One important message Crooks imparts to all of her clients: Stencils don’t work. “We teach people to find their natural eyebrow shape. Many people tend to think, the higher the arch the more beautiful the brow—and that’s not the case. There’s no cookie cutter brow.†Finding your real arch helps your face look balanced: “The natural shape of the brow mimics muscle movement in the face, which is where our facial expressions come from,†explains Crooks. Lost touch with your natural arch? Crooks suggests digging up a picture of yourself when you were younger, before your brows were touched, and starting there.
2. Fill in Brows with a Sharp Pencil
Crooks prefers a pencil to power because, as she puts it, “You want to emulate the hair length and the way the hairs lay.†To fill in, start at the baseline—the line right underneath the brow—at the point closest to your nose, and sketch a line as evenly as possible from the beginning to the tail, she says. “Then on top, draw a parallel line and intersect those lines at the outside corner.†Brush through, and go back with a fine-pointed pencil to fill in what Crooks calls “areas of opportunity†that look thin.
Watch this video to learn how to perfectly groom your brows:
3. Use Gel to Go Bigger
Building bigger brows is a two-step process. First, just as you’d overline your lips, do the same on your brows by going a tiny bit outside the original line you drew. Fill this new line in using hair-like strokes, says Crooks. Just make sure you’re not dramatically adjusting your brow line (as to not throw off your natural arch), she says. Then, use a gel to brush your brows up, which will help them stay and provide a thicker look, she says.
4. Darken Your Color
A little bit goes a long way. That’s why Crooks generally recommends blondes only go a shade to a shade-and-a-half darker and brunettes only go half a shade to a full shade darker. “Dark-haired people have a little less of a range, but because they are dark already, the brows automatically stand out on the face,†she says. Since blondes tend to have lighter brows to begin with, they’re able to go a little darker to stand out. As for bleaching out the brows, she’s not a fan. Since eyebrows are supposed to provide symmetry and balance to the face, bleaching them can make your forehead look bigger, she says.
5. Pick Up a Serum
Brow serums for hair growth are not B.S.—Crooks says a good one is worth the investment. “Sometimes when hair follicles are removed, they never come back,†she says. Hormones, stress, and age can all dramatically affect brow texture and density, too. The goal of a serum: to make the eyebrows young again. “These products help the growing phase last longer and nourish the hair so that it grows back slightly darker and thicker,†says Crooks. The only catch: You need to keep up with the routine. “Some are super-effective, but you have to use them every day,†says Crooks. “Once you have results, you have to use the serum two to three days a week or your brows will revert back.†Try Second Chance Brow Enhancement Serum ($95, thebrowgal.com) or RevitaBrow Advanced ($110, revitalash.com).