To help you achieve the perfect brow look at home, we got experts to share their tips and tricks, along with all the tools you’ll need to tidy or fix your eyebrows. We checked in with Joey Healy, celebrity brow expert and founder of Joey Healy Eyebrow Studio; celebrity makeup artist and brow expert Dani Kimiko Vincent, founder of Kimiko; and Stila’s global executive director of creative artistry, Sarah Lucero, for guidance through the delicate process of grooming and styling your brows at home.
“We don’t want to look like a 2000s pop star, so you want to avoid overwaxing or overtweezing,” Healy says. “I would say the way to avoid that is to give yourself a time limit. Maybe five minutes of cleanup once a week. You are trying to maintain. The idea is to keep your brows clean and presentable. Really think about this in terms of cleaning up and not creating a new shape. Leave that to the pros.”
How to shape eyebrows
“When shaping at home, keep in mind that minimal removal is your best strategy,” says Kimiko Vincent. “Put away that magnifying mirror, as peering too closely at brows can easily lead to over-tweezing. Realistically, people only see your brows from a distance, and not in the same detail that you do up close.”
Kimiko Super Fine Eyebrow Pencil Automatique ($29; amazon.com
“To begin, use an eyebrow pencil to fill in brows and create your ideal shape. I prefer a fine pencil like this because it allows you to be most precise,” says Kimiko Vincent. “Now you can see which hairs fall outside of the shape that you have created as your guide. Take out one or two hairs at a time, then step back and assess in the mirror. If you prefer the softer look of a more natural or undone brow, you’ll want to be particularly careful to only remove hairs that fall far from the core shape you’ve drawn.”
Joey Healy Essential Tools ($65; amazon.com
“The best way to shape up your eyebrows at home is through tweezing and trimming; avoid at-home waxing and at-home threading,” says Healy. “You have more control since it’s such a more controlled artistic process that allows you to take your time and be more precise. The best tools to use are the Joey Healy Essential Tools. It includes the elite sculpting tweezer, precision brow scissor, the duo brow brush, the calligraphy brow brush and one grooming dermablade. The ultimate key is to trim, tweeze and possibly dermablade.”
e.l.f. Eyelash & Brow Wand ($2; target.com
If you haven’t groomed your own brows before, Lucero shares a great pro tip.
“You need to brush up your brows with a mascara wand spoolie and see what you are working with,” she says. “Then you tweeze and trim around that. The secret is to keep brushing [your] brow up with a mascara wand during the grooming session. You will see your brow span and full potential and then decide what to take off or trim.”
How to trim eyebrows
Japonesque Luxe Brow Kit ($14; target.com
For basic maintenance, Healy suggests picking up these three items: tweezers, a spoolie and scissors, which are all included in this kit from Target as well as this one from Amazon.
Joey Healy Precision Brow Scissor ($28; amazon.com
If you’re intimidated by the idea of taking scissors to your brows, Healy advises, “If you are at home, trim the longest hairs, and also do not trim them down to nothing. Snip a little on the tip, and then maybe go back and trim more. It is better to keep trimming the same hair multiple times until it is obedient versus trimming too low. If you over-trim you can have gaps in your shape, and the hairs can even be so short that they stick straight out.”
Billion Dollar Brows Men’s Grooming Kit ($24.99; amazon.com
Lucero suggests several different scissors and tweezers, saying, “You need a quality pair of tweezers like Tweezerman or Billion Dollar Brows slanted tweezers, and a pair of brow scissors. My favorite scissors are by Billion Dollar Brows.”
She adds, “Scissors need to be slightly curved so you can trim your brow hairs easily, and never too blunt.”
How to pluck eyebrows
“Remove hairs one by one while checking if it contributes to the overall brow shape or is just too far out there. When in doubt, keep the hair, as doing so can encourage growth of hairs in the surrounding area and actually help to fill in sparse spots you thought would not regrow,” says Kimiko Vincent. “Once you’ve decided that a hair should go, place tweezers close to the root and use a firm grip to pull swiftly in the direction of hair growth. This removes hair at the root.”
The Tweezerman Ultra Precision Slant ($35; nordstrom.com
“Two precision tweezers I love are the Tweezerman Ultra Precision Slant and the Rubis Classic Slant Tweezers,” says Kimiko Vincent. “After tweezing at home, avoid applying any harsh products around the area. A touch of simple aloe vera gel can calm any redness if needed.”
Rubis Switzerland Slant Tweezers ($43; amazon.com
“I use the Rubis classic steel tweezers on myself and have several pairs in my makeup kit for clients,” says Lucero. “They are made of high-quality surgical steel, so you can disinfect and sterilize without a problem. The slanted tip is ideal for removing ingrown hairs, splinters and stubborn brow hairs.”
Joey Healy Grooming Dermablade Trio ($18; amazon.com
If you’re ready to try a face razor, we’re personally huge fans of Healy’s own dermablades. “They’re collapsible for travel, portability and protection,” Healy says. “They have a blade that’s finely serrated. It’s sharp but safe. You get three of these face razors and they’re under $20.”
Ardell Brow Trim and Shape ($3.49; target.com
Meanwhile, Lucero swears by these razors. “Ardell Brow Trim and Shape are my favorite for cleaning up any unwanted hairs around/above the brow and close to arch edges near the tail end,” she says. “This results in a polished-looking, clean brow. One of the ways to instantly look polished and appear groomed with minimal effort.”
Nad’s Eyebrow Shaper Wax Kit ($8.51, originally $9.01; amazon.com
Our experts were reluctant to recommend waxing at home, but Healy does have a favorite if you must shape your eyebrow arches with wax.
“For wax strips I would say Nad’s,” Healy says. “They have a hypoallergenic wax strip, which is great because it can be used on sensitive skin. Also, you don’t need to heat them up! I am not a fan of at-home waxing kits, waxing strips or waxing products where you have to heat up the wax, because you risk burning yourself.”
How to fill in eyebrows naturally
Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Wiz ($23; sephora.com
“I think with thin brows, if you want to fill them in, using a pencil can be better than a powder,” Healy says. “Powder can sometimes be good for a thicker brow that just needs a little bit of density, but I think pencils can benefit all types of brows.”
Beloved by makeup artists and beauty bloggers alike, this cult-favorite eyebrow pencil has both a spoolie and a lovely waxy pencil to fill in brows.
NYX Professional Makeup Micro Brow Pencil (starting at $9.70; amazon.com
Earlier this year, this Anastasia Beverly Hills-inspired pencil made us very excited -— and at about half the price.
Joe Healy Brow Architect Stylo ($29; amazon.com
Then there’s Healy’s own eyebrow pencil, which we’ve tried and love. It has a thick spoolie for brushing up your eyebrow hairs, and a retractable pencil, available in four different shades.
How to set your eyebrow shape
Kimiko The Brow Sensei ($33; kimikobeauty.com
“Try this luxurious performance gel-based eyebrow styler to tame and nourish brows,” says Kimiko Vincent, who continues on explaining how to use brow gel.
“Begin applying it at the front of the brows, then sweep the micro brush upward and outward and continue throughout the brows to the ends,” says Kimiko Vincent. “The vegan formula is infused with hair-strengthening peptides and plant extracts and provides the perfect all-day hold for uplifted brows. The universal sheer tones dries clear, giving hairs a weightless all-day lift and flake-free hold.”
Anastasia Beverly Hills Tinted Brow Gel ($22; sephora.com
“If you want a tinted brow gel, try the Anastasia Brow Gel in shades like Caramel for blondes, Granite for brunettes,” says Lucero.
Glossier Boy Brow ($16; glossier.com
This brow pomade from cult-favorite brand Glossier gives brow hairs a soft, flexible hold and comes in a variety of shades, as well as clear.
Stila Stay All Day Waterproof Brow Color ($17.85 with code VIP, originally $21; macys.com
You can also try this pen-like product from Stila, which allows you to paint on and fill in your brows with a natural-looking pigment.
Hard Candy Fiber Brow Gel ($7; walmart.com
“If your brows feel a little gappy, sometimes brow gels have fibers,” says Healy. “Hard Candy has fiber; Joey Healy Brow Lacquer does not. If you want the fibers, Hard Candy is the way to go because it helps build the brow in a denser way.”
Joey Healy Brow Lacquer ($28; amazon.com
Healy’s own brow gel is perfect for covering those stray gray hairs, and adding fullness.
Milk Makeup Kush Fiber Brow Gel ($20; sephora.com
Another fiber option is this pick from one of our favorite makeup brands, Milk, which features a small brush that gets the formula (available in eight different shades) on every strand.
