How to Give an Arch to Your Eyebrows

Tweeze your eyebrow to accentuate the arch.

Your eyebrows highlight and accentuate your eyes and face. Arching your eyebrows correctly can mean the difference between flattering, natural-looking brows and a permanently surprised expression. Whether you shape your eyebrows yourself or go to a salon to have them groomed, the risk of over-plucking and over-arching is always present. The high-arched brows that look glamorous on your favorite celebrity may not be the most flattering brow shape for your face. Always follow your own natural brow line to get the most natural-looking eyebrows.

Things You'll Need

• Spiral brush or toothbrush
• Eyebrow scissors
• Eyebrow pencil
• Eyebrow stencil
• Tweezers
• Cotton ball
• Makeup remover

Instructions

1. Find your natural eyebrow line. Do this by first combing your brows, then trimming longer hairs. Comb your eyebrows up and outward with a spiral brush or toothbrush, then trim off any hairs that stick out beyond the others with sharp eyebrow scissors. Then, comb your eyebrow hairs down and trim off the longer hairs in that direction. Trimming the hairs in this fashion prevents you from cutting the hairs at the roots and results in a better definition of your natural brow line.

2. Estimate where your eyebrows should start and end. Imagine a vertical line from the side or your right nostril to your forehead. Use a dark-colored eyeliner to mark the spot where the line touches your right eyebrow. This is the starting point of your eyebrow. Imagine a diagonal line from the outside of your right nostril, past the outside corner of your right eye. Mark where this line touches your eyebrow. This is the ending point of your eyebrow. Repeat the process on the left side.

3. Locate the highest point of your eyebrow. Look straight into a mirror, then draw an imaginary line from the outer edge of your right iris up toward your eyebrow. Mark the spot where the imaginary line intersects he top of your eyebrow; this is where the highest point of your arch will be. Repeat this process on the left side.

4. Draw the eyebrow you desire to create over your eyebrow hairs using your eyebrow pencil. Use the beginning, ending and arch markings to stay true to your eyebrow's natural lines. Use eyebrow stencils, in your desired eyebrow shape, to easily create two similar-shaped brows. Outline the cutout part of the stencil and color it in. Remove the stencil.

5. Pull out stray hairs between your brows. Hold the skin taut between the fingers of one hand. Tweeze in the direction or your hair growth, using the other hand.

6. Tweeze the hairs that fall outside the eyebrow outlines you have drawn. To avoid over-plucking, remove hairs one by one, starting from the bottom of the brow and working up the sides. Step back periodically to view your results in the mirror. Make the inside part of your eyebrows the thickest, and reduce the width gradually as you get closer to the outer edge.

7. Wet a cotton ball with oil-free makeup remover and wipe it over your eyebrows to remove the eyebrow pencil.

8. Set and shape your eyebrows with eyebrow gel.

Tips & Warnings

• If your face is round, make a high-arched brow; this brow shape lengthens your face. Opt for a minimal arch if your face is long, since this will help your face look shorter. If you have a heart-shaped face, avoid angles, and instead create a round, curved arch. Many eyebrow shapes will work with an oval face; if your face is oval, experiment to see which shape works best for you.

References

• Stylist; Anastasia - Stop Over-Arching Your Brows; Grace Gold; Nov. 2009
• Hair Finder: Shaping Eyebrows
• Cosmopolitan: Amazing Arches - How to Shape Your Eyebrows
• Eyebrows: Eyebrow Shaping
• Shape: Find the Best Eyebrow Shape for Your Face; Rebecca Brown