Are you currently attempting to grow out your brows?  AKA playing the waiting game and testing your willpower while staring at your tweezers?  It’s been said that models (other than Kate Moss; she can do what she wants) won’t even be booked for jobs these days unless they have big, bold, grown-out eyebrows.  Thick brows are the new full lips; every one wants them, but no one knows quite how to get them without looking a bit ridiculous.  If you are a child of the nineties, growing out your eyebrows is going to take some patience.  I’ve been there, and I will say it: I’d rather give birth than try to grow out my brows again.  The process was excruciating slow, and the result, (in my case) a little overrated.

According to eyebrow legend Kristie Streicher of The Feathered Brow, you should really grow your brows out for SIX months – no tweezing, threading, trimming, waxing, anything.  So, that is what I did.  They grew back in little patches, making it difficult to identify their shape, and filling in holes with makeup just made matters worse.  I was looking older, heavier and downright homely – no joke.  It is amazing what the right (or wrong) brow shape can do for your face.  I was trying to look like a fox, but I ended up looking more like a teddy bear.

I had an appointment lined up with one of Kristie’s protégés in NYC last week, but I just couldn’t wait any longer.  At five months and 13 days, I plucked my brows myself, just like I always used to: carefully, slowly, sparingly.  I think they look decent, even if they aren’t exactly bold.  It’s ironic; I was so afraid that my thinner brows were “dating” me and making me look older.  In the end, the opposite was true.  The moral of the story?  Don’t be a slave to fashion.  There is no one-size-fits-all absolute for anything in this beautifully diverse world.

Here are few tricks I use to make my naturally thin eyebrows look thicker, without turning to toxic formulas like Revitalash:

 1. Use your face oil on your brows.  It plumps, nourishes and conditions them.  Blends with Castor or Argan oil are particularly good.

2. For the last year or so, I’ve been getting my eyelashes and eyebrows professionally tinted with a vegetable-based dye every four weeks.  It makes a huge difference in my appearance.  The dye grabs all those little peach fuzz hairs that one normally can’t see and makes my blonde brows more bold and substantial.  Note: Never let someone touch your brows or lashes until you can verify that they use vegetable dye, not just a conventional hair dye (which is full of peroxide).

3. Pencils work particularly well on the “tail” of the brow if they are too thin.  If you only need to fill your brows in just a teeny bit, or if you are on the go, I love Beautycounter Color Define Brow Pencil.  The line is never too harsh, and the spooly-brush on the opposite end blends beautifully.  (I use Light.)

4. I was introduced to Jane Iredale Purebrow Gel by Tara Foley of Follain.  This formula fluffs out my brows and fills in the holes beautifully.  The color is bold enough to make a difference, but incredibly natural-looking, and the gel really holds brows in place.  (I use Blonde.)

5. Ecobrow Defining Wax is another favorite of mine.  The wax formula makes for a more dramatic effect; it’s great for filling in the inner corners of the brows and creating a bold, defined shape.  I also love Ecobrow’s dual-sided Defining Brush, which will last a lifetime.  (I use Marilyn.)

 Fellow Green Beauty Blogger, Britanie Faith, has successfully grown out her brows, and they look fantastic.  She gives some additional tips on her blog, Beauty by Britanie.

What do you think?  Are you gonna try it?  Have you already done it?  Let’s discuss!

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