Once you have your eyebrows threaded by a hair removal expert at Brow Art 23, you will never go back to plucking your eyebrows with tweezers! Here, you can be assured that your eyebrows will be perfectly shaped with nary a stray hair to be seen, not to mention that the results will last longer than traditional plucking and shaving.
While eyebrow threading isn’t scary in any way, it’s still a good idea to come prepared for it, both in the physical and mental sense. We prepared a basic guide with useful tips, which should banish your anxiety about the procedure.
Skip the Eye Makeup
The salon aesthetician will likely ask that your eye makeup be removed prior to threading although you may also choose to ignore it. Just be prepared that when you refuse to remove your eye makeup, it will probably be smudged all over the place, so to speak. Just skip it and then apply it afterwards, if you still want to.
Tell the Technician Your Preference
Your eyebrows, your rules. You should tell the aesthetician your preferred eyebrow style, such as its thickness, arch and shape, before undergoing the procedure. You can show a photo of yourself with your preferred eyebrow style or a photo of a celebrity with perfect eyebrows.
Still, you are well-advised to listen to the aesthetician’s suggestion, too. Keep in mind that he or she likely has the right training to match the eyebrows to the face shape, as well as consider other factors like the type and thickness of hair. Like with all salon services, good communication between the client and the aesthetician is essential in getting the best results.
You may also be asked by the aesthetician whether you want your eyebrows trimmed or not when it has been threaded. Trimming is optional although it’s recommended because it can make your eyebrows look so much more polished. But it isn’t recommended for people with sparse brows or fine hair.
Gentle But Slightly Painful
Aside from shaving, threading is actually the gentlest hair removal method but it isn’t exactly a walk in the park either. Instead, threading involves tolerable pain akin to tweezing several hairs at once. Plus, only the hair is being yanked so your skin doesn’t become as irritated as first-timers fear.
But don’t flinch while the aesthetician is threading your eyebrows. Otherwise, you may well end up with bald patches on your eyebrows and we know that it isn’t a pretty sight, especially as these will become too obvious.
There’s also the fact that even people with acne-prone or sensitive skin can undergo eyebrow threading. This is because threading doesn’t pull on and strain the skin so it doesn’t become irritated.
The tolerable pain comes from the cotton thread rubbing against your skin. You can ask the aesthetician for something to ease the discomfort and/or the minor irritation afterwards. You may be provided with a cooling gel, tea tree gel, or aloe vera, perhaps rose water, which can quickly soothe the skin and remove redness.
Tip: if you’re apprehensive about the pain from threading, especially if you have a low pain threshold, you can ask the aesthetician to thread the fine hair on the back of your hand first. You can then gauge whether you can tolerate the discomfort or not.
During the procedure, and even for a while after it, you may experience watery eyes and random sneezing. These are common side effects caused usually by sensitivity, not the bearable pain, and which will resolve on their own.
You will also be asked by the aesthetician to pull your eyelids in opposite directions. This way, your skin will be tauter than usual and, thus, the aesthetician will have an easier time pulling out the unwanted hair.
Check the Results
When the aesthetician has finished threading your eyebrows, you should carefully check the results – and when we say carefully, we mean closely check them from every angle. You will be provided with a handheld mirror for this purpose. You should wait until you’re completely satisfied with the results before telling the aesthetician about it.
If you’re unsatisfied, you can ask for tweaks until you’re happy with the results. You should get defined eyebrows that have been threaded with precision so much so that even the tiniest stray hair has been removed. There should be no half-grown strays left either.
The reason: Threading is about precision! The aesthetician can either thread through a line of hair or thread one hair at a time, whichever one will give the client well-defined eyebrows.
Don’t apply concealer, foundation and makeup on the threaded area immediately after the threading process. The reason: Makeup may clog your skin’s pores, which have been opened due to the removal of the hair, and result in unsightly spots. You should wait for at least 24 hours before using any makeup just to be safe.
The best thing about eyebrow threading that make the discomfort worth it: You can spend less time on shaping your eyebrows, from plucking to filling in with products, so you can spend more time on other things.