Sunday 5 February 2012

Beetling

    Everywhere you look, it seems you can find all sorts of interesting treatments for reducing or shaping your eyebrows. The beauty therapists will pluck, wax, or thread, the hair removal people will give you electrolysis and the more extreme beauty people will permanently tattoo you a new set of eyebrows.
    All this is of consuming interest to me of course, for left to their own devices my eyebrows will do a passable job of a full-on Denis Healey, a man not known for moderation in the eyebrow department.
    My mother claims that plucking eyebrow hairs causes them to stop growing. It's one of those infallible pieces of Parental Wisdom that simply doesn't stand up to real-world experience, yet she'll regale you with the tale of one of her pupils back in the late 1950s who plucked her eyebrows entirely and was left with nothing.
    If I pluck my eyebrows, they seem to grow back ever more vigorously. So I'm constantly trimming them and having them plucked, something other people seem to see as of no consequence but I have to admit to finding rather painful.
    Yelping at laser treatment, now wincing at eyebrow shaping. No pain no gain and all that, but I ain't taking to this very well, am I.

9 comments:

  1. I've been plucking my eyebrows for a while now (not shaping as much, just keeping them neat) and I have to agree with your mother. It doesn't happen overnight - but over time it does start to take much longer to grow back.

    But time here equals years :)

    Stace

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  2. I agree with Stace. Regrowth tends to get finer very slowly with time. Shapable wax strips tend to do a fairly good job when you get to that stage. I've found that electro was the only really good solution but it won't disappear all at once.

    Robyn-Jane xx

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  3. I hate having to pluck my eyebrows but do it because I don't want them looking like an abandonded corner of the garden. There are two things going on here I think. First of all plucking will eventually stop them growing but it will take years. Secondly, female hair is softer than the male variety and will cease growing sooner as the hair won't be strong enough. I suppose then by applying logic, being on hormones will aid the process. It isn't simply a case of plucking in order to shape the brows, they have to be kept short in length too. Now this part can be difficult to achieve. Running a fine comb through them whilst snipping with scissors works but it takes some ability. There are hair trimming tools which can be adjusted to depth. Thankfully one doesn't have to do too much with eyebrows too often but once done it is best to keep them in order by checking them daily. I did mine yesterday. Once in a while I get a beautician to do them for me. It is well worth the few pounds she charges.

    Shirley Anne xxx

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  4. I'm a fan of threading. It doesn't feel good, but the process is fairly quick, and it lasts at least a couple of weeks. It's the best for shaping (I remember Miss J remarking that a Top Model contestant had threaded brows because they were so well shaped). And it's kinder to your skin than waxing.

    I do tweeze (my former stylist used to say, "you pluck a chicken, you tweeze eyebrows) when I'm overdue for threading. Like, now.

    - Ariel

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  5. I favour threading for eyebrows. It's precise. I remember Miss J remarking about a contestant on America's Next Top Model that her brows were threaded, and he could tell because nothing else gave that clean a line. Threading is also nicer to your skin than waxing, when tends to leave wrinkles over time. None of it feels good, but waxing feels no worse than any other method. :)

    I do tweeze sometimes (my former hair stylist used to say, "You pluck a chicken, you tweeze eyebrows") when I'm overdue for threading. Like, now.

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  6. The £12 that I pay a buety specialost every 4 to 6 weeks to shape my eyebrows is worth every penny. She mainly uses hot wax painted on and finishes with some plucking. She knows what she is doing and it nly takes 15 mins. Having made a mess of my eyebrows trying to pluck and cut I will always go for spending the money now.

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  7. You and I have the same sort of eyebrows; perhaps we both share a common ancestory with Denis Healey! I've been plucking mine for years but they resolutely refuse to give up the fight - within a few days they're back again.

    When (hopefully later this year) I start living as Angie 24/7, it will be nice to pop into the beauty salon every month or so to have them professonally plucked and shaped. Right now, though, electrolysis on my top lip and chin is taking priority.

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  8. Morning all, and thanks for your comments,

    A trip to the salon is sounding ever more attractive, isn't it.

    I'm practiced at trimming, I use a comb as well. I hope this isn't TMI, but a particular annoyance to me are crazy hairs that grow about 5x faster than all the others. i have several of these, and if I let them they would reach comical lengths.

    Is "pluck" versus "tweeze" an AmE vs. BrE thing? :)

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  9. I tweeze mine on occasion to clean them up, but usually will go to a salon for waxing to really shape them. I endured threading once, and it looked good, but they didn't shape them to my satisfaction. I'm going back tomorrow en femme, so maybe they'll get the look right this go around.

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