When Luigi Mangione was apprehended for the alleged murder of health insurance chief executive Brian Thompson, it was, it turns out, because a member of the public recognised his eyebrows. On a to-do list found after his arrest, Mangione had jotted “pluck eyebrows”.
Whether this was a case of vanity (in court, the 27-year-old’s distinctive, heavy brows certainly look shaped to within an inch of their life) or a missed opportunity (he may have realised how much of a giveaway his brows could be and considered a severe trim and re-shape) is unclear. But it highlights a truth often forgotten: eyebrows can define a face as much, if not more so than, eyes or lips can. Not only that, but grooming or tidying your brows “can be transformative”, says brow artist Hollie Parkes. “It can lift and open the eye area, add structure and density, and subtly rebalance the face.”
Male celebrities, including David Beckham, Michael B Jordan, Chris Pine and Jake Gyllenhaal, are famously good at maintaining their distinct eyebrow shapes (some have even signed lucrative cosmetics deals thanks to this recognisable feature).
So what are the tricks to embrace if we find ourselves with subpar brows? And for men in particular, how can they straddle the precarious line between “groomed” and “feminised” when it comes to their arches?
How to find your perfect shape
Your most flattering brow shape has in most cases already been granted to you by Mother Nature. “As a general rule, following your natural brow shape is usually best,” says Parkes. Trying to go too much against your God-given arch, or lack of it, is never going to end well: “my goal is to keep as much natural hair as possible and work with what the client has.”
That said, there is a universal rule for determining the perfect beginning, end and highest point (arch) of your brow. Take a pencil and place it vertically at the inner corner of your nostril to mark the start of each brow, then swivel it across the iris to see where the arch should sit. Swivel on to the outer corner of the eye to mark the far end of the brow.
If you naturally have a pretty well-defined brow shape, simply pluck stragglers outside the inner and outer corners and along the bottom edge; make sure you step back from the mirror regularly to check how it’s going. If you’re not sure, remove the bare minimum and sit with it for a day before coming back to it.
Parkes loves plucking above the brow for strong definition, but if you’re doing your own it’s best to stay away from anything but the most blatant stragglers here. Plucking too many or the wrong hairs from the top can dramatically change your brow shape and therefore, optically, your face shape.
If your natural brow is less shapely, getting them professionally threaded is well worth it to get a basic flattering shape that you can then keep in check with tweezers. Threading is a baffling but simple (for those who know how to do it) and fast technique that rolls hairs between two fine threads to pull them out, resulting in smooth, clean lines and perfectly defined arches that nonetheless don’t look too harsh or blocky. It can cost from as little as £12 in threading stations in shopping centres and results lasts three to four weeks.
How to create a fuller brow
Ageing eyebrows naturally thin out, so fuller brows tend to be associated with youth and vitality. They’re also more forgiving; thin brows tend to highlight signs of ageing around the eye.
Brushing the brow hairs upwards (you can set them with a gel such as Elf Brow Lift Clear, £7) then filling sparse areas in fine, hair-like strokes with a super-fine brow pencil (like NYX Micro Brow Pencil, £10; the colour of your natural hair is the right shade) is a quick and natural-looking way to add fullness and density. Another is to use a brow mascara, which can tint, fill, shape and set brows in a few strokes. Revitalash Hi Def Tinted Brow Gel (£26.40), is a great, glossy, self-setting ink formula and Charlotte Tilbury Legendary Brows (£26) comes with the finest precision brush.
Always use a light touch: “Using too much product through the brow is a common mistake,” says Parkes. Start from the middle and move towards the tail; you don’t want to deposit the bulk of your product on the inner brow corners as that can quickly look too heavy.
A professional tint (say, at BeneFit Brow Bars, from £16) is another reliable optical brow “thickener” and quite the eye-opener if you’ve never had one. A “hybrid brow tint”, which stains the skin as well as colours the hair, gives the most dramatic results but can quickly look over-the-top in the wrong hands; not for beginners or subtlety-seekers.
Brow serums and conditioners do work, if you use them consistently. Parkes, who is famous for her £400 conditioning and sculpting “Brow Spa” service at Claridge’s, loves the peptide-based Chāmpo Pitta Brow Serum (£32): “It works slowly and gently – instead of forcing follicles into a longer growth phase, it optimises and supports the follicles you already have, improving keratin production and strong anchoring of the hair,” she says. The Revitalash Revitabrow Advanced Brow Serum (£69) is also highly recommended, and contains a medical ingredient called a prostaglandin analogue that’s proven to increase hair growth. It noticeably densifies brows in a matter of weeks.
Chāmpo Pitta Brow Serum, £32, Harrods
How to groom unruly man brows
Parkes’s golden rule for male eyebrow grooming? “Tweeze with restraint and aim for a slightly un-done finish. Even light trimming alone can make a difference without making the brows look overly sculpted.”
Any good barber will offer a brow trim service, but if you want to do it yourself, The Tweezerman Brow Shaping Scissors and Brush set (£24) has all you need. Brush the hairs straight up and aim for the ones that stick out above the rest. With the scissors’ precision tip, isolate each too-long hair one by one and snip them off with the ultra-thin blades. Once trimmed, you can use the brush to shape your brows and perhaps add some brow gel (see above) to set them.
Tweezerman Brow Shaping Scissors and Brush set, £24, Look Fantastic
When it comes to tweezing, try to not go beyond removing obvious stragglers outside the actual brows; geometrically defined, blocky “Lego brow” may be fashionable in some circles but looks cartoonish in real life. Meanwhile, seriously thinning out brows can throw off facial structure and look feminine.
Like women, you could go for a threading appointment to get a “starter” shape; threading is also great if you want to get rid of a monobrow. Whatever you do, don’t shave between your brows: it will look blocky, you’ll get stubble within days, and you will irritate your skin.