When I was in middle school, we did a unit in Health Class about unhealthy habits. One of them was about pulling out your hair. They weren’t necessarily talking about stress – the disorder I became absolutely fascinated with is called trichotillomania, meaning an obsessive manicurization/pulling out of hair from anywhere on your body, may it be your head, your arms, your face, or even your pubic hair area. It is often a symptom of aggravated stress, low self-esteem, and vulnerability. I definitely had all of those qualities in middle school, pulling hair out did ensue, but I will never say I went as far as many who suffer from trichotillomania.
Anyway, that is just a very odd tidbit to share before delving into a hair-manicuring technique we all enjoy and slave over, known as eyebrow plucking. Following the natural arch of your eyebrow is key, having the right sterile tools and tweezers is key, and turning to the professionals when you need it most is also a good quality to have. Here are some basic steps:
1. Spend about 5-10 minutes just studying closely the natural thickness of your brow. There are always some ragged edges, maybe even a slight unibrow, but we’ll take care of that. We want to prevent over-plucking, first, because an over-zealous plucker can do dangerous things with a pair of tweezers.
2. Establish a good starting point. You want the space between your eyebrows to be about the size of your thumb: don’t go much farther back, or you will begin to lose the natural curve of your eye! Clean up the middle, which is always a girl’s first desire. No more unibrow: goodbye!
3. To keep things looking natural, you want to clean up the underside of your brow but leave the top part a little ungroomed. Thick brows are in right now, so don’t even waste your time thinning out the thicker parts.
4. The final touch: the taper at the end. You want to continue this as long as possible; shortening the taper at the end only makes your eyes look squinty, whereas the longer it is the more angelic your eyes look.