Ladies, what's the best beauty advice you've acquired over the years?

In My Humble Opinion
101

That comment was made after your comments, so clearly it wasn’t what you were up in arms about.

Hurting yourself? Seriously? Plucking your eyebrows involves some minor discomfort at first. Once you’ve done it a few times, it doesn’t hurt at all. Have you ever nicked yourself with a razor shaving? That’s far more painful. Are you seriously equating eyebrow plucking with the subjugation of women? I can’t imagine what you think about ear piercing.

I don’t agree with the poster who looks down on people who have ungroomed eyebrows, and no reasonable person would think that unkempt eyebrows equals poor hygiene. I do, however, think that people (some men as well as women) generally look better if their eyebrows are groomed rather than scraggly. You cited Brooke Shields earlier. Her eyebrows are thick, but they are groomed. They look lovely. Cleaning up stray hairs and trimming long ones is all I’m talking about. You can complain about it all you want, but I and many other people are still going to think you might look better if you did this. Just like I’d think you’d look better if you brushed your hair, or kept your fingernails neatly trimmed, or wore clothes that matched. Some people might not agree with me. That’s fine. It’s just an opinion.

You can get tweezers for five bucks. You probably have some already!

Seriously, I don’t really know why you’re making such a big deal about this. It’s not like neck stretching or cosmetic surgery or even piercing. It’s a fairly minor cosmetic routine that makes many people look better, which is all we’re talking about in this thread.

And I never thought I’d spend so much time talking about eyebrows.

102

I don’t think eyebrow plucking=subjugation of women, but to me it’s definitely painful. I’m not one of those people who eschews hair removal in the name of feminism (I just got home from a brow/lip/underarm wax), but both tweezing and waxing are really painful to me. So I don’t think “It’s not that painful” is an argument.

ETA: Also, just tweezing isn’t an option for some. There are so many tiny hairs it would take hours to do them all. Sometimes I’ll tweeze in addition just to get them to look skinnier but the tiny ones that grow in after you’ve waxed pretty much have to be waxed out. For me anyway.

103

Oh boy, I diefinitely did not mean to open up a storm in a teakettle. Everyone should rock out with their natural or groomed brows, as they prefer. I myself never shave my legs.

MY only point, to be clear, is that it is okay IF YOU WANT TO, to spend money on beauty service & products that make you happy, within reason & your budget. Perhaps a less controversy-producing example would have been, I spent $16 on deep conditioning goo for my hair from LUSH.

I was raised in 70s era feminism, where doing anything to “beautify” made you a “sellout,” antifeminist, etc. It use to feel weird and almost embarassing to spend frivolously on beauty, whether it was higher-end conditioner or a manicure or whatever. So realizing it is okay to spend money on personal luxuries, if it was something I enjoyed (or enjoyed the results), was a change for me.

Back to our regularly scheduled controversy :smiley: plucking my eyebrows hurts like hell, but waxing them hardly hurts at all. And it only costs $8 ($10 with tip). Doing that once a month won’t put me in the poor house, and I like the way it looks, they accentuate the quirk, which I think makes me look rather clever.

104

Yeah. I’ve even seen that on these here boards–people being all, “Why would anyone spend money on mani/pedi/waxing/nice purse?” But no one bats an eyelash at spending that kind of cash on computers or video games. For me, electronics are just what I need–not something I’d go out of my way to get. So why not spend on what I think is valuable–clothing, or waxing, or grooming or whatnot?

Anyway, another good tip that I totally thought I invented (but then realized I didn’t when I saw Carmindy used it in her book) was using an eye pencil as a stencil. That is, sometimes I’ll wear liquid eyeliner but it can be messy so I put on a thin layer of eyeliner first and then put the eyeliner over that. Yes, I was naive enough to think that was a Freudian Slit original. Oh well.

105

No, it causes pain. You might gloss it over with the word “discomfort” the way the doctor does, but it’s still pain. It may not be agonizing, but it is pain. If YOU feel it’s worth it to cause yourself pain to look better in your own eyes that’s OK with me, but don’t dismiss other’s preference to NOT cause themselves pain.

Yes, because you’ve destroyed the nerves and/or hair follicle. In which case, why not just opt for electrolysis so you only have to hurt yourself once and never ever worry about it ever again?

Of course I’ve cut myself shaving. I disagree - I still think yanking my hair out by the roots is more painful than a “nick” from a razor. Then again, I try to use a really sharp razor, which causes less pain than a dull one. That’s assuming we’ define “nick” in the same way, I’m not talking about deep gashes, which I have never done to myself while shaving.

No, I’m saying that you maintaining that no woman should think causing herself pain is no big deal is a problem. I don’t care if it’s eyebrows or anything else, and it’s particularly problematic when such pain should be inflicted on a regular basis. Now, sometimes we have to make some sacrifices to get what we want, like sore muscle when you exercise to get healthier, but that’s a little different in my mind. You could exercise less intensely, perhaps, but you want to progress faster and are willing to make the trade off. Your choice. But somehow maintaining than yanking your hair out is the minimum bar, and that a woman is to subject herself to this regularly… that is just bizarre to me. Like I said, if you hate your eyebrows that much get some electrolysis and be done with it for good. Yes, that also can be painful but at least it’s a permanent solution, not something you have to go back to time and time again.

I fully support the right of every adult women to pierce or not pierce her ears. I choose not to have mine pierced (and I get a surprising amount of criticism and pressure from other women to change my mind). I do, however, feel that it should be banned for children under the teen years, and absolutely disapprove of piercing infant ears. What are their parents thinking? An infant can’t possibly care for pierced ears properly on her own. At least wait until the child is responsible enough to take care of that on her own.

Well, then, we’re both reasonable. :wink:

Well, sure - if a person is dissatisfied with his or her eyebrows then how they choose to deal with it is fine. (Men seem more inclined to clip or touch up with a razor rather than pluck, though - seems the big, tough men don’t want to yank their hair out by the roots!). What I objected to was the “if you don’t pluck/tweeze/whatever you’re a greasy, ungroomed bum” sentiment.

Oddly enough, I do brush my hair, keep my fingernails trimmed and clean, wear matching clothes, etc. I just don’t feel that I have any “stray hairs and… long ones” in my eyebrows.

I’m still not yanking my hair out by the roots because, as I said, I don’t like pain.

106

I really don’t care what you do with your eyebrows. Just don’t think you’re striking some big blow for feminism by refusing to subject yourself to the unimaginable pain and agony that is eyebrow plucking. Your implication that you’re somehow superior for refusing to sacrifice yourself on the altar of beauty like the rest of us stupid sheep is a bit ridiculous in this context.

107

:dubious:

Seriously - why does it matter to you so much what I don’t do with my eyebrows? And who said anything about feminism before you brought it up? I would think a man subjecting himself to pain at regular intervals - you know, some of them wax, too - is just as ridiculous. It’s not a “feminist” stance, it’s a stance that expecting people to subject themselves to pain on a regular basis is uncool.

I keep repeating that I don’t care what you do with YOUR body (even if I disagree with some of your choices) nor have I at any point declared eyebrow plucking to be agony. Pain doesn’t have to be agony for me to desire avoiding it. Why do you feel compelled to distort my position into a caricature of itself?

108

Because your position is a caricature. It’s completely predictable in these kinds of threads that someone, in this case you, comes in and says something that amounts to “I just don’t understand why people feel compelled to do X. I guess they’re just buying into outdated/misogynistic/nonsensical cultural expectations. Go ahead if you need to, I support your choice, but I don’t subscribe to such silliness”. It’s irritating.

109

I see… you’re saying because I don’t like pain of any sort and don’t wish to endure it solely for petty reasons I’m a feminazi? OK… whatever you say… :dubious:

I guess it’s just too much effort to say “I disagree” and leave it at that.

110

Actually, that’s not at all what I said.

111

:: adds eyebrow tweezing to the list of “Contentious Topics on the SDMB” ::

112

While I really don’t care what people do with their eyebrows, I also don’t see the point in coming into a thread about beauty advice to make negative comments on other people’s choices. (FTR, I think lindseybluth’s comment on looking down on natural eyebrows was also uncalled for.)

I suppose it’s inevitable on the SDMB. Any thread with the word “makeup” bags" or “shoes” in it is bound to get derailed at some point.

113

Not a lady, but I have to give another nod to tretinoin. It can take your face quite some time to acclimate to it though, which many folks don’t want to deal with. And it makes the treated skin even more sensitive to sun.

It’s interesting to see what people see as beautiful. For instance, I find obviously modified eyebrows to be extremely unattractive, but other posts in this thread show that YMMV.

114

I know of lady of 80 who could easily pass for mid-sixties. She puts petroleum jelly on her face every night!

115

As shall I. That and parking chairs, which I got myself into the middle of a kerfuffle not too long ago.

For the record, I didn’t mean “look down upon”. I dashed off the reply quickly. A more exact way of putting it is simply what it is - judging. Yeah, I judge you if you look scraggly. And I define scraggly as unkempt hair, wild eyebrows, absurdly sweaty, and having BO.* And I’m obviously not alone in this, we’ve touched on the fact psychologically people judge you immediately when they see you. Everyone - from the person who is interviewing you for a job to your boss to the checkers at the grocery store. I take care of my appearance cause I like looking better and I’m treated far better in public when I look better. In my city (because it varies by where you live), with a 5 minute face on (my usual morning routine), I’m about an 8/10. If not, I’m probably a 6/10. Just like I’d never show up to parking court (the bane of my existence lately) in sweatpants in front of a magistrate, I’d never show up with a bare face either.

Back to the regularly scheduled OP: Anyone have any tips on how to choose a good eyebrow waxer/groomer? I want them professionally shaped, like kathmandu did years ago. I was burned pretty badly the last time I was waxed professionally (4 years ago, have done my own since) so I’m pretty gun shy. How do you know what’s good? Salon or specific eyebrow joint?

*Realizing this is all valid - even encouraged - at the gym or when doing strenuous labor.

116

When I have to be outside in severe winter weather I apply a thin layer of that to exposed areas like my nose and cheeks and around my eyes (don’t get it IN your eyes!). It’s thick and a bit goopy but it does provide mega-protection to sensitive skin under very harsh conditions. Every night, though? Wow, that’s some dedication.

117

This thread is making me realize just how low-maintenance I am. I just don’t have the mental energy to care much how I look I suppose. I don’t care much how other people look, either. I do care if they smell!

I don’t need to pluck my eyebrows, and I am too lazy to use makeup. My sole issue of ‘presentability’ is having clean and defrizzed hair (and I use several products/techniques to create nice smooth curls), but I can’t even keep up with that! Half the time my hair is pulled back because it’s dirty and frizzy. I usually wear very causal clothes and they are often wrinkled. I have lots of nicer clothes (skirts, dresses, heels) that I don’t wear except for special occasions because I don’t like the attention I get when I do.

I can’t think of any advice I have followed that has improved my looks except ‘you are what you eat’ and ‘beauty is from the inside out’. Changing my diet cleared up the acne I’ve had for nearly a decade.

118

One has to be comfortable with oneself, whether that means clean but no makeup and in grubby clothes, or dressed to kill, color coordinated, every expensively styled hair in place, a hundred dollars worth of magical potions and Chanel makeup on your face, staggering around on high heels. It depends, too, on the people you hang out with, which determines just how much effort you put into your looks. Most people just don’t look that closely at strangers as a rule, thinking, “wow, those are well-groomed eyebrows, and that shade of blush is to die for!” Though women might. I told my husband once, “women see all the details, men just see the total picture” and he totally agreed.

119

I don’t wear makeup often but I recently have become a convert to primers. I’ve only tried a couple but the Smashbox one is very nice.

I also wear makeup to meet new people and to job interviews and the first couple of weeks at a new job.

120

I have been to Anastastias eyebrow salon and they were really good but not cheap. Google if they have it in your city. Sometimes you can find it in Sephora but I’m not sure if that’s only limited to Nyc midtown.