Your eyebrows are the frame to your face. They bring balance and proportion to your facial features. There are many simple things you can do to enhance your brows. Waxing, plucking, and threading are just a few ways you can get those perfectly shaped brows you desire without surgery.
Eyebrows are meant to frame your eyes, so their shape makes a difference. Lack of sleep, fluid retention, and genetics can cause the look of heavy eyes.
Having a lifted brow makes your eyes look awake and refreshed. It gives you a perky polished look. You may not need a brow lift right now, just in case one day you decide you do. In the meantime, there are ways to fake a brow lift that are going to blow your mind.
Let’s take a deeper look into what a brow and eyelid lift is and how to achieve the look for yourself.
What Is an Eyebrow Lift
An eyebrow lift is a surgery that is intended to open up your eyes and make you look more alert. Eyelid lifts help in the same way by removing skin and tightening the skin around the eyes.
This surgery helps for both cosmetic and medical reasons. Some people need these procedures to help with drooping eyelids that result in vision trouble and the look of sleepy eyes. Others want the surgery to change the way their eyes look—cosmetic reasons.
During the brow lift procedure, a surgeon will lift the brow area by making a small incision in the upper brow to lift the skin. Some doctors make the incision at the hairline so that the scar isn’t as visible. The surgery involves light sedation and little recovery time.
Is Eyelid and Brow Surgery Safe?
Yes, brow surgery is considered safe. The risks are generally cosmetic, such as the brows not being symmetrical in the end result. Scarring and skin discolorations are typical, while blurred vision, infection, and nerve damage are rare.
Do the Lift Results Last?
We all age, and you can’t stop the aging process. A brow or eyelid lift could last for decades, but the procedure results may fade as you age. Some people go back for another lift years down the line. So, a brow lift is not permanent, but it will last for many years for most people.
How Can You Get Lifted Brows at Home Without Surgery
Your brows are uniquely yours, meaning no two brows are alike—but that doesn’t mean you can’t utilize some strategic shaping. Brow mapping is an essential tool in getting to know your brows and creating the lifted look you prefer.
What Is Brow Mapping
Brow mapping brings symmetry and balance to your eyes and face. When done correctly, it can bring a lift to the eye area.
Brow mapping is a shaping technique that finds the ideal natural brow shape for your face. A brow specialist at a brow bar will take measurements of your eyebrows and eyes to find the custom shape for your brows.
The process involves marking points on your eyebrows to highlight where they should begin, where they should end, and where the brow arch should be. If you know the steps to measure your brows correctly, you can easily do this at home.
Steps to Map Your Brows at Home
Before you begin, cleanse your face with a gentle facial cleanser. Clean skin helps the tweezers do their job more efficiently.
To perform your brow mapping at home, you’ll need natural lighting and a few supplies. Don’t skimp on these items. Good brows come from using good tools.
- Brow Pencil or brow powder in a color that matches your natural brow hair or slightly darker
- Tweezers
- Spoolie Brush
- Sharp brow scissors
- Clear brow gel or tinted brow wax
- Cotton Candy Pads soaked in chilled water
Natural light gives you the ability to see what you’re working with more clearly. Work next to a window or outside for the most natural light possible.
Determine The Shape of Your Brows (Map)
The eyebrow has three parts, the head, the body, and the tail. The head is the part of your brow that is closest to your nose. The tail is the outer part closest to your temple, and the body is the middle part of your brow. Follow these steps to determine the natural shape of your eyebrows.
- Place a pencil at the side of your nose vertically. Where the pencil touches the brow is the brow head. This area is where your eyebrow begins. Mark that spot with a small pencil mark.
- Now, with the same pencil placed vertically, rotate it outward and stop at the outer edge of the iris of your eye. This place is where the brow arch should be. Mark this place.
- Move the pencil further out past the arch to the outer corner of the eye. This area is the brow tail. Mark this area.
- Repeat steps one through three on the other eye until both eyebrows are marked.
- Connect the three markings on each eye with straight lines above and below your eyebrows. These lines create a map that shows you which hairs to tweeze. Tweeze the hairs on the outside of the lines and leave the ones inside alone.
Tweeze Your Brows
Clean your tweezers with sterile rubbing alcohol before you begin. Clean tools help prevent the spread of bacteria.
Tweeze the eyebrow hairs one at a time, pulling in the direction of the hair. Pull your skin tight as you tweeze. Remember only to tweeze hairs that are outside of the map you just drew.
Tweeze the hairs between your brows too. If your skin becomes irritated, simply apply the Cotton Candy pads soaked in cool water to the area for a few minutes. They should be cold to remove redness and swelling.
Tame the Strays
Some eyebrow hairs grow longer than others, and some are curly. Use your spoolie to comb your eyebrow hairs straight upwards. Carefully use your brow scissors to trim away any long or unruly hairs outside of the brow shape you just drew.
Trim one brow at a time and be careful not to over-trim. Don’t trim much from the tail of the brow. The tail tends to be thinner than the rest of your brows. Unless you have unruly hairs at the tail of the brow, leave them there. These hairs will help fill in that area of the brow so that it doesn’t look too sparse.
Fill in Your Brows With Your Brow Pencil
A brow pencil provides a sharper, more precise line, while brow powder adds a softening effect. You can mix the two for a natural look.
Filling in your brows, especially defining the arch, is where the lifting effect occurs. Fill in the arch a little higher than your natural arch. Doing so will give an instant lift to your eye area.
If you don’t like a high arch, brush all brow hairs upward after filling them in with pencil and powder. Seal them in place with a clear brow gel or tinted brow wax. This upward brush gives the illusion of a lifted brow in the same way the higher arch does.
Frame & Glow
Frame your brows at the edges on top and bottom with a concealer that matches your skin tone. Doing this will create a clean edge, making your brows look super sleek. Make sure you use a matte concealer that doesn’t budge.
Follow up by giving your brows a subtle glow by highlighting the brow bone in a matte highlighter. Matte works best because it reflects light and adds a soft, natural glow.
Conclusion
An eyebrow lift is a surgical procedure performed to add a lifting effect to the eye area. A small incision is placed either above the brow or at the hairline, and the skin is then lifted upward. Minimal scarring does occur, but downtime is minimal.
You can create a lifted brow effect for yourself at home when your brows are precisely shaped. After mapping your brows, fill them in with brow pencil, powder, gel, or wax to complete the look. Follow with a concealer to define the brow and add a chic finish. Matte highlighter placed at the brow bone adds a touch of natural sheen.
Lift your eyes even more with a set of Glamnetic magnetic lashes to your look. Choose lashes that are longer on the outer corners, like these Luxe lashes, than the inner ones for an opening effect.
Surgery isn’t necessary, but good lashes and brows are. Glamnetic has all the lash and brow accessories you need to look your best RN.
Sources:
All About Eyelid and Brow Lift Surgery – Cleveland Clinic | Health Cleveland Clinic
What Is a Spoolie Brush? | Pop Sugar
Makeup Artists Explain How to Apply Eyebrow Highlighter | Byrdie