Men’s Eyebrow Shaping and Grooming Guide

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If you are a man and the thought of grooming your eyebrows sounds like something a sissy would do, we completely understand. However, do you have a mustache or beard, or at least have a friend with either of those?

Beards and mustaches are certainly masculine facial features, but nobody just lets those go wherever they want without some trimming and sculpting. Otherwise, you would simply look like you just crawled out of a cave.

Trimming your eyebrows is really no different. When you were a young man, it is likely that you did not need to consider doing this at all and the mere suggestion of it would have sounded pretty weird.

However, the older you get, the more and more bushy your eyebrows tend to get. Of all the features of a man’s face, the eyebrows are usually the easiest indication of his age.

Keeping them properly groomed not only improves your overall appearance but can also impart a youthful look to the face. So, who doesn’t want to look younger (except those who are already young)?

Well, let’s jump right in and get down to it then. Here are our recommendations for how to go about it.

Go natural

Men’s Eyebrow Grooming Guide

Whereas the ladies sculpt and shape their eyebrows, men tend to look more masculine with a natural look. However, this all has to do with your personal preference (if you are a metrosexual, then we guess that eyebrow sculpting is for you).

To keep your eyebrows looking masculine, be very conservative in removing hair. To do this, we do not recommend tweezing unless there are obvious strays that are outside of the natural borders of your eyebrows.

Thread or wax with professional stylists only

If you really do not want to do this yourself and have the funds, consult with a professional men’s stylist who also does threading or waxing of eyebrows. They will be able to determine your facial shape and pick a style of eyebrow grooming that accentuates your best features.

Trimming

If you want to do your own grooming, we strongly recommend trimming as a strategy. Trimming is far more forgiving than plucking your eyebrows since cutting the hair back will allow it to regrow faster if you get a little overzealous and make a mistake (ahem, yeah, this can happen to you).

Use beard trimming scissors that are slightly recurved (cupped) to do any eyebrow work and also get a spoolie brush or a mustache brush. Spoolie brushes are basically mascara brushes, so if you feel a bit weird using one, a fine-bristle mustache brush works great.

How to shape your eyebrows

        1.Shower. The first thing you want to do is take a shower and wash your face thoroughly with warm, soapy water. Besides working with clean hair, the heat from the shower will open your pores and make it easier to pluck hairs or easier to trim them.

        2. Comb and trim. Using your mustache brush, first, comb the hair in the direction it grows (away from the center of your brow), then comb upward until all the hairs are pointing in the same upward direction.

With your beard scissors (make sure you clean them well first with warm soapy water, isopropyl alcohol, or witch hazel, then dry them with a tissue or soft cloth), trim any hairs that are noticeably longer than the others. We like to call these the “crazies”.

If your eyebrows are extra bushy, you can use an electric trimmer like a beard trimmer, to shape them. However, be extra careful since one slip-up will require you to begin penciling-in your eyebrows until they grow back.

Since penciled eyebrows on any man other than someone wearing stage makeup looks decidedly unmasculine, it’s simply better to use scissors and trim. It’s the haircut approach: you can always take off more later if you want.

        3. Tweeze any strays. Stray hairs that are above the natural limits of your eyebrows or are way off to the side or perhaps at the top of your eyelid should be plucked out with tweezers. They simply don’t belong there.

To tweeze hair properly, use a good set of new, non-dented, or warped tweezers that are clean. If you are in doubt, clean them the same way that you did the scissors to prevent any accidental infections during a pluck.

Using the tweezers, grasp the hair at the base, next to the skin, firmly and pull the hair in the direction that it grows. Never pull in the opposite direction or the hair could shear off, become ingrown, and infected.

Infected hair follicles in your face hurt and can produce more swelling there than other areas of your skin. Plus, it’s your face and you can’t cover up your face.

        4. Stay natural. Stay with the natural shape of your eyebrows and don’t sculpt your eyebrows as women do. If you decide that you do want sculpted eyebrows, this is where we recommend that you consult with a men’s grooming professional and have them do it for you.

They will typically choose a look that best fits your facial features and the shape of your face so that you get the best look you can achieve.

FAQs

Men’s Eyebrow Grooming Guide

What about grey hairs?

Leave them in, at least some. They can look very distinctive.

If you are concerned about greyness, buy a brow gel set for men.

Besides conditioning wiry eyebrow hairs in older men, many sets have subtle coloring agents to take care of those grey hairs.

Use the mattifying gel after a professional grooming

If you just had your eyebrows professionally groomed, particularly if this was done by waxing, this can often leave your skin shiny. To prevent this issue, use a mattifying gel between and around the eyebrows.

These typically come in skincare kits and will denote their use for eyebrow areas. If you cannot find any of these products, you can also use a talcum-based face powder or light, water-based moisturizer as well.

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