Brow Basics

Give yourself a great pair of brows, curled eyelashes, mascara, and some undereye concealer, and you are ready to go. A good brow can do as much for your eyes as an eye lift-and it's only a fraction of the cost.

The goal when you are attempting to do your eyebrows, or going someplace to get them done, is to make them look better than they do naturally, not to dramatically change the entire shape of the brow. But if a night out calls for a glamorous look, the brow can be the detail that takes you from a plain Juana to a beauty reina.

As Frida Kahlo showed, many of us have a lot of brow to contend with. Frida wore her unibrow loud and proud, defying traditional notions of beauty and facial hair for women. Frida was special: She developed a look so unique to her that no one could imagine her without her dramatic eyebrows, or her moustache, for that matter. She not only kept her eyebrow hair exactly where nature put it, she made her pelitos part of her artwork, rendering each individual hair in her self-portraits. Most modern Latinas, however, don't feel comfortable wearing brows the way Frida did. Although her own self-assuredness in her femininity and beauty sets a wonderful example of not trying to change who you are, we don't think you have to be embarrassed about experimenting with eye-brow wax or a pair of tweezers.

First, the basics about eyebrow know-how. In general, tweezing or waxing is the eyebrow hair-removal method of choice. Tweezing is good for shaping and to do fine detail work, like accentuating your natural arch. Waxing is a better option for women who have never had their brows done before, or who have substantial amounts of eyebrow hair to remove.

An eyebrow wax simply involves applying warm wax on areas where excess hair needs to be removed. A muslin or cotton strip of cloth is placed over the wax. With one swift tug, the cloth strip is removed, taking with it the hairs that were covered by the wax. Possible side effects include redness in the area where the hair was removed (don't get this done right before a date) and red bumps or breakouts in the area where the hair was removed. If you have oily skin or are prone to breakouts in the temple area, don't let the esthetician apply heavy creams to this area after waxing. The pores are open after hot wax has been applied, and the last thing you need to have is oily, greasy cream on your skin.

Another note of caution: If you are using any alpha hydroxy acid (AHA) containing products, acne medications with Retin-A, or any other type of skin preparation that sloughs off the top layer of skin, refrain from their use for three to four days prior to waxing. The results of an eyebrow wax can be really ugly if you don't stop applying the cream ahead of time. Since the top layer of skin is being constantly, slightly abraded by the topical skin cream, getting a wax will literally rip off the loose layers of skin along with the hairs. The result can be a nasty scab that looks like a rug burn right along the eyebrow.

If you have never done your brows yourself, go to a salon frequented by a woman whose brows you know and love. Don't wander into a place because they have a sign outside advertising a special. You may be happy with the results, but in general it's a gamble. Try to go where you know they do good brows.

After you have achieved the shape you want with waxing or tweezing, you may have to finish off the brows with makeup. Women with ample eyebrow hair may not need any extras, but if you have short, sparse, or light-colored brows, eyebrow pencils or powder can be your best friend.

Try an instant makeover now.