Aura of Beauty® Permanent Makeup

Eyebrow Styles 2

Basic Eyebrow Shape Guidelines

Eyebrow measurement guidelines are meant to assist in optimizing an individual's brow shape. To maintain brow hair growth in the designed shape for permanent eyebrow tattoo, working with present hair growth pattern is preferred to shaving and redrawing. Eyebrows do not have to be shaved to apply permanent cosmetics! Tattoo needles go around and between the hairs. Present eyebrow shape can be enhanced toward the shape desired by coloring high in the hairs at the arch, in the middle or as needed in other portions. If a portion of the eyebrow, such as the outer portion, does not allow the shape you desire, then yes, it would have to be tweezed. Outer brow hair is usually sparse and not an issue for many women. Hair in the inner portion is usually plentiful, and at least part of the hair growth should be incorporated into the design. Eyebrows are drawn on first. When you are happy with the drawn on design, permanent makeup is applied on top of it, using it as a pattern or guide. You may draw them yourself, or let the cosmetic tattoo artist help you. If there is a particular shape and thickness you want, take a picture torn from a magazine to your appointment. This will save time and eliminate any miscommunication about your preferences.

Choosing an eyebrow color. Perhaps you change shades of hair color throughout the year and are concerned about the shade of permanent eyebrow color. The implanted color will coordinate with slight to moderate hair color changes. For more drastic hair color changes (red to brown,etc), all it takes is an appointment with your cosmetic tattoo artist after the appointment with your hairdresser. We can change your eyebrow color in the same amount of time it took to dye your hair. If you expect a drastic color change to be temporary, you might want to apply eyebrow pencil on top of the eyebrow tattoo during this time (at least you will not have the daily struggle of drawing your brows correctly). Click on thumbnail images.

The guideline is to choose eyebrow color 1 - 2 shades lighter than head hair, unless you are blonde or gray, in which case you would choose a couple shades darker. You are not matching the color of your eyebrow hairs, merely creating a shadow behind it.

For women with little or no eyebrow hairs, the best technique will be to use at least two shades of color drawing hairstrokes. Multiple colors prevent the 'blackened in' look, and hairs are not just one color - they have many shades. The planned eyebrow shape should not be outlined, then filled in -- this produces a "coloring book" look (the way children outline & fill in). Using the brushstroke technique for eyebrow cosmetic tattooing results in a very natural appearance. The edges will be more feathery instead of a sharp painted on look. The most natural looking brows are made by using 2-3 tones of brushstrokes on a soft powdery base shape.

"Layering" describes subsequent touchup visits for a few additional strokes of same (monochromatic) or similar (analogous) color to produce varied depth and dimension. The monochromatic look is variations of lightness and saturation of a single color. The analogous look is one color being used as the dominant color and similar colors are used to enrich the look. The analogous scheme is similar to the monochromatic, but provides more contrast. Recent strokes blending with older strokes which are fading off produces an awsome dimensional look. When this maintenance is performed on a regular basis (2-3yrs light blondes, 4-5yrs medium browns, 6-7yrs dark browns & black), you only pay a touchup layering price which is half of whatever the present full price happens to be at that future time. If you wait untill the brow color is all or almost all faded off, the work is the same as a new job. If you want to reshape the brow, let it fade off as much as possible. Small modifications of shape and placement can be made before it is faded off.

Eyebrows are the primary architecture of the face, and play a dominant role in establishing facial expression. Eyebrows not only suggest a variety of moods, but can also show your age, emotional reactions and state of mind. If they are too thick, too thin, or arched incorrectly, you can look tired, depressed, angry, or surprised. Cartoon artists and theater makeup artists rely heavily on the eyebrows and mouth to not only convey feelings, but also to help create the illusion of the character to be portrayed. Certain eyebrows and mouths are associated with certain personalities: smart, dumb, strong, weak, evil/mean/scarey, nice, glamorous, young, old, etc. For instance, a skinny brow highly placed and highly arched would be more suitable for a damsel in distress than a woman of power - which would need a stronger brow placed low to medium with less arch. The villain usually has angry eyebrows. To make someone look like an alien from another planet, they usually upwing the tail.

Bad Brows. The surprised or startled lookis avoided by placing the peak of the arch closer to two thirds out instead of in the center of the eyebrow, and not over exaggerating it. A highly arched rounded half moon or McDonald's arches looks like a clown. Eyebrows that end higher than the beginning can look angry, devious, or alien like Spock on Star Trek. Eyebrow tails that end too low have a whiney puppy look. You want your brows to look alert, not wrap around your eyes. If the tail is too short, the brows look unfinished or like part of it was wiped off accidentally. The tail should not be too long either - some people extend them way out through the temples like in the 1930's. Brows should be a little thicker at the beginning and taper in thinner towards the arch. The tail continues tapering in to the end. The beginning of the eyebrow should be above the inner corner of the eye, and should not have a downward hook that makes the brow look like a tadpole or golf club. That look closes in the eye and makes it look smaller. Eyebrows that are flat and tapered look like arrows pointing to something.

Have you ever noticed the many different eyebrow shapes? Do you know what you do or don't like? How much curve or arch do you like? How smooth or sharp do you like the arch? Do you like your eyebrow styles thin, medium, or thick? The eyebrow pictures will provide comparisons. Certainly we do not want to all wear the same eyebrow. There are suggestions for balancing certain facial shapes and facial features that will be discussed on Eyebrows page 3, but the majority of faces work with a variety of eyebrow shapes.

Beauty tips are only suggestions, mostly for extreme cases. They are not laws that the fashion police will enforce. If the beauty book says this face shape needs a sharper arch, and that face shape needs a rounded arch, but the eyebrow hairs don't grow that way, should all those people shave off their brows? Of course not! In most cases, the present brow hair pattern is worked with to make it the best it can be. There are times when a tail has to be ignored because the aging process has made it side down out of normal position. The tail hairs have usually thinned out by then anyway so it is not a big loss. We all have our favorite type of brow, and cannot insist everyone else wear their eyebrows the way we would like to see them. The goal is to get the basics right and make it look natural.