The Brow Beater

In the early to mid-70s, I remember my mom and aunts rocking these pencil-thin eyebrows.

My mom and aunts thought they looked hot. I suppose it was a trend back then— Diana Ross had them and so did Chaka Khan. Everyone I saw had these extremely arched, super thin eyebrows that resembled the McDonald’s logo.

But I recall looking at them in complete amazement because I couldn’t understand why on earth would they want to shave or pluck them to death, just to fill them back in.

The young women in the 70s had an excuse; it was trendy and they experimented on one another. And there weren’t too many shops available for them to just walk right in and receive an eyebrow service.

But here’s my question; WHAT is the excuse for the eyebrows I see today? My theory behind this is the convenience of going to nail shops. But the truth is, nail shops are not the place for this type of service. Nail shops are for fingers and toes. And it most cases, the “professionals” who are providing the service are not properly trained.

My concern is safety. There have been instances when the wax is too hot and it burns the person’s skin. Skin is not supposed to come off with facial hair. And for women to believe this is normal frightens me. Seriously, if this ever happens to any of you, run out of the shop and never go back.

There are alternatives to eyebrow waxing such as tweezing or threading. Some prefer one hair removal process over the other. However, be careful when selecting an individual and make sure you check out his or her work beforehand.

With threading, you may want to go with someone who does not hold the thread in their mouth. The saliva travels through the fiber and there have been cases of people contracting hepatitis. Luckily, threading can now be achieved by having the thread around the neck.

Personally, I prefer the tweezing process because it does not involve hot wax or the transfer of saliva to the skin. Yes, the process is longer and the idea of enduring a little more pain is a deterrent. But in the end, you lessen the chance of having to deal with burned skin or taking antibiotics.

Some women believe they can shape up their own eyebrows. The number one reason being the desire to save money. Not to be funny, but sometimes, it shows.

Honestly, I do not think it is a good idea for men or women to groom their own eyebrows, because usually, we either overpluck them or mess up the natural shape completely.

I cannot stress the importance of finding someone who really knows what he or she is doing and can create a beautiful, eyebrow shape that suits you. The best person to have in your face is a professional makeup artist, an esthetician or an eyebrow expert.

I always use this as an example: If you spend money getting your hair done every week or if you don’t have an issue dropping thirty bucks a week on coffee, then fifteen bucks for the perfect brow shouldn’t be a problem.