Help for transparent eyebrows
July 17, 2016 1:07 PM Subscribe
My birth hair color was bright coppery red, think the color of a new penny. My eyebrows were always much lighter, and in summer, bleached by the sun to almost blonde. Fast forward to 2016.
My hair is now mostly a warmish platinum, around my face and on the crown.
Sides, for some reason have somewhat a darker cast, mostly noticeable when hair is wet. Back is a warm greyish blend. Overall I guess I would say my hair color could be said to be very pale warm blonde, the lightest parts are nearly colorless when my hair is wet.
My eyebrows. They are invisible. Seriously. When my hair changed color, they just went transparent. I really didn't mind for a long time, but started wearing my hair in a cropped pixie cut and all of a sudden, my face looked incomplete. I play up my green eyes, and am using a very different color palette than I did before my hair lightened. I have been using Maybelline eyebrow pencils (tried blond and light brown, with mixed results), and ELF brow products, and once in a great while, I will get lucky and manage to get a decent, visible, sort of natural looking set of eyebrows. It should be noted that I mostly use black/brown or soft black mascara for daily use. I wear makeup every day, and like to keep my routine around 15 minutes for application.
Back to my brows, there is hair, but it is patchy and sparse. I have occasionally used an at home semipermanent brow tint (Tintacil) which gives me maybe a week to 10 days of having barely visible brows before they fade.
As I said above, I have a small selection of products, but am lacking consistent skills to get good results. At home, I can manage, but what prompted this question is that I had an emergency requiring my presence in another state, staying with friends of my daughter, and I am fairly mortified at how I look. It's a desert climate, the mirror I am using is poorly lit, and trying to get my hit and miss at home look is not happening. I am somewhat vain and would like to be able to look my best.
So, I throw myself at your mercy, and hope someone can suggest products, services, techniques or a combo thereof, to get me some decent looking eyebrows! (Disclaimer, female, age 57, sensitive, pale skin that freckles easily).
Sides, for some reason have somewhat a darker cast, mostly noticeable when hair is wet. Back is a warm greyish blend. Overall I guess I would say my hair color could be said to be very pale warm blonde, the lightest parts are nearly colorless when my hair is wet.
My eyebrows. They are invisible. Seriously. When my hair changed color, they just went transparent. I really didn't mind for a long time, but started wearing my hair in a cropped pixie cut and all of a sudden, my face looked incomplete. I play up my green eyes, and am using a very different color palette than I did before my hair lightened. I have been using Maybelline eyebrow pencils (tried blond and light brown, with mixed results), and ELF brow products, and once in a great while, I will get lucky and manage to get a decent, visible, sort of natural looking set of eyebrows. It should be noted that I mostly use black/brown or soft black mascara for daily use. I wear makeup every day, and like to keep my routine around 15 minutes for application.
Back to my brows, there is hair, but it is patchy and sparse. I have occasionally used an at home semipermanent brow tint (Tintacil) which gives me maybe a week to 10 days of having barely visible brows before they fade.
As I said above, I have a small selection of products, but am lacking consistent skills to get good results. At home, I can manage, but what prompted this question is that I had an emergency requiring my presence in another state, staying with friends of my daughter, and I am fairly mortified at how I look. It's a desert climate, the mirror I am using is poorly lit, and trying to get my hit and miss at home look is not happening. I am somewhat vain and would like to be able to look my best.
So, I throw myself at your mercy, and hope someone can suggest products, services, techniques or a combo thereof, to get me some decent looking eyebrows! (Disclaimer, female, age 57, sensitive, pale skin that freckles easily).
Brow powder seems to be softer looking and easier to control on my very fair brows. I use an Anastasia product in taupe and then seal it with a brush of clear mascara.
posted by otherwordlyglow at 1:16 PM on July 17, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by otherwordlyglow at 1:16 PM on July 17, 2016 [1 favorite]
Just a minor pro-tip from someone with a weirdly-lit bathroom and moderately crappy vision: get yourself a big $10 handled mirror from CVS that you can carry over to a window or even go on the porch to do your eyes. If you're lucky, there might be a nail (or you can put up a command hook) to hang it from.
Youtube is where I go when I have a makeup question. There's many many results for "thin eyebrows" or "sparse eyebrows".
posted by Lyn Never at 1:19 PM on July 17, 2016 [1 favorite]
Youtube is where I go when I have a makeup question. There's many many results for "thin eyebrows" or "sparse eyebrows".
posted by Lyn Never at 1:19 PM on July 17, 2016 [1 favorite]
My aunt has this exact issue. Same hair color, she's very fair and her eyebrows, now a warm white, are invisible. She got her eyebrows tattooed on.
Cons: It's painful, it takes a week to heal and you look scabby and weird for most of that week. Pros: it looks pretty good, goes about ten years between treatments. The pain is mostly the tattooing process-- afterwards it's mainly just itchy and a little sore.
posted by blnkfrnk at 1:26 PM on July 17, 2016
Cons: It's painful, it takes a week to heal and you look scabby and weird for most of that week. Pros: it looks pretty good, goes about ten years between treatments. The pain is mostly the tattooing process-- afterwards it's mainly just itchy and a little sore.
posted by blnkfrnk at 1:26 PM on July 17, 2016
Best answer: Honestly, if you have any hair at all on your eyebrows go get them tinted at a salon. The professional tint lasts a solid 4 weeks on my weirdly-blonder-than-most-of-my-hair brows (oh hey fellow ginger!) and then I fill in the patchy parts. Tinting my brows (and lashes but California recently disallowed that, sob) has been the single best beauty discovery of my life. It not only tints the obvious thick "eyebrow" hairs, but it also catches all the little finer hairs in that area that don't normally register as brow hair, making your brows appear so much denser, not just darker. Really, it's THE BEST.
As for filling in my sparser areas, I hate the look of brow pencils, so what I've found looks most natural on me is to rub some clear eyeshadow primer into my eyebrows to hold the color, and then fill them in with a pale, slightly warmish taupe shadow using a small angled brush.
But really, get those suckers professionally tinted. It's a total game changer.
posted by JuliaIglesias at 1:28 PM on July 17, 2016 [10 favorites]
As for filling in my sparser areas, I hate the look of brow pencils, so what I've found looks most natural on me is to rub some clear eyeshadow primer into my eyebrows to hold the color, and then fill them in with a pale, slightly warmish taupe shadow using a small angled brush.
But really, get those suckers professionally tinted. It's a total game changer.
posted by JuliaIglesias at 1:28 PM on July 17, 2016 [10 favorites]
Oh, I should have mentioned, the Glossier lightest/blondest color is a nice subtle warm tint, so it sounds like it will probably match your hair.
posted by stoneandstar at 1:29 PM on July 17, 2016
posted by stoneandstar at 1:29 PM on July 17, 2016
Cheap waxy eyeliner pencil in the right shade, then brush it out a little to look natural.
I have zero brows (sparse, blonde) and I have tried every powder, gel, wax, implement under the sun.
I think the pencil is NYC brand or Wet N' Wild? Like, so cheap and waxy you would have to press hard to make it look like liner on your eyes? THIS IS THE PENCIL YOU WANT FOR BROWS.
Impossible to screw up because it doesn't drop a lot of color per stroke. Short strokes to mimic hair and fill in your hairline. Brush to make it look natural.
If you have blonde hair this is a great technique because it's not hyper pigmented and you can quickly build up layers. Plus, it's forgiving if you make a mistake! More dedicated products tend to not be easy to correct during application, which just makes it so difficult when you are trying to make your brows match each other + look natural.
Try a bunch of eyeliner pencils at the drugstore. The waxy cheap one you wouldn't buy? That's the one you want.
posted by jbenben at 1:30 PM on July 17, 2016 [2 favorites]
I have zero brows (sparse, blonde) and I have tried every powder, gel, wax, implement under the sun.
I think the pencil is NYC brand or Wet N' Wild? Like, so cheap and waxy you would have to press hard to make it look like liner on your eyes? THIS IS THE PENCIL YOU WANT FOR BROWS.
Impossible to screw up because it doesn't drop a lot of color per stroke. Short strokes to mimic hair and fill in your hairline. Brush to make it look natural.
If you have blonde hair this is a great technique because it's not hyper pigmented and you can quickly build up layers. Plus, it's forgiving if you make a mistake! More dedicated products tend to not be easy to correct during application, which just makes it so difficult when you are trying to make your brows match each other + look natural.
Try a bunch of eyeliner pencils at the drugstore. The waxy cheap one you wouldn't buy? That's the one you want.
posted by jbenben at 1:30 PM on July 17, 2016 [2 favorites]
Best answer: I have almost-invisible brows too, and I use anastasia dipbrow pomade in the lightest colour. I use a short angled brush and brush just the tiniest bit of it through my brows. It's lasted forever because you really hardly need any of it, and it's sort of a thick waxy paste so sometimes one application lasts a few days. I'm always really careful to not put too much of it on so I don't end up looking like this
posted by 5_13_23_42_69_666 at 1:32 PM on July 17, 2016 [6 favorites]
posted by 5_13_23_42_69_666 at 1:32 PM on July 17, 2016 [6 favorites]
Boy Brow is really really REALLY really good and really really easy and quick -- it never gives you that weird I Painted My Brows On look. (And at $16 not a huge investment.)
I tint mine because they've got grays, but use Boy Brow to keep them in line/appropriately tinted.
posted by Countess Sandwich at 1:34 PM on July 17, 2016 [1 favorite]
I tint mine because they've got grays, but use Boy Brow to keep them in line/appropriately tinted.
posted by Countess Sandwich at 1:34 PM on July 17, 2016 [1 favorite]
I'm really terrible at makeup and have never bothered doing anything with my eyebrows, until last year when I had chemo and all my brow hairs fell out. I went to a makeup tutorial session for chemo patients and everyone there got this It Cosmetics Universal Eyebrow Pencil, and somehow, magically, it worked on all of us - ten women with completely different hair and skin colors. It's amazing.
posted by something something at 1:45 PM on July 17, 2016
posted by something something at 1:45 PM on July 17, 2016
On my phone so avoiding linking, but look to see if anyone in your area does micro-blading on eyebrows. It's a semi-permanent ink depositing thing and the results are amazing.
posted by greta simone at 2:02 PM on July 17, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by greta simone at 2:02 PM on July 17, 2016 [1 favorite]
1000hr at-home brow dye for color + Bimatoprost for growth (applied to brows nightly, using an eyeliner brush; squeeze one drop of solution into bottle cap, then dip brush in that).
posted by Iris Gambol at 2:16 PM on July 17, 2016
posted by Iris Gambol at 2:16 PM on July 17, 2016
This is really one for reddit or YouTube. Reddit's sidebar in that subreddit has a tutorials link and you'll find great eyebrow stuff in there.
But basically, you use a very light powder (taupe) with a brush that's slightly wet, and you softly fill them in. It's the lack of density that's as much a problem as the color. If you use anything but the lightest powder, it will look garish, but that's okay, the lightest powder is best for lots and lots of people.
Buy a nice brush from Sephora (short, stiff), get some brow powder (I have found cheap brands to be fine), and with an outline using a slightly damp brush, followed by little brush strokes, you can fill in your eyebrows. Darkest in the middle to the ends, lighter at the starting point by your nose.
Source: skimpy eyebrow haver/youtube video watcher.
posted by A Terrible Llama at 2:46 PM on July 17, 2016 [1 favorite]
But basically, you use a very light powder (taupe) with a brush that's slightly wet, and you softly fill them in. It's the lack of density that's as much a problem as the color. If you use anything but the lightest powder, it will look garish, but that's okay, the lightest powder is best for lots and lots of people.
Buy a nice brush from Sephora (short, stiff), get some brow powder (I have found cheap brands to be fine), and with an outline using a slightly damp brush, followed by little brush strokes, you can fill in your eyebrows. Darkest in the middle to the ends, lighter at the starting point by your nose.
Source: skimpy eyebrow haver/youtube video watcher.
posted by A Terrible Llama at 2:46 PM on July 17, 2016 [1 favorite]
I am a redhead with translucent brows and lashes. I get them professionally tinted (don't worry, it's a veggie dye, not chemical) at a spa every 6 weeks and it makes a HUGE difference. It took me a while to nail down exactly what color I like my brows to be, because many of the available shades are ashy taupe or full-on dark brown. I found an aesthetician who gets it and perfectly mixes up a verrrrry light brown with a dash of copper in it, which is perfect for matching with my hair and pale skin.
(if you're in Seattle, PM me and I will give you her info, because she is seriously the best)
posted by joan_holloway at 3:39 PM on July 17, 2016
(if you're in Seattle, PM me and I will give you her info, because she is seriously the best)
posted by joan_holloway at 3:39 PM on July 17, 2016
OK. So I just watched the tutorial for the IT Universal Brow Pencil recommended above, and when you get to the end, there's an example of how the amount of pressure changes the color of the pencil.
There's a neat thing where the design of the pencil helps you mark where the beginning, arch, and end of your brow is supposed to be...
It's much fancier ingredients, but essentially the same technique I recommended with a cheap waxy liner pencil. I swear it's flawless, even my colorist doing my roots was up close and amazed by my brows.
Mine is a long NYC liner pencil, waxy not kohl type. The words have rubbed off, it was under a buck fifty. Any brow brush will do.
If I get to ULTA, I'll def spring the $25 for the IT brow pencil! If you are looking for a back-up, any drugstore carries those cheapo brand eyeliners.
posted by jbenben at 3:44 PM on July 17, 2016
There's a neat thing where the design of the pencil helps you mark where the beginning, arch, and end of your brow is supposed to be...
It's much fancier ingredients, but essentially the same technique I recommended with a cheap waxy liner pencil. I swear it's flawless, even my colorist doing my roots was up close and amazed by my brows.
Mine is a long NYC liner pencil, waxy not kohl type. The words have rubbed off, it was under a buck fifty. Any brow brush will do.
If I get to ULTA, I'll def spring the $25 for the IT brow pencil! If you are looking for a back-up, any drugstore carries those cheapo brand eyeliners.
posted by jbenben at 3:44 PM on July 17, 2016
Some folks get permanent brow tattoos. This might be an option if your brows are sparse overall, such that tinting the hair is kinda useless because there just isn't much.
posted by jbenben at 3:47 PM on July 17, 2016
posted by jbenben at 3:47 PM on July 17, 2016
NYX eyebrow cake powder. I'm blessed with a blonde eyebrow and a brown eyebrow and this is the only product I've found that covers the blonde in a natural looking way, and is flexible with the coloring so I can make my brows match. Brow tinting at the salon always made them look drawn on.
posted by txtwinkletoes at 4:45 PM on July 17, 2016
posted by txtwinkletoes at 4:45 PM on July 17, 2016
For every day I use MAC Brow Duo. I tried a bunch of cheap stuff but as a blonde, I just got tired of blowing $1.50 here and $9 on stuff that turned out to be crap, and my eyes don't really tolerate a bunch of BS. MAC is nearly always safe and doesn't trigger my eye allergies.
This is like a five second application with an angled brush.
posted by Medieval Maven at 5:19 PM on July 17, 2016
This is like a five second application with an angled brush.
posted by Medieval Maven at 5:19 PM on July 17, 2016
I like Revlon Brow Fantasy pencil. The great thing is, you can get it at Target or CVS, no trip to a specialty makeup store required, and it is not expensive. That's good if you don't want to spend a lot of time, money, or mental energy on your makeup.
posted by Anne Neville at 5:20 PM on July 17, 2016
posted by Anne Neville at 5:20 PM on July 17, 2016
For people who do get their eyebrows tinted- how often do you have to do it, and how long does it take? I don't have time to go to a salon more than a few times a year, and I've usually got a baby and a three year old in tow when I do.
posted by Anne Neville at 5:25 PM on July 17, 2016
posted by Anne Neville at 5:25 PM on July 17, 2016
Dipbrow is awesome, I second the recommendation. Quick application, works well. Not cheap but you need very little per application. Get one of the anastasia eyebrow brushes as well to apply.
posted by ch1x0r at 5:49 PM on July 17, 2016
posted by ch1x0r at 5:49 PM on July 17, 2016
I just got Benefit's Gimme Brow in shade #1 and I LOVE IT. It's the easiest brow product I've used (and I've used a lot), I can do it almost without looking and it comes out perfectly, it fills in the sparse patches really well, and I think it looks really natural. Plus it takes all of ten seconds per brow. I'm really fair with cool blonde hair and both the #1 and #3 shades worked on me; I bought #1 because it had more of a cool beige undertone, while the #3 was also good but was just a bit too warm for my tastes. Seriously, I can't say enough good things about it. I used to tint but I'm stopping because this is so easy.
posted by stellaluna at 5:52 PM on July 17, 2016
posted by stellaluna at 5:52 PM on July 17, 2016
Yup, professional brow and lash tinting has changed my ash-blonde life. I go every 4-6 weeks, it takes only about 20 minutes or so (less if you just do the brows), and I go to any cheap brow place with decent reviews on yelp (though I am not picky about the color, so you might want to upgrade if you want a perfect color match). I get brow threading then brow and lash tint.
Be warned, if you have them do your lashes too it is a pretty weird process that involves sitting perfectly still with your eyes closed for a good 10 minutes, often in the middle of the salon, which some people might not enjoy.
posted by LeeLanded at 6:36 PM on July 17, 2016
Be warned, if you have them do your lashes too it is a pretty weird process that involves sitting perfectly still with your eyes closed for a good 10 minutes, often in the middle of the salon, which some people might not enjoy.
posted by LeeLanded at 6:36 PM on July 17, 2016
Best answer: I first got my brows dyed in junior high (mom's idea) and have tried everything except tattoos. But I got older and older, and cared less and less, because honestly -- wrinkles, sags, blotches, I mean, what the hell. I'm 72 and don't use anything now except Cetaphil to stay moist and soft, and I love the way I look. I wear great hats, and lots of people tell me I look wonderful, and I do, I look like a wonderful old lady. (I started easing up on makeup in my mid-50s)
This is not really an answer to your question, I know, but just wanted to say that it may not be a problem for the rest of your life.
posted by kestralwing at 7:47 PM on July 17, 2016 [11 favorites]
This is not really an answer to your question, I know, but just wanted to say that it may not be a problem for the rest of your life.
posted by kestralwing at 7:47 PM on July 17, 2016 [11 favorites]
I dye my own brows, using hair dye. I did get mine done at a salon once, but the available colours were black and brown/black only which doesn't suit my red hair. With hair dye I get a lot more choice.
I just use a creme home dye kit, and squeeze out a 10p size portion of the dye and activator and mix them on tinfoil. The rest keeps really well - my current tube of colour is about two years old. Apply the mixed dye with a cotton bud, take it off with a cotton pad and plenty of water 20mins later. Lasts 3-4 weeks.
I mentioned this on another thread and people expressed concern about getting it in your eyes. I use a non-drip creme, so it stays where I put it (your brows are a long way from your eyes). But yeah don't use it on your lashes.
posted by tinkletown at 2:16 AM on July 18, 2016
I just use a creme home dye kit, and squeeze out a 10p size portion of the dye and activator and mix them on tinfoil. The rest keeps really well - my current tube of colour is about two years old. Apply the mixed dye with a cotton bud, take it off with a cotton pad and plenty of water 20mins later. Lasts 3-4 weeks.
I mentioned this on another thread and people expressed concern about getting it in your eyes. I use a non-drip creme, so it stays where I put it (your brows are a long way from your eyes). But yeah don't use it on your lashes.
posted by tinkletown at 2:16 AM on July 18, 2016
Response by poster: You all rock! Thanks for all the suggestions, when I get home, there's a research trip to Ulta in the future for me.
And kestralwing, special thanks. I needed to hear this.
posted by LaBellaStella at 10:10 AM on July 18, 2016
And kestralwing, special thanks. I needed to hear this.
posted by LaBellaStella at 10:10 AM on July 18, 2016
I have very fair sparse eyebrows (and dark hair!) I tried brow tinting but I don't have enough hair to make it work. I could not tell the difference afterwards. My solution is to not care and to wear glasses that give the illusion of a brow. (I have never worn makeup though so my experience is different than yours. But glasses hide a lot!)
posted by vespabelle at 12:21 PM on July 18, 2016
posted by vespabelle at 12:21 PM on July 18, 2016
I have very light blond eyebrows, but I think they're about average thickness. I do 2 things:
1. Tint them myself using Just for Men beard dye (which is designed to be mixed in small amounts). Obviously there is a danger of getting dye in your eyes, but that has never happened to me and the dye isn't especially drippy. It's very easy, I just apply Vaseline around the outside of my eyebrows where I don't want to get any dye, mix the dye and apply it with a makeup brush, then wash off after 4-5 minutes. It dyes the hairs but not the skin and looks very natural. The color fades evenly after a couple of weeks. This is enough to make me look like a normal person when I'm not wearing any makeup.
2. On days that I wear makeup (for work or going out), I also use NYX brow powder in blond, and apply it with a thin, angled makeup brush, followed by blending it with a spoolie. I use the cheap e.l.f. eyebrow duo brush. I think the powder is easier to apply than a pencil, personally.
posted by Safiya at 11:07 AM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]
1. Tint them myself using Just for Men beard dye (which is designed to be mixed in small amounts). Obviously there is a danger of getting dye in your eyes, but that has never happened to me and the dye isn't especially drippy. It's very easy, I just apply Vaseline around the outside of my eyebrows where I don't want to get any dye, mix the dye and apply it with a makeup brush, then wash off after 4-5 minutes. It dyes the hairs but not the skin and looks very natural. The color fades evenly after a couple of weeks. This is enough to make me look like a normal person when I'm not wearing any makeup.
2. On days that I wear makeup (for work or going out), I also use NYX brow powder in blond, and apply it with a thin, angled makeup brush, followed by blending it with a spoolie. I use the cheap e.l.f. eyebrow duo brush. I think the powder is easier to apply than a pencil, personally.
posted by Safiya at 11:07 AM on July 19, 2016 [1 favorite]
This thread is closed to new comments.
Pencils never worked for me (too harsh looking).
posted by stoneandstar at 1:12 PM on July 17, 2016 [1 favorite]