How I Grew In My Brows

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I was going to get my brows waxed and threaded for months – never happy with the amount of brow they’d rip off of my face no matter how clear I made it to ‘just clean them up.’ Finally, I had enough and started going somewhere else. I met my brow fairy godmother and she quickly whipped these bad boys into the shape I was born with. These new brows are mom-approved (aka my mom says I should never go anywhere else) and frame my face the way brows are supposed to. Let me share with you how I grew in my brows…

Where we started…

Ironically, this photo from November’s Polished Makeup Look was a day after I hit my breaking point with waxing. I mean… WHAT HAPPENED HERE! Look at these brows! They’re uneven, way too thin, and have zero arch. I painstakingly waited six FULL weeks to let my brows grow in as much as I could POSSIBLY tolerate. I was left with something that looked like this:

The six week wait…

This photo was taken for my How I Faded Acne Scars post and the day before I rehabbed my brows with my brow fairy godmother. I was feeling like a little caterpillar but at least my brow hairs were growing. At last, you can see the arch again.

The miracle shaping…

Although this photo was taken in February (Winky Lux makeup look), this is more or less exactly how they look now (if you follow me on Snapchat, you know). How did we get here?

1. I splurged. I stopped spending $5-10 on threading or waxing and called in the big guns. I made an appointment with the #1 Brow Genius in Houston (in my opinion and according to reviews on Google, Yelp), Liz at Ulta’s Benefit Brow Bar in Town and Country shopping center. At the time of publication, a brow wax at Benefit Brow Bar in Ulta runs $21, but let me tell you it’s worth its weight in gold for someone like me who is tired of sperm brow syndrome.
   1. Liz has a gift from the Gods. Honestly. I have never had such a perfect (on me) brow since before I let my friend put a tweezer to my face in 7th grade. Before we waxed, she heavily filled in my brow shape – almost to the point of overfilling them in using Benefit’s Brow Zings. This was the stencil product she was going to use to ensure she didn’t overwax/overpluck. Once I approved of the shape, she waxed the stray hairs that were visible outside of the ‘stencil.’
   2. After waxing – which was mainly only done on the bottom of my brow – she left most of the top hairs to continue to grow for the next couple of months as the arch filled in. She used a tweezer to precisely remove any stragglers.
   3. After tweezing, she touched up the brows again using Benefit’s Precisely My Brow pencil (which I’m now a dedicated slave to) and concealed the surrounding area so I didn’t leave looking pink/red.
   4. I made follow-up appointments with her every four weeks since. The same procedure occurs, except THIS MONTH (March), she did wax a small bit above the brow now that most of my hair has grown back in. They’re looking so happy!
2. I treated. Normally, I don’t tend to buy products a stylist or salesperson recommends on the spot. I have to go home and do research on whatever lotion/potion they mention. In this case, Liz recommended I pick up the Benefit Browvo Conditioning Primer to use while my brows were growing. This product can be used during the day, under brow color (pencils, pomades, powder, etc) to help it last longer, but it also has nutrient-rich ingredients to help strengthen those poor little brow hairs. I bought this product the first day I was waxed by Liz and I think Browvo helped my brows grow in healthy. I used it every single night for nearly two months before I ran out of the tube.
3. I maintained. In between my four-week appointments with Liz, I only tweezed the random hairs that would appear in between my brows. No one wants a unibrow. But besides that, I left them alone. I followed the shape Liz showed me on my very first appointment using makeup. She focused a majority of the brow makeup on the top of the brow… filling in the shape along the arch and the tail to give the appearance of fullness and maintain the same thickness throughout. Additionally, I keep my four-week appointments with her. The worst things can happen if you wait too long between brow appointments and have those moments of weakness too close to the bathroom mirror – just you and your tweezer.

My favorite brow products

I’ve become a diehard Benefit Brows girl. I still like Anastasia Beverly Hills, but what I found out after trying so many Benefit brow products is that they simply last longer on my skin (and the products overall don’t finish as quickly for me). By the end of the day using my ABH Brow Wiz, I had fading. With Benefit Precisely My Brow (shade 2), my brows look exactly the same as when I first apply them in the morning.

I also prefer Benefit Ka Brow (shade 2) as a pomade over ABH Dipbrow. Personally, I thought Dipbrow was too thick/heavy and was very easy to go overboard. Ka Brow is much drier in texture and still has the same water-resistant and extreme long-wear properties as Dipbrow.

Benefit Brow Zings are a perfect ‘starter brow’ product if you’re totally new to using brow makeup and/or are in a filling in process like I was. It’s easy to remove/reapply if you mess up and contains tools to help, as well.

The cult favorite Benefit Gimme Brow is excellent at adding a touch of color and hold to my brows. I use it to keep them in place when I use pencil or powder. I use the lightest shade and it works just find on my ash brown brow hairs.

The one product I prefer ABH in is her Brow Powder Duo. I’ve been a big fan of this since I first started filling in my brows around 2012. I love the shade in Taupe.

Lastly, my top-rated, most precise and sharp tweezers are by a brand called Rubis. I used Tweezerman literally since around 2004 (same pair) and recently upgraded to Rubis. They manage to grab even the tiniest, lightest of brow hairs with ease and I’m totally sold. Gone are the days you need to try to pluck a hair out 5x. Plus, I love the cute light pink color.

I hope this helps you rehab your brows! It has been a 4+ month process for me, so definitely be patient. With the right brow guru, the right brow products, you can fake it til you make it and before you know it, you’ll have thicker, fuller brows!

If anyone’s interested in seeing me fill in my brows on a Facebook Live or Instagram Live, let me know. I am thinking it could be fun!

-Steffanie