Trimming one's own eyebrows?

July 7, 2006 2:40 PM

GuyGroomingFilter: How do I trim my eyebrows? Not for length/shape, but just the bushiness

A long time ago when I was getting my haircut at a fancy salon (family discount), the stylist did some very fast operation with the hair trimmers and a comb that resulted in my eyebrows looking really great. It looked like she just reduced the length of the individual hairs by running over them with the trimmer, but I wasn't paying attention and was kind of surprised.

These days I go to a cheap barber or SuperCuts or whatever and don't really trust them to understand my English enough to not just shave them off entirely, which is obviously not what I want.

So how can I do this from the comfort of my own bathroom? Current materials include comb and beard trimmer, but I'm willing to spend money (especially if it means I won't accidentaly shave one off).

To be very clear, I am not interested in plucking/waxing/etc to change the shape/length, I just want to decrease the bushiness factor.

posted by 0xFCAF to Clothing, Beauty, & Fashion (10 answers total)

You can buy small little scissores at the drugstore (they usually have them with nail accessories). Sometimes I take a little off the top of mine and it's a piece of cake; I don't even have to use a comb.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 2:45 PM on July 7, 2006 [1 favorite]

beard trimmer works wonderful for me, just trimming the length of your eyebrows will cut down the bushiness
posted by hatsix at 2:51 PM on July 7, 2006

Get the little scissors mentioned above, and an eye brow/lash brush. They look like this.

Comb your brows straight up, holding them there with the comb and trim the hair above the comb. Just trim a little at first and see how they look. You'll get the hang of how much to trim.
posted by clh at 2:53 PM on July 7, 2006

I use one of those electric trimmers. I got mine for $9.99 at Walgreens. I use the "long" setting, and it does the job. My dad does the same thing for his eyebrows, and I just got my brother into doing it too. He used the "short" setting once and it didn't turn out so well. :)
posted by MeetMegan at 3:10 PM on July 7, 2006

I use clippers with the #1 sled (shortest attachment), and run them against the grain from the outside toward the nose. This was shown to me once by a stylist, it's easy, and not needed more than fortnightly. (YMMV)
posted by rob511 at 3:12 PM on July 7, 2006

what clh said. Also you can use an Ace comb to brush the eyebrows up too, and then snip a little at a time.
posted by LoriFLA at 3:27 PM on July 7, 2006

I use my embroidery scissors, but just to cut back the weird, faster-growing hairs which appear in the eyebrows as one gets older.

My ex-GF didn't like me trimming them, however -- she liked bushy eyebrows. Just so you know, some chicks dig it.
posted by Rash at 3:45 PM on July 7, 2006

I just use a battery powered mustache trimmer that I got at Bed, Bath, and Beyond. I used to use scissors, but adjustable guard on the trimmer makes for a much neater and more regular trim.

Your trimmer should come with set of attachments that allow you to adjust the length of the trim. If not, go buy another that does.
posted by hwestiii at 3:50 PM on July 7, 2006

My boyfriend's hairdresser uses a regular comb to pull them away from the skin, then runs an eletric razor or straight razor over them to trim them. This would probably work with the small scissors that others in the thread have mentioned if you don't have an electric razor or a straight razor.
posted by Cyrie at 4:52 PM on July 7, 2006

My Wahl trimmers came with an eyebrow attachment. I've always been too scared to use it, but maybe its just what you need.
posted by gregoryc at 7:39 AM on July 8, 2006