I was about 12 yrs old the first time I gave any thought to my eyebrows. Being half Italian, I never did inherit the olive skin tone, or curvy figure. But there was one thing I was blessed with: the full bodied, bushy, black eyebrows. The eyebrows I now look back on in pictures and lovingly refer to as "Caterpillars".
Growing up with a mother in the beauty industry, I was used to watching her groom her eyebrows. She'd sit there with her magnifying mirror and tweezers and pluck away. It all seemed so quick, easy and painless.
So one day, I decided to give it a go. I waited until mom was out of the room. I grabbed the tweezers, looked in the mirror and planned my attack. I grabbed a hair and yanked! OUCH! I let out a little scream! I'd never felt something so painful. 'How could someone do this to themselves?', I wondered. I dropped the tweezers, and walked away rubbing my stinging eyebrow.
A few months passed and my eyebrows started to bother me a bit more. Until one day when I was 13. We were shopping at a grocery store, when I seen a sign for EYEBROW WAXING at the nail salon next door. While mom did the shopping, I went over to see what it was all about. I was greeted by a small Chinese woman that spoke very little English. All I had to say was "Eyebrows" and she was leading me into the back room of the salon. More like a closet with a facial bed. I layed down on it, my heart beating like crazy. I remember staring at the white ceiling, wondering what the hell was about to happen to me. In complete silence, the lady went to work. I braced myself as the warm wax was spread on. RIIIP! A wave of pain rushes over me, my eyes start to water. 'Hold it together! you can do this!' I tell myself in my head. I clenched my fists as she continued to rip strips off my face. Then came the plucking. But surprisingly it was far less painful then when I tried it. A few swipes of lotion, and she was telling me to sit up. It was over.
I hopped off the bed, right to the mirror hanging on the wall. I looked at my reflection in complete shock and awe. My crazy bushy eyebrows were now perfectly groomed arches. My eyes & whole face looked different to me. Even though I was red and swollen, an instant smile spread across my face. I quickly paid and ran to show my mother the results. That Monday at school, I had tons of compliments. "You look so different, I'm not sure how, but you look good!" says a friend. Just proves how subtle, yet dramatic an eyebrow shaping can be.
From then on, I've been in love with grooming eyebrows. Through trial and error, as well as my Esthetic classes in Beauty school, I've learned ways to pluck, wax and shape the eyebrows. I've also learned how a brow shape can complete a look, and bring out the best features of your face. They frame the eyes, our most expressive and beautiful features.
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| Before and After a Brow Wax |
Sometimes it helps to not only wax and groom the brows but also to colour. Generally, our brows should be a few shades darker than the hair on our heads. But sometimes when we colour our hair, we need to colour the brows to match the look. Kim Kardashian is a perfect example. When she went blonde, she also lightened her brows several shades. If she had left her brows in there natural dark state, it would have been too much contrast with the lighter hair.
As hair greys, so can eyebrows. Colouring the eyebrows to cover the greys can look extremely natural and take years off the face. All brow tinting or lightening should be done by professionals only. If the colour were to get in your eye it would be extremely dangerous. the skin around the brows is very sensitive as well.
At Genesis we offer all brow services. And because it doesn't take much time, walk ins are welcome. $8.00 for a brow waxing, $15 for waxing and tinting.
Cheers to non-caterpillar brows!
~Genesis Girls
