I’m going for my first eyebrow waxing on 12/6. It’s a bit of a treat for myself, not really because my eyebrows are horribly bushy or anything…more of a shaping thing.
I’ve never tweezed, so I thought I’d ask:
What can I expect?
How long will it take?
Will it hurt much?
Do I tip the waxer? I normally tip the woman that cuts my hair, but I wasn’t sure of the etiquette with such a simple and quick ($10) procedure.
If I become eyebrow-less, what can I do?
It will take less than a minute, it will sting, your eyes will water, and after it’s all over your face will feel unaccountably cleaner and more sophisticated.
I recommend you be very clear about how thin you want your eyebrows to be. Eyebrow pencil is a poor substitute for actual hair.
I wouldn’t bother tipping, but then I live in the UK and we generally don’t consider anyway near as many things to be tipping situations as elsewhere in the world. If you end up with no eyebrows don’t tip.
My skin is a bit sensitive - so mine goes (or can go) bright red for a couple of hours afterwards. Some cool aloe gel will help.
Never get them done for the first time if you have an important date that night!
It’s a bit painful, but not unbearable. It’s very quick - 5-10 seconds on each eye. The wax feels a little hot sometimes, but really it’s not too bad. After they first pull the strip off, there’s a few seconds (2-4 ish) of OWCH!! but then the pain dies away.
In Australia, it used to cost AU$10 (=US$5, but pro rata wages, etc, the equivalent of US$10). I think a tip is nice, especially if you are pleased with the results.
If you become eyebrowless, they will grow back. I’ve never had mine plucked/waxed here, since a naturally blonde friend of mine had hers tweezed to extinction a year or so ago and then dyed dark brown!!!
She cried.
But they have since grown back, and she’s fine again.
It is quick, as the others have said. If they miss a few hairs(that should have come off, that is), they will tweeze those after the waxing. I doubt a professional will accidentally wax you browless, but they will grow back if it happens. I tip about $3, but I kind of think I’m overdoing it.
It does hurt and it does make your skin turn red, but that’s all pretty temporary. You may find that it itches a little right after, too, but again that goes away pretty quicky.
I’ve had both good and bad experiences with eyebrow waxing. My first tip is this: go to a reputable beauty salon, not some franchise place like Head Start. The last time I went to HS I left looking like a scared clown.
The procedure usually takes ten to fifteen minutes, depending on how much shaping the waxer does. She may do a little tweezing, too, just to finish shaping your brows. It does hurt some – after all, they’re pulling hair out by the roots! It seems to hurt less after you’ve been having it done for a while. Most stylists use some type of soothing toner on your eyebrow area after they’ve finished. The area will probably be a little red and swollen for the rest of the day, but not too bad.
Do tip your stylist. If you decide to go back to her, you want to be remembered fondly. I usually tip just a couple of dollars, since the waxing itself isn’t too expensive.
If, for some reason, you don’t like the way it looks or you think she waxed too much, you can fill in with brow powder/pencil til the hair grows back. Just remember not to get them waxed again until it’s grown completely back; otherwise you run the risk of another stylist following the same lines and ending up “baldfaced” again.
Good luck!
I have mine done all the time.
Sometimes they will do it over the bowl where you have your hair washed. The last place I had it done was a “spa” and they did it on a heated massage table (very nice - but ran $18).
They will generally dab a little something on your eyebrow before they start. Not sure what it is - cleanser probably. Then apply a nice soothing warm wax. Then put a little peice of cloth over the warm wax and press down. Then RIIIIIPPPPP the hair out by the roots quickly. Then do that over and over and over again. They will then “clean up” a little with a tweezers. Apply another creme, and send you home. Takes about 15 minutes.
It will hurt for a few minutes, and maybe be a little tender for another day - depending on how much hair they rip out and how sensitive you are. And your eyes will probably be red and puffy until the next morning.
I usually tip a couple bucks. Its cheap and doesn’t take long, so a couple bucks covers it.
I’ve only come close to becoming eyebrowless when I’ve tried to do it myself. Just be clear on what you want, and ask them to error on the side of bigger. You can always look in the mirror and ask them to rip more out.
Sally Hanson sells a home sugar wax kit. Once you have them done, this is an easy way to maintain the shape without too much tweezing.
Yeah I’ve had mine done a few times…
It really isn’t as painful as certain other areas. I just don’t like it because I hate having stuff near my eyes. Plus they get all watery and I get so tense.
It’s left marks around my eyes a couple of times. Never turned red though. My parents were more upset about the damage than I was, though.
It hurts a LOT more to get your legs done, though.
I have mine tinted and waxed at the same time. I’m in the place for about 45 minutes or so because of it. I have normally blonde eyebrows, and I go a light brown.
The first time hurts. You’ll be a bit puffy for awhile, but it will go down within an hour or two. The tweezing that will be done to pick up any strays will be almost painless, they do it all the time and are quite good at it.
I pay $25 for the $17 service.
I’ve tweezed for years, and while it used to hurt, the nerves are mostly shot by now.
Another waxing question: how long do your eyebrows need to be before they can wax 'em? I’d like to get mine professionally done sometime, but I don’t know how long I’ll have to refrain from tweezing.
Great advice from all so only one thing to add.
Take two advil about a half hour before you go…helps with the puffiness and whatnot…
I’m doing it a week before the office Xmas party, so hopefully any swelling will be gone. 
Is there some sort of template that they follow when they determine what to take off? I mean, we’re not talking about a lot of hair here, and I don’t want it all gone, so it doesn’t seem like there’s a lot of wiggle room.
It depends on what kind of place you’re getting your brows done.
Still, first you’ll tell the person what you want done (if you have a picture of the eyebrows you want, that’ll help). Then you’ll lie down on a table. She will apply (probably hot, possibly cold) wax to your eyebrows, it will dry/harden a little, then she’ll rip it off. She’ll apply pressure to the area to keep the bleeding down. She’ll then get out the tweezers and remove any hairs that the wax didn’t get. She might then apply something to your eyes to help soothe the area. She’ll hand you a mirror (or move you to in front of one.) The end.
5 to 15 minutes.
If you’ve never plucked your eyebrows before, yes. But not a lot, and the main “hurt” is over quick. The skin where the eyebrow used to be will feel weird for the rest of the day - but not exactly “hurt”
Yep. Probably about $2 or $3.
Wait.
They will most likely grow back.
Most people are too polite ot mention it in the meantime.
If you’re fair-skinned, you might be a little more tender or have the redness a little longer.
I’m very pale, and I’m usually pink for about 12-24 hours. Well worth it, though, it looks great. I can’t believe I waited so long to do it!
The OTC painkillers beforehand do help in my experience.
I am fair skinned with very fair eyebrows. I got tired of waxing and painting them/ Pencilling didnt work because I’m always rubbing my forehead when i’m thinking.
So i had my eyebrows tattood in a beaty-parlour!
Hurt really bad, but not as much as 20 eyebrow tweezings would have.
And the result is really nice and natural looking. Now my blonde brouws can grow as they like, and if i still tweeze the result does not have to be perfect anymore.
Brazilian waxes are a two drink minimum. I found a lovely salon right next to a lovely bar - it’s the only way I can handle the pain. :eek:
I don’t wax because my eyebrows aren’t very thick, so I just tweeze. I think with any ripping-out-the-hair procedure, it takes some getting used to. I used to think tweezing was painful, I don’t anymore.
Has anyone else used a lotion that is supposed to make your hair grow back sparcer / slower? Jergens makes a version that’s pretty reasonable. I used it on my legs and it works, and I started using it on my eyebrows too, and it really does slow down the hair growth, if you use it regularly. It’s a bit heavy for overall face moisturizing, so I just use it on my eyebrows. You only need a tiny bit. It makes tweezing (and I would assume, waxing) easier and less painful, too.
I would tip for any procedure I got done in a salon if it was done satisfactorily.
I recommend you get your eyebrows threaded instead because there is more control.
I’ve never heard that term before. What does it mean?
I would recommend getting waxing done after your cycle first starts. If you go before your cycle…you are usually more sensitive to the waxing.
If you don’t have a choice…take 3 Motrin beforehand.
Good luck! It’s no big deal if you get an experienced person to wax your brows.
Oh its not waxing at all, it’s where you use thread to remove the hairs by the process of running the thread against the skin and it catches the hairs. This eliminates pulling of the skin that you sometimes get with waxing, plus its really percise if you get a good threader.