Eyebrow Shaping 101: How to Shape Your Eyebrows at Home Like a Pro

By Tahlia L. on 12 Mar 2023

Digital Editor

Shaping your eyebrows can seem daunting, but with a little know-how and our step-by-step guide, you'll be able to get the perfect brow shape like a pro.

Step 1: Prepare Your Eyebrows

To reveal your natural brow shape and any stray hairs that need to be removed, brush your eyebrows upwards and outwards with a spoolie brush. Next, clean your eyebrows with an alcohol-free cleanser to remove any dirt or makeup residue.

Step 2: Mark The Start, Arch and End of Your Eyebrows

Photo from Presslogic

To determine where your eyebrows should start, place a pencil vertically on the outer edge of your nose and align it with the inner corner of your eye. The point where the pencil or brush intersects your eyebrow is where your eyebrow should begin. Mark the spot with a white eyeliner or any eye product that is a contrasting shade to your eyebrow colour.

After that, place the pencil diagonally from the outer edge of your nose to the outer corner of your eye and mark the point at your eyebrow. That's where it should end.

As for the eyebrow arch, place the pencil diagonally from the outer edge of your nose to the centre of your iris and mark the point.

Step 3: Remove Stray Hairs To Create The Desired Shape

Next, use a pair of tweezers to remove any stray hairs that fall outside the start and end points where you've marked.

Always pluck from under the brows for a more natural look and unless you have a unibrow, it's best not to pluck too much hair from the inner corners of your brows. For a clean removal and less pain, grab the hair as close to the root as possible and pull in the direction of hair growth. Be patient and remove one hair at a time to avoid over-plucking. If your hair takes a long time to grow out, you can go the safer route and trim the hair instead.

For straight brows, brush all your eyebrow hair downwards and lightly trim the hairs that dip below the browline at the tail end of your eyebrow.

If you're going for defined, arched eyebrows, pluck a few hairs from at the bottom on the eyebrow arch mark. Remove a few more hairs towards the tail end such that it tapers off into a neat point.

And if you prefer a rounded eyebrow shape, pluck a little along the entire brow to create a gentle curve.

Step 4: Fill in your eyebrows

Unless you have very thick brows, you'll need to fill in sparse areas to create a more defined look and enhance the eyebrow shape. Using a brow pencil, powder or gel that either matches your natural brow colour, use light and feathery strokes to fill in any gaps.