Eyebrows can completely alter the look of your face. If you have been doing the same plucking routine for years, try something new! A little change in technique can make a dramatic change in your look.

None of us were born with the perfect brow so we all need a little help. Fortunately, all you need is a tweezers, a scissors, and a bit of powder to look like you were born with flawless eyebrows.

Step One: Find Your Inspiration

The eyebrow shape you choose can have a dramatic effect on your face. Your brows really create the framework for your face so try different styles to figure out what suits you.

Check out photos in magazines and search online. Stash aside some pictures so you have a bit of inspiration. Any celebrity who inspires you is bound to have an online tutorial based on their brows.

Sometimes it’s helpful to watch someone else create the look before you go at it on your own. They can give you tips on how to replicate the look you love then you can go out and alter it so it’s perfect for you.

Step Two: Prep Your Face

You will have an easier time plucking right after you shower. Your hair follicles will be open and your hair will be soft. If you take a long, hot shower, you might want to wipe your brows with some rubbing alcohol. There’s a fine line between softened and too slippery so use the alcohol if you are having a hard time gripping hairs.

If you don’t have time for a shower, wash your face with a washcloth or a facial scrub. If your hair is thick and you have trouble plucking, hold a warm compress over your brows for a few minutes.

You can also try using a dab of hair conditioner to soften up your hair as well. Your routine should be based on your hair and skin type so experiment a bit.

Step Three: Get Comfortable

If your skin tends to get irritated by the plucking process, try to make it easier on yourself. Track down some numbing cream before you start. You can typically find some tooth and gum numbing cream along with the toothpaste in any pharmacy.

There is also a gel for teething babies. Either one will help numb your skin to some degree so tweezing is more comfortable.

You are naturally a bit more sensitive the week before and the week of your period. Most of us can’t go two weeks without tweezing so just prepare yourself. You might find that plucking is totally comfortable one week then torture the next.

Plan your numbing supplies according to where your body is at. If you find your skin feeling sensitive and don’t have any supplies on hand, just ice the area briefly before you start. You will be closing your hair follicles but you won’t really feel the tug.

Get Four: Ready Your Supplies

I can’t stress the importance of a good tweezers enough. It’s going to make all of the difference.  Some people love Tweezerman.

It’s true that they can be a lifelong investment since they offer free tweezing. It really depends on how good you are at keep track of your tweezers. If you lose them often, just get decent slanted edge tweezers.

Step Five: Set the Location

You need a bright location to pluck well. Sit next to a window in the afternoon or find the brightest light in your house. Using a magnifying mirror can be helpful but don’t rely on it alone.

It’s easy to overpluck if you are just using a magnifying mirror. It can be great to get a close-up view on the small hairs but use a normal mirror during most of the process.

Step Six: Create an Outline

You’ll want to have a slight arch to your brow. To establish where the peak of your arch should be, use a pencil or an eye shadow brush. Hold it parallel to the outside edge of your iris (the colored part). It doesn’t need to be exact but typically you can see how your brows arch naturally in that area. You will want to tweeze under the arch to make it more pronounced.

Before you get started with the actual plucking, find a white eyeliner pencil to start drawing guidelines.  Use that pencil along with your measuring pencil or brush.

To decide on the width, hold a pencil against the side of your nose. You should pluck any hair that falls over your nose, including your nostrils, to stay away from the unibrow look.

Hold the pencil against the outside corner of your eye to see where your brows should stop. You’ll want them to stop directly parallel to the edge of your eye.

Step Seven: Start Pulling

Brush your brows upwards with a comb or an extra toothbrush. This will give you a good view of the hairs. Trim them in necessary. Hold your skin taut so it’s easier to grab and more comfortable for your skin.

Pull the hair in the direction that it grows. Just grab one or two hairs at a time. It doesn’t really matter where you start as long as you have a clear plan for where you are going.

Remember to step back from the mirror and took a look at your face every time your pluck a few hairs. Keeping your head buried in the mirror makes it too easy to overpluck.

Keep rubbing alcohol on hand as you go. As you pluck, you are going to start getting a buildup of oil so just dab some alcohol on a tissue and clear it off.

Some people recommend that you only tweeze the hair under your brows but that may or may not be the case for you. Again, it really depends on your hair. Work slowly up and down to decide what looks best.

Step Seven: Relax

After you finish, if your skin is really irritated, apply some ice or splash it with cold water. Dry it off then apply some aloe vera to calm it.

If aloe vera isn’t working well for you, switch to an over-the-counter cortisone cream. Remember though: cortisone can actually cause irritation if you use it too often so apply it sparingly and save it for when you really need it.

Step Eight: Perfect Your Shape

Brush your brows then hold the shape in place with brow gel. Remember, your eyebrows are hair too so any regular hair product will work well there. While you are brushing, pull the hairs upward at the start of your brow until your arch. After your arch, brush the hairs toward the edge (pulling it in the direction of your ears).

If your brows are a bit sparse or spotty in some areas, like most people’s are, fill them in with some brown shadow. If you prefer working with pencil, go ahead but use short strokes (don’t just draw a line!) then rub them lightly with a brush to soften the look.

When you are selecting a color, you need to think about your hair color as well as your skin tone. In general, if you have dark hair, you should go for a brow color that is one to two shades lighter than your hair. If your hair is light blonde, go for a golden brown. If you are a dark blonde, look for taupe. If you are a redhead, please don’t just use lip liner! Look for a warmer shade of brown with red undertones.

Keep in mind that these are general rules so they definitely don’t work for everyone. Brow pencils and shadows are a great thing to find at a professional makeup counter. Try on different shades so you can see how they will work with your face. If the best shade for you happens to be the most expensive shade, get a sample or take a picture then track down a less expensive version.

If you have a darker skin tone, you might want dark brown. If you skin is light and your hair is dark, try a soft black. Play around with it. You might not even want the same exact shade every day.

Emergencies Procedures for the Overplucked

There can be a lot of awkward growing phases while you are growing out your brows again. Rather than just letting everything come out in a wild mess, do it one row at a time.

Let the first row grow then pluck everything under it. Your brows will still be a little too thin but you can keep working with it and avoid a super patchy look.

More than anything else, you just need to wait it out. Your brows will go back fairly quickly so don’t stress too much. You can use a soft toothbrush to massage the area and speed up the process a bit.

Of course, preventing overplucking is always the best solution. If you are prone to being a heavy handed with the tweezers, set it down. If your brows are looking thick, brush them then trim the tops with a small scissors. It could be that the hair is just too long and you don’t need to pluck much at all.