There are certain differences between male and female faces, some more obvious than others. When you’re looking at feminising your face, the key is in the details and in how you alter visually the features that mark these gender differences. The brows are a key feature.
Part-time or Full-time Female?
How far you can go with brow shaping and makeup depends on how far you want to go: if you’re living as a part-time female then more likely than not you’ll want your brows shaped to look feminine but not too obviously feminised for when you’re in masculine mode.
There are differences between male and female brows: male brows tend to be thicker and straighter whereas female brows tend to be more angular and arched. The male brows sit on the brow bone, the female above it therefore the distance to the pupil from the brow is greater on a woman.
Consequently, if you’re part-time female the best way forward is to rely largely on makeup and in tinting your brows to give them a slightly more groomed look and accentuating the arch.
For those living a full-time, you can consider having a “brow lift” using Botox. By relaxing certain forehead muscles the brows automatically arch and really help to feminise the face.
Brow Shaping Methods and Rules
Beyond makeup, the two main methods of shaping your brows are threading and waxing. Waxing is slightly more invasive, but actually less painful than threading. Threading provides really even lines for a clean, perfect finish. Waxing can involve either strip wax or hot wax. Those with more sensitive skin may prefer hot wax, but strip wax leaves a cleaner line. In the end, regardless of choice, any differences in waxing results will be down to the skill of the beauty professional carrying out the treatment.
In the pursuit of perfect brows, there are certain rules you should follow, which will help you maintain the symmetry of the face and make the most of your brow shape:
- Measured from inner point (roughly at the point above the tear duct in your eye), your brow arch should always sit two-thirds along the length of the brow.
- If you look directly ahead in the mirror, at the white triangle formed in the outer corner of your eye by the edge of your pupil and the iris, then immediately above this is the safe zone for your brow arch.
- Brows should sit slightly further apart on narrow faces, and closer together on wider faces. You can match an angular brow to a rounder face, but not to a more angular face, otherwise the effect is too harsh.
- Your brow needs to finish at the right place: if you draw an imaginary diagonal line from edge of the nostril, through the outer corner of the eye, then where it meets the brow line is where the brow should finish. If your brow is too long it will drag your eye down.
- Brows should taper For a natural brow look, note that the hairs at the start of your brow are lighter in density, if longer, becoming denser as the brow tapers towards the end. For a bolder look, say for going out at night, make the start of the brow darker than is natural.
Remember: your eyebrows are there to complement your face. Brow are sisters, not twins – but they definitely shouldn’t be distant cousins.
For the best reference look at A-listers’s brows – they all have an immaculate shape – if you can’t visualise your favourite A-lister’s brows then that’s how it should be – quietly perfect in the background and never the first thing you see.