If you’ve got curly brows, you’re probably familiar with the pros and cons of having them.
Let’s start with the good stuff: Curly brows tend to be “fuller, feathery, and lush,” as brow artist Sania Vucetaj of Sania’s Brow Bar in New York City puts it. If your brows are curly, you likely have more hair to work with.
The cons? “A brow shape or brow line can be lost when the brow hair grows long and curls too much,” says Azi Sacks, a New York City-based brow expert. “The brow can also appear to shrink in width because the hairs are bending and clumping together.”
How you groom your curly brows is a matter of personal preference. You may choose not to touch them at all. If you do go the grooming route, know that it takes effort, but in the end, it can help to enhance or even simply reveal the natural shape of your brows, which can disappear if they’re left untamed.
In addition to creating an overall more polished appearance, grooming your brows also helps open up your eyes. Brows frame your face, give it structure, and affect how your makeup looks. In general, finessing them makes a big difference.
With all that in mind, we tapped brow experts to share the step-by-step tea on how to keep those brows in check.
How to prepare your curly brows before grooming
If anyone can benefit from professional brow grooming, it’s probably someone with curly hair up there. Sacks notes that curly brows can be tricky to groom, plus it’s easy to damage them in the process. Seeing a professional who specializes in brow grooming is your best bet, but if you’d rather do it yourself or are curious about the process, read on.
One thing you don’t want to do before you start is slather your brow hairs in product. If you plan on grooming them after you’ve done your skin-care routine, be sure you’re avoiding getting those creams, lotions, and serums all over your brows. You wouldn’t dump serum all over the hair on your head before you cut it — that would leave it a greasy mess. In the same way, creams can weigh down your brow hairs too, so try to make sure you’re working with clean, fresh brow hairs before you begin.