How to Extend Your Eyebrows

Eyebrows are an important facial feature because they help express emotions and frame your face. Short eyebrows can sometimes make your face look wider than it really is. If you want to extend the edges (or "tails") of your eyebrows, you have options for using makeup to fill them in or stimulating hair regrowth.

EditSteps

EditUsing Makeup to Extend Your Brows

1. Wash and moisturize your face. Wash your face with warm (not hot) water and a gentle cleanser that is suitable for your skin type. Rinse thoroughly, and pat dry with a clean towel. Apply a pea-sized amount of moisturizer with a gentle patting motion, and allow about two minutes for it to completely soak in.^[1]
   
2. Apply any primer, foundation, or concealer before starting your brows. Use a primer before anything else to help your makeup stick. Apply foundation or concealer with your fingers, and blend well using your fingertips or a makeup sponge.
   
   • If you don’t wear any other base makeup, you can skip this step.
3. Sweep translucent setting powder over your brow bone with a clean brush. This will help any other products stick to your skin, as well as absorb any excess oil that could cause your makeup to run.^[2]
   
4. Hold a pen next to your nose diagonally as you look straight ahead into a mirror. Angle it so that one end of the pen is next to your nostril while the other end passes right next to the outside corner of your eye. The new tail of your brow will stop where your brow bone intersects the line measured by the pen.
   
   • If you need to extend the inside edge of your eyebrow, hold up the pen in line with the inside corner of your eye. The inside of your brow will be in line with your natural brow, directly up from the side of your nose.
   • Remember that you can always use a stencil that is made for your face shape if you're having trouble with the angle of the tail.
5. Place a dot where the tip of the tail will be using a sharp eyebrow pencil. The dot should be on your brow bone, just where you measured the line with the pen. Make it faint; it is just a guide for where the tail will stop. Make sure the pencil matches the color of your eyebrow, and not the color of the hair on your head.
   
   • If your face is square, aim the dot towards the center of your ear to help add more shape to your eye area.
   • If your face is round, aim the dot closer to the top of your ear.
6. Outline the remainder of the new tail with a brow pencil. Connect the natural hairs of the arch of your brow to the dot you just drew. Use a very light touch and short, feathery strokes to make it look natural.
   
7. Fill in the outline using a combination of gel, powder, and pencil products. Use a thin, angled brush to apply a small amount of brow pomade in the outlined area if your brows are particularly thick or dark. If you’re using a pencil, make sure it’s sharp and that you’re using light, feathered strokes. Continue to fill it in until the color and saturation matches the rest of your eyebrow.
   
   • If you have dark hair, use products with both black and brown tones since black alone can look harsh, while brown alone can be too auburn.^[3]
   • If you have blonde hair, use a combination of gray and light brown products instead of dark brown and black. Use your root color as a guide.^[4]
8. Use a spoolie brush to soften out the color and help blend it together. Use gentle, upward strokes, and don’t press too hard or all of the product you just applied will rub off.^[5]
   
9. Use a makeup swab to fix any mistakes. Put on a little more concealer or foundation around the new section of your brow if any of your base makeup rubbed off while fixing the brow coloring.
   
10. Apply a light layer of setting spray to help it stick. If you don’t have setting spray, another light layer of translucent powder will do the same thing.^[6]
    

EditEncouraging Natural Growth

1. Stop plucking or waxing. Yes, your brows might look messy or patchy for a while. It can be hard to stop if you’ve been plucking for a long time, but you can only grow your hair back if you allow it to do its own thing.
   
   • If you’re embarrassed about the state of your brows, you can let your bangs grow or wear head accessories like hats or scarves to hide your eyebrows while they grow back. Or just laugh it off! They’ll grow back, so grin and bear it since they probably look great already.
2. Massage your brows once a day for a couple of minutes. Improved blood flow and circulation can help your hair follicles get the oxygen and nutrients they need to regrow.^[7] Make sure your hands are clean, and use small, circular motions with your fingertip. Include the area you’re trying to regrow and a little bit of the surrounding area on your forehead and above your eyes.
   
3. Apply a small amount of castor oil to your brow area at night. Wash it off in the morning when you wake up. This is a classic natural hair growth aid that is available in many stores, but it has yet to be proven scientifically, so it may not work for everyone. You should see more hair growth in 3 to 4 weeks of nightly use if it’s working.^[8]
   
   • If you can’t find castor oil, extra virgin olive oil or peppermint oil can have a similar effect.^[9]
4. Buy a hair regrowth serum with peptides. You can find serums at beauty stores like Ulta and Sephora, or online on Amazon.com or Beautylish.com. Select a serum by talking to the employee in the store or reading reviews online.^[10]
   
   • Always follow the manufacturer’s instructions for application, and talk to a dermatologist if you’re not sure about a serum before using it.

EditTips

• While it's tempting to want to do one eyebrow completely before starting the other, do each step on each brow before continuing so that they end up even.
• You can use matte eyeshadow in place of powders and pencils.
• For a more permanent solution, consider getting your eyebrows microbladed. Microblading is a procedure where a licensed esthetician “tattoos” hair-like lines deep into the skin using a fine blade. It can be rather expensive and is not completely permanent, so you will have to go in for touch-ups every few months.^[11]

EditSources and Citations

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