Your Eyebrow Questions Answered

We've always known that eyebrows frame the face, but eyebrow styles and shaping can still be a challenge to many! We sit down with Jazz Pampling to talk about eyebrows and their importance. Jazz says: “A well shaped brow helps to lift and frame features by highlighting subtle lines in the face. Women the world over are discovering the importance that brows have, and educating people about this is the focus of my work.”

Are there trends in brows? If so, what are the current trends?

Brows have always managed to trend in one way or another. From the super thin curved arches of the 20s to the fuller brows of Icons like Audrey Hepburn. Today however we are recovering from the thin highly arched brows of the 90’s. The 90’s were not kind to our brows. Trends today are definitely full and natural, think Brooke Shields in Blue Lagoon. The latest Chanel Runway show in fact featured quite masculine eyebrows.

However your eyebrows, unlike trends that come and go, do not return once taken. So it is important not to follow trends when it comes to shaping your brow.

How do you assess brow shape? What makes a good brow shape? Do you have favourite brow shape that suits most people?

Assessing brow shape comes down to many factors. Face shape is the most important. Brows have the ability to compliment and counteract our facial features and it’s important you get that right. From there it’s about what a client naturally has and what they want. It is very important that you feel comfortable with your brow, after all you have to wear it.

Good brow shape has the ability to shave years of our age, help our eyes look bigger, and features like a larger nose appear smaller. My favourite brow shape will always be a more natural brow with a soft arch. 9 times out of 10 any client with a softer brow arch will look younger. However we have had highly arched brows for such a ling time, its hard to imagine ourselves with anything else.

Are there any rules to follow when it comes to maintaining our brows at home?

There are a couple rules that I give all my clients for their at home maintenance. My work as a brow artist is not just about waxing/tweezing a brow. I aim to give my clients all the knowledge they need to have confidence to shape their own brow at home.

The best advice I have is:

• The moment you go to take a hair and you “ummmm” and “ahhhh” about taking it – don’t take it!

• If you do make a mistake, don’t try and balance it on the other side, put the tweezers down and step away from the mirror. Let the hair grow back, a mistake is a mistake for a reason.

Do you believe in the rules that are currently used about where your brows should start or end?

I think the rules for the alignment of the brow is the reasons so many of us have miss shaped brows. We aren’t stencils as humans, so relying on a template isn’t going to work. When it comes to rules of alignment, I always say use them as a guideline, but don’t be stuck in only seeing your brow that way. I find that I usually have to realign the lines a little for each client.

How do you do brows? We know you are the best because you do brows very differently from everyone else. How are you different?

I think my approach to brows is less is more, I am all for low maintenance eyebrow. Clients have faith that when they come to see me, their brow will still be there at the end. I sit down with my clients and ask them what they want and really work to tailor the brow to their likes. As time goes on, I continue to ensure they are happy with their shape and that they are confident in tweezing at home.

I like to use gentle products on the skin. When I do wax I don’t use strip wax and harsh cleansers. I never use anything on my clients I wouldn’t use on myself. Our eyebrows go through some kind of hair removal generally once a month, so we are pulling on some of the softest skin on our face, its important to be gentle with ourselves.

Top 3 brow pencils/powders/pen?

1. Mac brow pencils

2. Kevyn Aucoin brow pencils

3. Christian Dior brow products

Top tweezer?

1. Rubis tweezers, slanted tweezer, available online only

2. Inglot professional tweezers, slanted

Any other tips or tricks?

If you have hair that is almost black in colour, use a grey pencil or powder to fill the brow in. Black will be too dark and brown colours stand out against the black, charcoal/grey tones are amazing. Great for anyone with an Asian background for example.

What were your favourite tips and tricks that Jazz discussed in our interview? Hit us up on our socials and let us know!