My aunt, who used to be an air stewardess, once told me that during her training, she was told that one of the most important features of your face are your eyebrows. And how true she is, for the shape of the eyebrows can either open your eyes, or make them droop further. Incidentally, she was the first person to pluck and shape my brows for my college prom night, as Mum still thought that I should only start shaping my brows when I started working! 

Well-plucked eyebrows can make you appear more groomed. Many women (me included) have their eyebrows tweezed professionally. I’d highly recommend you have a professional do the first *ahem* “damage” on your brows first to give it a shape which suits your face, and then all you have to do is to pluck where the hairs grow in.

I would discourage you to do it yourself at the very first go as you’d most likely be unsure how much to pluck, and you might be left with too-thin brows, or *gasp*, uneven brows. Believe it or not, pencil-thin brows do not suit everyone. Thicker brows suit my face as it’s not what you’d call, erm, delicate.

I prefer plucking to shaving as the hairs take longer to grow, plus I’m not left with unsightly stubble.

Here are a few tips on how to tweeze and maintain your eyebrows (when you’ve already gotten a “blueprint” of your brows, of course):

• The biggest mistake people make is to tweeze too much. Avoid over-plucking as it can take months for brows to grow back.
• Here’s a simple trick to remember: The space between your brows should be equal to, or a little wider than, your eyes. To find where your brow should go, take a long eyeshadow brush or pencil and hold it parallel to the side of your nose. Where the brush meets your brow is where your brow should begin.
• To find the end of your brow, extend the brush diagonally from your nostril, following the outside edge of your eye toward the brow. Where the inside edge of the brush hits is where your brow should end.
• The best brows have a slight arch. To find yours, hold the brush parallel to the outside edge of the colored part of your eye (the iris). Where the brush meets the brow is where the highest part of your brow should be.
• Cleanse your skin.

• It might be a bit painful if you’re not used to having your brows plucked. I’d normally rub some astrigent (on facial cotton) on the brow area just before plucking. You can also numb the area by rubbing a bit of ice (wrapped in a handkerchief) around the area if you like.
• Make sure that you are near a window with light pouring in or under a bright light with a good mirror.
• Pluck the hairs in the direction they grow. Do not grab too many hairs at a time (I tried that during one of my lazy days. I ended up with a red bump on my brow which got infected. Ugh).
• Stop every few hairs to step back and look at the job you’re doing. If you overpluck, STOP! Do not pluck more to try to “even out the shape”. You can always add colour back to the bald area with an eyebrow pencil.
• If you use a pencil to fill in sparse brows, apply with short, feathered strokes from the inside of the brow out. Then carefully rub brows with a brush or your fingertips to soften the effect.
• Do invest in a good tweezer and eyebrow brush. I always like to give my brows a good brush to avoid it looking unkempt (especially when the hairs in the brows have grown).
• The ideal time for brow-shaping is the week after your period begins.

Remember that your eyebrows play an important role on your face, by brightening the eyes. Do keep them regularly groomed.

Source: Beauty.About.com