With International Brow Day landing on 2 October, there’s no better time to give your at-home brow routine a proper audit. Here, the brow experts at Tweezerman share their tips on where most people go wrong when shaping their brows solo … and the fixes are simpler than you’d think.
Before you even start
Before picking up any tools, prep matters more than people think. “Prepare for hair removal by opening pores using a warm washcloth, not too hot to prevent redness,” according to the Tweezerman team. “This will help to reduce pain.” It’s a thirty-second step that makes the rest of the process noticeably more comfortable, and it’s the first thing to add if you’ve been skipping straight to tweezing.
Mistake #1: Tweezing in the wrong direction
Tweezing in the wrong direction is the biggest culprit behind brow breakage. “Pulling hair forward and away from the face causes breakage and can damage the skin,” the Tweezerman experts explain. “Pull sideways, in the direction of growth, to remove the hair from the root.” The technique matters as much as the direction: “Grab the hair as close to the root as possible and remove sideways in the direction of hair growth. Do not pull hair forward and away from your face. This ensures the hair will be removed from the root, it prevents hair breakage or damage to skin.”
Getting the angle right is a lot easier with the correct tool. The tem at Tweezerman suggest thier Slant Tweezer. “Its hand-filed, 25-degree slanted tip is the perfect angle for working against the brow bone for precise brow shaping.” It’s also “equipped to remove the most stubborn hairs.”
For the finer hairs the Slant Tweezer can’t quite catch, follow up with the Point Tweezer “to remove any baby fine hairs or hairs that are barely above the skin surface. Grab the hair as close to the root as possible and pull in the direction of hair growth.” Its “hand-filed, perfectly aligned precision tips grab even the finest, shortest and ingrown hairs, every time” – making it “perfect for removing ingrown or baby-fine hairs,” while the Slant Tweezer stays “your everyday brow grooming essential.”
Mistake #2: Over-trimming
Trimming feels like the safer option compared to tweezing, but it’s just as easy to overdo. To avoid this, the team at Tweezerman suggest you “never hold your brow hairs up with the brush to trim across. Instead, use the brush to comb through brow hairs and then let them fall into place to accurately determine which hairs are too long. Then, use the scissors tips to isolate and trim individual hairs for a natural, feathered brow.”
This comb-then-isolate approach is exactly what the tool is built for: “Start by combing hairs up with the brush, trim any hairs that stand past your desired shape outline,” they say. “The scissors precisely isolate and trim one hair at a time.”
Mistake #3: Not cleaning your tools
It’s the step almost everyone skips, and the one with the biggest payoff. According to the Tweezerman team, “Cleaning your tools keeps you healthy by preventing infection and extends the lifetime of your tools. Make sure to sanitise your tools after every use, simply wipe the tool down with an alcohol pad. If you are using stainless steel tools that are not colored, you can even use barbicide.”
Cleaning is only half of proper tool care. “Sanitise after every use by wiping them down with an alcohol pad … [and] store them with the protective cap on in a clean pouch, bag or drawer so the precision tips don’t chip or dull. Keep them clean and dry. Never sharpen your tweezers at home,” say the Tweezerman experts.
The brow raising wrap up
Ready to give your brows a fresh start? 1000HOUR has partnered with Tweezerman on a National Brow Day collaboration, bringing together 1000HOUR’s brow products and Tweezerman’s precision
To celebrate, this Friday 2 October, 1000HOUR is offering 50% off sitewide for 24 hours only, making it the perfect time to stock up on its best-selling brow essentials and leave those brow blunders in the past.
Shop the sale at 1000hour.com.au.
