It’s Brow Month

Into the Gloss officially unofficially declared this month “Brow Month,” with lots of articles and profiles and tips dedicated to that spot right above your eyes! It is all to honor Glossier’s (Into the Gloss’s beauty line) new brow product, the Boy Brow. I absolutely love this idea, because I think eyebrows are going through a revolution now. Women (and some men) have been obsessed with tweezing and waxing and threading. They have bought pencils and powders and stencils. Enough is enough! As Glossier’s Executive Editor Annie Kreighbaum said in her letter that announced the month,

It’s time we start acknowledging that your best brows are the ones you were born with, and that brow maintenance should be about grooming, not remodeling.

Into the Gloss has written so many articles on brows that I didn’t know could exist, like a Brow timeline (shout out to that Frida Kahlo brow), The Best of Boy Brows (in honor of their new product), and perhaps one of the most important beauty tutorials on the whole internet: How to Not Overpluck Your Brows. I was also obsessed with their gallery of brow quotes.

It was this Brow Selfie gallery that gave me inspiration for this blog post. I have decided to share my brow journey. Spoiler alert: It is not even close to over yet. Since I have recently decided that I will most likely never get my eyebrows waxed again, I thought I would tell (and show) you how I got to this point. In order to get ready for this amazing brow future, we have to look at a darker brow past. Through selfies.

The first time I got my eyebrows done was in 2012 in preparation for my sister’s wedding. I had never thought about my eyebrows too much before that. In about 4th grade, I became aware that I had a few stray hairs BETWEEN my eyebrows, and I became very anxious that I would soon become Helga from Hey Arnold. I think a few years later I even shaved in between my eyebrows, which I know now is NOT okay. For my sister’s wedding, I decided it was time, and I was actually very happy with my tweezed and sculpted eyebrows.

I actually don’t think my eyebrows look bad there. But it took going about once a month to the salon and one bad waxing job that made my eyebrows WAY too small, both lengthwise and width-wise. I had also discovered the eyebrow pencil, but had no real idea how it worked. I looked absolutely adorable when I went to Italy my senior year of high school (2014). My outfits were on point and my selfie game was strong. Everything was cute, except my eyebrows. Those were the only downfall of the trip.

Too small. And that left one causes me serious concern closer to my nose. My mom brought up to me that the salon was not doing the best job, and I agreed, but I had no idea what to do! Although I agreed that maybe the waxing was too much, I had to get my eyebrows groomed professionally. My biggest problem is the hairs of my eyebrows. For whatever reason, they grow super long. It’s weird and looks awkward, and I needed someone to trim them! So I kept going.

However, when I got to college, I realized brow appointments in NYC are expensive, and going home just to get my eyebrows done is a little crazy. So I began going closer to every other month than every month. I remember last year feeling super self conscious whenever I talked to girls with fabulous brows, because I felt like mine were out of control. But during those months of no waxing, my brows were regrowing into their natural shapes. With my eyebrow pencil, I slowly became more comfortable with them.

And now we are at the present! I got my eyebrows done in May again, and I was unimpressed. And then over the summer I was just lazy. And now I realize that I have yet to return to the salon. And even though I haven’t been to the salon, I have gotten actual compliments on my eyebrows! So I guess the main reason I haven’t gotten my eyebrows done is out of pure laziness. But I’ve also realized how much better they look naturally! A full and natural shape with my eyebrow pencil looks amazing, and a few wispy hairs aren’t not neat– they make me look like a person! I am no longer inspired by all of those “eyebrows on fleek” with the super defining arches. Bold, thick, and natural is just better!

Excuse my face there. I do have a long way to go, but I’m happy with the wax-less direction I’m going in. I am now inspired by the bold browed beauties like Lily Collins and vintage Brooke Shields. Here is some more brow inspiration!