towards the center of your face.

By doing that, you get a little more variation in the length of the hair trim which is better looking because it’s more natural similar to feathering when you get your hair cut. It also helps to maintain a shorter inside length and a longer outside length. Make sure to trim off the hair at that angle but then comb it back down to see the results. Repeat until all the hairs on this side are trimmed and then you move over to the other brow. This way, you can always compare what the final result should look like while you’re still working on it.

Dos & Don’ts Of Eyebrow Grooming

Never attempt to use any kind of razor to groom your brows
Never attempt to use any kind of razor to groom your brows [Image Credit: Razor US]
  • Don’t ever use a razor to groom your eyebrows. I made that mistake once and it looked terrible because it’s very difficult to get the right shape and what happened to me was I just got too far down on one side then I had to reduce it on the other side, I got further down on this side and I had to repeat it on this side, and ultimately, I ended up with very small and unnatural looking eyebrows that were just odd. No matter if you use an electric razor or a wet shaver or a double edge razor, it’s too risky and even if you get it right, you can still see that hair was shaved rather than pulled out which just looks odd.
  • Do restrain yourself while shaping your eyebrows. Less is definitely more because it’s very difficult to get full brow hair to grow back. Just ask any woman who lived through the 90s.
  • Don’t use any electric trimmer. That will either leave gaps or something that looks really unnatural and it’s not at all the look you want.
The top edge of the brow always defines the shape
The top edge of the brow always defines the shape
  • Don’t remove any hairs from above the eyebrow. The top edge of the brow always defines the shape and by removing here from the top, you flatten the shape and it looks worse.
  • Do consider using a bit of leftover hair product on your eyebrows. Especially if it’s a styling balm, it can help create a really advantageous look. If you have thick unruly eyebrow hair, you can also use just some specific product, just make sure it’s not gluey and sticky because that looks unnatural. I also try to stay away from any shiny products because it just draws too much attention to my eyebrows.
  • Don’t worry about perfect symmetry between your left and your right eyebrows. Naturally, they’re not the same and even after grooming, they won’t look exactly the same. Rather than going for a clone on both sides, think of it more like siblings that look very similar but are not 100% identical. Now that being said, look at my eyebrows before I groomed them and afterward. I typically have a few hairs that are very long and I just try to get rid of them, trim them nicely, makes a huge difference doesn’t it?

CONCLUSION

While you should not spend as much time and detail on your eyebrows as women do, a little bit of maintenance goes a long way. You just need a little pair of scissors, a small toothcomb, and a pair of tweezers, and again, just like with clothes, it’s all about the details. Be patient, don’t overdo it, and when in doubt, less is more!

Outfit Rundown

Raphael in a striped polo shirt, chinos and boat shoes.
Raphael in a striped polo shirt, chinos, and boat shoes.
Black Calf Leather Belt Aniline Dyed Cut-To-Size - Folded Edges 3cm x 120cm - Fort Belvedere

Fort Belvedere

Black Calf Leather Belt Aniline Dyed Cut-To-Size – Folded Edges 3cm x 120cm

I’m wearing a fine blue and white striped polo shirt it has a shirt style collar that is not cheap and sloppy looking but it just lays down flat I’m combining it with a Nantucket pair of chinos as well as a boat shoes in navy blue and red I’m combining it with a navy blue belt that separates my top on my bottom and it’s just a very kind of preppy summery casual look.

Do you groom your eyebrows? Share with us your dos and don’ts in the comments below!

Reader Comments

  1. If I didn’t use tweezers I would have an eye-catching monobrow. I would urge caution in using the centre or outer edge as an endpoint as it can give a feminine appearance to tell eyebrows. I recommend using the inner edge of the nostrils first and only going wider if you are absolutely sure. Final word of caution, many women will automatically pluck your eyebrows too wide for a male face.

  2. Is easier use an haircut trimmer set at short lenght and you can cut your eye brows at appropriate lenght
    Modeling the shape using your razor
    i do in this way

  3. I have my hair stylist trim my eyebrows when I get a haircut. I use some small scissors and a comb for any stray hairs between cuts. Use tweezers for between my eyebrows and I stay well groomed. You can have a great hair cut but unkempt eyebrows will ruin your look.

  4. I’ve noticed that my eyebrows are growing faster as I get older. They still aren’t too bad so I do them at home with a pair of tweezers. Usually it’s just a couple of longer hairs but I know that in time it will get worse. When that happens I’ll have my lovely sweetheart do it for me. She always volunteers anyway.

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