Waxing Eyebrows

I am going to start with eyebrows. I do not get my eyebrows waxed. I cannot let them grow out long enough to actually get them waxed. I pluck my eyebrows every night maybe every other night. I have dark brown eyebrows and they grow fast. You can really tell if I miss more than two days. Otherwise I would for sure get them waxed. To be honest I do not think most people can get them waxed, simply because the growing out part is so hairy and noticeable. If you can handle it, go for it. People with light hair have it easier because you do not notice the hair as much. If you have the patience I would go with waxing, it last a while and is a lot less of a pain than plucking. Plucking, you can do it quickly, but it does get to be a pain. Waxing is pretty inexpensive. It will run you about $15, give or take, depending on where you go. Eyebrow waxing is something I would never do myself at home. I would never want even my worst enemy to do it herself at home. It is a recipe for disaster. There is hot wax and it is too close to the eyes. You also have to get a good shape and that is going to be hard to do alone in your bathroom. If you get the wax too hot you will pull off a layer of skin and end up with a scab; it is a lot harder than you think, waxing. Leave it to the professionals.

I think the best thing to getting your eyebrows waxed is the shaping they will do for you. They can change it depending on what you want or what is in style. With my first experience with plucking, I still wish to this day that I would have gone in to a salon and gotten them waxed. I plucked and plucked. I was trying to get them to look even. There is the first rule to learn: your eyebrows will never EVER be the same. Get used to it, or you will end up like me. So, I am in the seventh grade, and keep in mind I had never done this, or been taught. My mom and sisters keep their bushy, hairy

brows. So, I thought, I can do this, it will not be hard. I just kept going and going. They ended up so thin, it is scary. They were almost unnoticeable. I look back at the pictures and want to cry it is so sad. I was lucky that thin eyebrows were in at the time; five years later not so much. Let me tell you, when you pluck your eyebrows for that long and every night, they disappear for good. I tried to grow them out, to start fresh, my goal being to get them shaped at a salon. The growing out was sick, I looked so bad, and hairy and monster-ish. I did it though, I grew them out. What I got: hairy eyebrows that were patchy. They did not fill out, there were so many gaps, and it was because I plucked them gone for so long. Then for close to a decade I filled them in with powder. It is embarrassing when you go swimming; you go in with eyebrows and come out with none. I hated being in public on a rainy day worrying if they would run off my face. Or sometimes at the end of the day just realizing that part of one was rubbed off. This is why I really recommend going in and having it done professionally, at least the first time. They can give you a shape and that will give you a guide line where to pluck when you need to. I have since had problems with my non-existing eyebrows since and do not want anyone to end up like me. Know what you are doing before you pick up the tweezers, or better yet, go to a professional.

So, I will explain what will happen once you step into the salon. Before you let anyone wax your eyebrows talk with them about it first. Make sure you are both on the same page; that they know what you want. They will let you know what they think and recommend. Of course, you do not have to do that if you are a returning customer and feel comfortable with the person. You do want to grow you hair to about ¼ of an inch. Call the salon you plan on going to and see what they think. I have called salons and gotten ¼ inch out of them. This can be between 2-6 weeks of growth, depending on how fast yours grows. Once you go in to get waxed, they will tell you when to make your next appointment; that is another nice thing about going to a salon. You do want to make sure they are long enough for the wax to grab onto. Otherwise, waxing will be pointless. You will still have the little stragglers to worry about if they didn’t get quite long enough. Once you are in the chair, they will first clean the area with a liquid. Then they will put the wax on, add a cloth strip on top, and pull it off in one quick motion. I have had some salons put a powder on before the wax. After the wax is done, they will put on a gel or powder to get calm the skin and prevent irritation. You want to make sure not to tan after, it may make the area red and irritated. It can also almost give your skin little red burns that will turn into scabs. It looks like rug burn. I know because this has happened to me (on my upper lip). So, watch out for that. Also, be a little careful when washing your face at night, I have had the soap irritate the skin, making it burn a little. Sometimes this has happened and other times it didn’t. Now, after a wax I wash my face still, but I stay away from the area. If you still have discomfort or burning after when you get home you can put aloe vera gel on it. I have found leaving the area aloe and letting it heal on it’s own is the best.