Yes, gentlemen of the world, you need to pay attention to your eyebrows.
They are those tufts of hair positioned strategically above our eyes to protect them from things like sweat and too much light. As humans, our eyes are kind of important, so that’s why we’ve kept these caterpillar-like attributes throughout our evolution.
Throughout the course of our evolution, however, we’ve learned a few other things though, like body hair maintenance. And we’ve developed tools like hair trimmers.
Just because our Neanderthal ancestors had eyebrows too doesn’t mean you have to have sasquatch-looking eyebrows today circa 2022.
The modern man should, in fact, have TWO separate eyebrows, not one.
The modern man should also, in fact, tame the tufts of hair jutting out of his brow.
You have access to the right tools, you have the time, and you’re worth the effort. Caring about oneself involves taking care of your personal grooming and hygiene, but you need to remember the whole package. You can have one of the best beards around or have someone special take note of your nicely trimmed bush, but we’re here to tell you those two inches of wild eyebrow hair are going to overshadow all that effort if you don’t handle the full picture that is male hair care.
Your face is also kind of a big part of the whole package that is your body and your eyebrows are a fairly large part of your face, sooo hopefully you’re seeing our point here.
At MANSCAPED™, we’ve made our career out of being male grooming and hygiene specialists, so we have a few tips and tricks for how to keep your eyebrows under control and how to trim them perfectly:
- Brush your eyebrows
- Follow the natural shape
- Get rid of the unibrow
- Trim each eyebrow
- Scissors
- Tweezers
- Trimmers
Alright, detail time!
Brush your eyebrows
The first item in your trimming eyebrows arsenal is a mustache comb.
Yes, yes we know we’re talking about your eyebrows, just keep reading and keep that inner monologue down. A mustache comb is the perfect size and shape for smaller hair areas that need some attention to detail, so they are the right tool for the job when it comes to your eyebrows.
Take a shower to soften the hair on your face and start with a clean slate. Then stand in front of a mirror and with your mustache comb, step one is to simply brush your eyebrows in their natural direction away from the center of your nose towards the side of your face.
Do not get distracted by long hairs or trimming anything just yet, first thing first is to get the hairs lying as flat as possible in the correct direction.
Follow the natural shape
Men’s eyebrows follow a natural shape and curve, so the idea here is NOT that you are drawing on a whole new set of eyebrows or making them grow somewhere differently. You just need to figure out what the shape is so you can trim and groom them correctly.
The two biggest parts of trimming men's eyebrows are really just taming the super long strays and getting rid of some volume. It’s ok for a man’s eyebrows to stay thick and present.
Control, gentleman, intentional control is the name of the game. We’re going for the well-groomed, but also natural look and that look does take a little effort.
As you are brushing your eyebrows, pay attention to the strays. Pay attention to the hairs that are not fitting in with the rest. And pay attention to the hairs that are not lying flat.
Zoom in and make note of where the natural eyebrow boundaries are on your forehead.
When you look at your face straight in the mirror you should notice a natural set of horizontal curves that happen where your nose ends and your forehead begins. One curve goes over your right eye and the other over your left eye. These curves are created by your eye sockets in your skull and it’s those little curves we want to focus on.
Your eyebrows should follow this curve but there is an ideal starting point so you have TWO eyebrows, so let’s dive into getting rid of that middle section of hair or the unibrow.
Get rid of the unibrow
Ah, the unibrow.
Most men have a unibrow of some sort, but some are a little more pronounced than others. And for those blondies out there from the great north countries, you probably are going to have an easier time with this whole eyebrow trimming thing.
Men's eyebrows should not connect in the middle, so this is the step we need to take to remove the unwanted hairs in this region.
For your first time, take a pencil or something straight, stand in front of the mirror, and align the straight thing up with your nose vertically. Move it a little to the right and then move it a little to the left. Your straight instrument should be in close contact with the arch of your brow and the idea is that you should be seeing where the bridge of your nose ends and your brow line begins.
To get rid of the unibrow means to get rid of the excess hair hanging out in that flat section of your face where your nose becomes your forehead region.
Do not shave this region. We repeat, do NOT shave this region.
This is where the second tool in your arsenal comes in: a good pair of tweezers.
Remember we are going for a natural look, so the best technique for a unibrow in our opinion is to tweeze. Tweezing removes the hair from the root and this also allows you to pick and choose the hairs needing to be removed. This gives you a little more control.
Start in the middle and start removing the hair. After a few tweezes you’ll notice your eyebrows becoming more and more separate and distinct. Do not go crazy. Tweeze a little, pause, zoom out, access, check the curve, zoom back in, and tweeze more if needed.
Yes, tweezing can be a little painful, but you’re not going to have to do this every day. For most guys, the unibrow section to be removed is a few centimeters of hair, that’s it.
Trim each eyebrow
Now that we’ve tackled the unibrow section and we have two eyebrows now to deal with, we can finish the full trim.
We’re going to go back to our first tool, the trusty mustache comb and now we’re going to use that comb to identify the strays, stragglers, and just too-long hairs in each eyebrow.
We’re also going to introduce a third tool that all men should have in their kit: a good set of grooming scissors. These are more than likely going to be labeled something like cosmetic scissors and you can find them at most pharmacies like Walgreens or order them specifically online. Your lady friends can also help you out here.
Using your comb, you're going to brush your eyebrow hair straight up. For anything that is too long, use your scissors and cut. Repeat this process for the length of your eyebrow and repeat on the other side.
Once you think you’re finished, go through with your comb one more time to double-check the shape and make sure the eyebrow hairs are lying flat and in the same direction. Anything not settling down can be cut or even tweezed if it’s just not behaving.
Next, grab those tweezers you used to tackle your unibrow. Take a moment and see if there are any rogue hairs outside of your natural brow area. You’re specifically wanting to pay attention to the bottom and sides of your eyebrows going towards your hairline. Your eyebrows should also not blend in with your sideburns. Simply tweeze to remove and move on to the other side.
If you have super bushy eyebrows a trimmer is also a helpful tool some of you might need to take our extra volume. Please note, a regular hair or body hair trimmer is NOT the right tool for this. You’re going to want to look for a specific eyebrow trimmer that is smaller and more specialized. These trimmers will have guards so you don’t accidentally trim too much.
Helpful reminder about tweezing
We felt this was important enough to merit its own section for just a moment. Men, when it comes to tweezing, a little bit goes a long way. It can be very, very tempting to go down the deep dark hole that is tweezing OCD.
There is a reason you see women with super teeny tiny eyebrows painted or penciled in now that they are in their older years. Ever see someone with super arched eyebrows that just do not look natural? Whelp, odds are, they ain’t.
These ladies overdid the tweezing in their younger years and they have little to no eyebrows left they are so damaged. If any of you grew up in the 80s or 90s, just ask some of your lady friends or family members. The struggle is real, and you can learn from their experiences. What a fashion trend, eh? Tweezing your eyebrows into non-existence is hopefully not a trend we’ll see again.
When it comes to tweezing, a mirror can be your best and worst friend. You need to see what you are doing, but zoom in too much and you lose track of the bigger picture. A few too many tweezed hairs in one space starts to become a whole chunk of missing eyebrow before long. Then you have to figure out how to even it out on the other side.
You’ve been warned.
Helpful reminder in general about eyebrow trimming
Also, it’s helpful to remember that even though guys sometimes think they are on their own when it comes to their grooming, YOU ARE NOT ALONE.
If you’re a little nervous about tackling your own eyebrows, ask for help or go to a hair professional. A lot of guys get their eyebrows trimmed by their hair stylist or barber. You can also schedule an appointment at a salon or spa that specializes in face hair waxing and shaping services.
The other rule of thumb with trimming your eyebrows is to start small. A little trimming goes a long way, so try out a few grooming techniques and then keep chipping away at it until you feel comfortable.
Eyebrow grooming is something that we recommend once a week, especially if you have darker, thicker, or faster-growing hair.
06.27.22
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