This Expert-Approved Technique Is The Perfect Hack For Shaping Uneven Brows
A very wise person once said "eyebrows are sisters, not twins." While that statement will pretty much always ring true, that doesn't mean you can't aim to make your brows more symmetrical if you truly desire to do so. Plus, having more even-looking brows can enhance facial symmetry, too.
As someone who's had her fair share of brow appointments go wrong (growth serums to the rescue), I'll take any opportunity I can to learn how to master grooming my own brows at home. If you're in the same boat, you might want to consider brow mapping. The expert-approved technique can help you identify what can be done to make your brows complement your face shape using facial measurements.
Curious to know more? Read on to learn how it works and how you can incorporate it in your own brow routine.
Meet the experts: Christy Calafati is a leading brow artist and educator based in Westlake Village, California. Joey Healy is an eyebrow specialist and founder of the Joey Healy Eyebrow Studio in New York City.
What is brow mapping?
Brow mapping is a technique done by brow artists and specialists to help create symmetry between eyebrows, says Christy Calafati, a leading brow artist and educator. This consists of marking up the area around the brows with vertical and horizontal lines to measure and even out the length of the tails, the location of the arches, the thickness, and the distance between brows.
Most times, the mark ups are done using mapping thread and a wax pencil or eyeliner pencils, but some experts are able to map just by looking at their client's face. "There's not a universally agreed upon way on how to brow map," says eyebrow specialist Joey Healy. "Sometimes people will reference the corner of the eye, the iris, the edge of that eye, and the nostril or the middle of your nostril." He adds that some professionals will even take a clients hairline into account when doing mark ups as well.
What are the benefits of brow mapping?
Since the main goal of brow mapping is to create symmetry, it's no surprise that it's the number one benefit. "Instead of seeing a [brow] shape independent of everything else, it's seeing your brows in relationship to one another and to other parts of the face," says Healy. As a result, you'll get brows that are equidistant, terminating at the same point with arches in the same places and an even thickness.
In addition to creating symmetry, mapping your brows can also prevent over-plucking in the future, says Healy. For example, maybe you're currently taking too much off the ends, at the arches, or in the middle. Mapping can help you identify specify points where you can let your hair grow in a bit more. At the same time, you'll also have a better sense of where you should be removing hair or filling them in during brow appointments or when you're doing them yourself.
How to prepare for brow mapping
Before going in for your first brow mapping appointment, there are a few things you'll need to do and keep in mind to prepare. Here's what to know:
Let your brows grow out: If you want to get the most out of brow mapping (or any brow service for that matter), you'll want to let them grow out for about four to six weeks prior to your appointment. "You want to be hands off," says Healy. "That means no trimming and no cleaning up the strays." This will allow the artist to really see your brows as they grow naturally and provide them with a "blank slate" to determine what approach is best.
Ask for a consultation: Going for a consult gives you the opportunity to talk to your brow artist and give them a clear sense of the kind of look you're going for. And because personal preferences matter, brow mapping might not a foolproof technique, says Healy. For example, someone who wants straight brows that are fuller or super thin Y2k-inspired brows might not follow the guidelines of brow mapping at all. That said, the technique can still be used as a general reference point.
Avoid getting botox and/or filler: If you plan on getting botox or filler, do so at least two weeks before your brow appointment. "Botox takes seven to 10 days to really start to see the results, and it's easy to disrupt it," says Healy. "Filler should be under the muscle, but you can dislodge it, causing it to migrate if you're doing too much work around the brows." That said, if you want to get botox or filler after brow mapping, keep in mind that either can change the appearance of your brows. To be on the safe side, you can let your provider know your concerns about maintaining symmetry.
Skip on laser treatments and tanning: Both of these can make the skin more sensitive. For example, if you get sunburnt from tanning (which you shouldn't be doing to begin with), your skin might be sore or sensitive to the touch. "With laser treatments and sunburns there's a peeling process that happens, and the skin texture is off," says Healy. This can make tweezing uncomfortable and waxing potentially detrimental. "When you wax, you don't just remove the hair. You also remove the top layer of dead skin, which can cause bleeding or scarring, especially if you're waxing with heat," he says.
Put a pause on Accutane and retinol use: Both of these products cause your skin to be thin, making it hazardous for those looking to do services like brow tattooing. "If I start tattooing, your skin is going to rip," says Calafati. "If you're using retinol, it can also affect the healed color of the eyebrow tattoo, and it'll fade faster."
How much does brow mapping cost?
Brow mapping isn't usually provided on its own, but it's typically done in the early stages of a larger service. "You would never charge brow mapping as an additional service," says Calafati. "It's the blueprint for everything you're going to be doing, whether you're going to be tinting, waxing, laminating, doing powder brows, microblading...it's part of it." However, if someone wanted to only do brow mapping, Calafati and Healy agree that it shouldn't cost more than $20. Depending on what treatment you're having done after, the price can range anywhere from $215 to just over a thousand dollars (especially if you're doing brow pigmentation or microblading).
Side effects of brow mapping
Physical side effects to brow mapping are highly uncommon, but some people can have an allergic reaction to whatever is being used to mark up the brows. "Say you're using an eyeliner, lip liner, or a coated thread that has some sort of dye or powder on it," says Healy. "You could react because the eye area is sensitive."
Additionally, brow mapping could also lead someone to become over-analytical about their facial symmetry, leading to a lower self-esteem. "It starts to create this dissecting of yourself that's totally not healthy or necessary," says Healy. Instead, he suggests making the goal to have your brows equidistant so that they're somewhat leveled rather than aiming for perfection.
Can you do brow mapping at home?
While it's definitely understandable to want to get brow mapping done by a professional, you can also do it from the comfort of your own home. You can mark your brows using an eyeliner pencil, a thin string with eyeshadow on it, a lip liner, or a thin pair of closed tweezers. Once you have your tool of choice, you can use three main reference points to establish your brow shape.
"You want the start of your brow to be right above where your tear duct is on your eye," says Calafati. "If you go from the outer part of your nostril and go straight up through the outer part of your iris, that should be the highest part of your arch."
To measure where your tail should end, start on the outer part of your nostril again, and angle your measurer so that it leads out to where your eyelashes end.
Aftercare
You don't need any aftercare for brow mapping. However, you might be given specific instructions to follow if brow mapping was done before a treatment like waxing, tattooing, tinting, etc. Unlike other services, brow mapping doesn't have to be done every few weeks or even months. It's more about when you'd like to double check on the symmetry of your brows. If you go to your brow artists for other reasons, they may do mapping every time you go for those treatments. Aftercare looks different for each of these, so it's best to talk to your brow artist for specific instructions.
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