With 2013 being the year of the saturated brow, we speak with three industry pros on giving the best, full brow shapes.

Big Brows Here to Stay

Brows have long been known as the frame for face—custom fitted for each client to enhance their facial features. This year, don’t be afraid to recommend length and fullness to clients. “I think that saturated brows has been coming and now it’s right here,” says Malynda Vigliotti, owner of Boom Boom Brow Bar in New York. “It’s decade-worthy. In the ‘90s, brows were really thin and most of my friends are struggling to get them back in. When brows are bigger and more natural, it’s easy to maintain and when your brows are done well, it just polishes you off.”

Ravy Mehroke, co-founder with her sister, Amy Minhas, of Bombay Brow Bar in Vancouver, notes that fuller brows doesn’t necessarily mean straight, dense caterpillars. “You can achieve fuller brows with differently shaped brows. It really does depend on the features on your face. Essentially the fullness of the brow refers to how thick the brow is, and where the thickness falls while still being able to define an arch according to where you eye sits.”

Celebrity Brow Inspiration

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Brow Makeup

Whether it’s an area in the brow with sparse hair growth, or hair is not growing back, clients with less can still enjoy the full look with a bit of brow makeup magic. “At Bombay Brow Bar, we recommend a colour that is one to two shades lighter for clients with dark brows, and one to two shades darker for clients with light brows because it looks more natural,” says Mehrove. Her technique is to apply the shadow on the arch to highlight it, and use an angled brush to fill in the area, repeating it on the front of the brow to fill in sparse areas, and pulling the shadow towards the eye, which lengthens the brow. Finally, she gives a straight edge to the ends and applies a waterproof brow wax to secure the colour on the brow. “Brow makeup is a great way to maintain brows or grow them out, and no one will even know clients are growing them out.,” says Mehrove, who also teaches clients how to apply brow makeup at her brow bar.

To Wax or not to Wax

While all saturated brow shapes can be achieved with waxing, threading or tweezing, Vigliotti suggests picking up the tweezers over the wax pot if clients are taking prescription skincare with ingredients such as Retin-A, accutane and benzoyl peroxide. “These products are forcing the skin to chemically exfoliate, so when you’re putting a layer of wax, you’re working off the surface layer,” says Vigliotti. “When a new client comes in, we ask them to fill in a consultation card,” says Vigliotti, whose staff also follow-up with every appointment on client’s medication changes. Mehrove opts to thread or tweeze brows, especially if clients have sensitive skin. “We’re estheticians, so it’s important that clients talk to their doctors about the effects a medication may have on the skin and body, and what is recommended for hair removal.”