Looking for a facial pick-me-up? Think eyebrows.
They are perhaps the quickest, cheapest, easiest way to freshen the face and even lessen the amount of makeup you need to wear.
The options are wide:
Tweezing is the most common at-home method, and can be very precise.
Waxing is quick, but painful. The hairs are pulled from the root, which lengthens the time it takes them to grow back.
Threading, an ancient method of hair removal that originated in the Far East, involves rolling and twisting cotton thread along the surface of the skin, entwining hairs which are lifted from the follicle. It is more precise than waxing, and aestheticians say it's better for those with sensitive skin.
Experts recommend against shaving the eyebrows, because they say it makes the hairs grow in more coarse.
Sima Alborzi, an aesthetician at Modern Salon & Spa in Charlotte, N.C., recommends turning to a professional to establish the shape your brow should take.
As a general rule, women with larger features should opt for fuller brows; those with small features should go for thinner. Unique features call for certain techniques. For example, if a person has close-set eyes, starting the brows a little farther apart may give the illusion of wider-set eyes.
Professional brow grooming averages about $15, and experts recommend having it done every four to six weeks. In between, most women will need to pluck strays as they grow in.
When plucking on your own, experts warn to take your time and stop to evaluate. Brow hairs take awhile to grow back, so if a spot is overplucked, you'll need to fill it in with a pencil or eyebrow powder.
Men can benefit from a nicely groomed pair of eyebrows, too. And experts say more men are paying attention.
"Wives want to be married to a playmate, not a primate," says Jeannine Baldwin, an aesthetician at Emerson Joseph, a men's salon with three Charlotte locations.
Men's two most common brow offenses, she says, are the unibrow, where the brows connect over the nose, and brows that extend to the temples.
"Men can make their eyes look wider, bigger and brighter" by grooming their brows, Baldwin says. "It gives them a fresher look, even just getting rid of a few little scragglies."
Men with bushy brows should trim them with scissors to allow them to lie flat. Be careful not to trim them so short that they become spiky, as can easily happen in the case of coarse hair.
Baldwin says she sees plenty of young men who want help banishing the unibrow. Other clients start seeking help in their 40s and 50s. "That's when the hair gets wilder," she says.
