Seeing a professional for your eyebrow shaping needs is ideal, but due to changes in everyone’s economic status, many are trying to achieve the perfect arch at home.  If you are going to attempt to shape your own eyebrows, let me at least give you some helpful hints and tips to get you started in the right direction.

The Tools:

There a few necessary tools /products you will want to have by your side before you begun:

1. Eyebrow brush: before you begin, you’ll want to give your eyebrows a good brushing.  This will help you better define the current shape of your eyebrow.
2. White eyeliner pencil: In order to achieve a shape that’s right for your face, you’ll need to do a bit of measuring (don’t worry, no rulers needed, I’ll explain below how to measure). Once you finish measuring, you can use the white eyeliner pencil to color in the hairs that should be removed.  This way you have a guide to follow.
3. Tweezers: If you’re doing this on your own, tweeze, don’t wax.  The tweezers will help you stay accurate, so you can precisely choose which hair(s) should be removed. Remember, removing even just one hair can change your brow…so choose wisely!
4. Toner: Take a cotton ball and toner and cleanse your eyebrows first. This will remove any excess oil and make-up and allow you to have more control while you tweeze.
5. Aloe: you might be a little red afterwards, and Aloe is Mother Nature’s best remedy for sensitive skin.

How to Shape Your Eyebrows for Your Face:

1. To measure where your eyebrow should begin, imagine an invisible line running from the inside corner of your eye to the outermost point of your nose.  Hold your white eyeliner pencil up for a more precise look.  Any hairs that fall outside out of this line should be colored white so you know to remove them.
2. To measure where your arch should peak, hold your pencil so that it becomes a straight line running from the outermost point of your nose to the outermost part of your iris.  This is where your arch should peak.  Color any hairs white that you want to remove.
3. How thick should your eyebrows be?  This depends on the shape of your face.  There are a few rules of thumb to go by.   For a round face, generally a more dramatic arch can draw attention away from the roundness.  Long faces should stay away from high arches, which only make the face appear longer.  Instead, your eyebrows should be flatter with less of an arch to give the illusion of a shorter face.  If you have a very angular face with prominent jaws, stay away from eyebrows that are equally as angular.  Keep eyebrows more round to soften the sharp angles of your face.   Start by only removing a few hairs.  You will see that just removing a little bit already makes a difference.  After you remove a few, take a step back and look at your whole face in the mirror.  See how the shape and thickness suits your face. It’s always best to do less and wait a few days. If you still feel you want them thinner, remove a few more hairs again.

The first thing I do when I see a client for eyebrow shaping at my NJ spa is study their face straight on.  I observe their facial features and take a mental measurement of the structure of their face.  Remember, eyebrows do not come in a ‘one size fits all’ strategy.  That is why I do not recommend people bring in photos of eyebrows that they want.  So try to avoid cutting out pictures of your favorite celebrity’s eyebrows and duplicating them.  Chances are, these eyebrows will not look good on your face.

If you have more specific questions, you can always email me at info@dayspaexpert.com

Follow more of Valentina’s advice at www.valentinachistova.com

About Valentina Chistova

Valentina Chistova is a world-renowned aesthetician and beauty expert whose experience encompasses all facets of skin care and body treatments. Internationally trained, educated and certified, Valentina has devoted more than twenty years to her profession.

Valentina is a member of the National Cosmetology Association and a CIDESCO candidate (Comite International Desthetique et de Cosmetologie Desthetique), which is the highest degree of beauty therapy certification available in the United States and worldwide. Most recently, Valentina completed a rigorous training program with the Spanish organization Wontersaf, one of the world’s leading centers for trichology, capillary diagnostics and scalp and hair treatment to combat hair loss and other hair dysfunctions. Valentina also holds a Registered Nursing Degree from Kharkov State University and Cosmetology degrees from the Kharkov Medical Institute in the Ukraine and the Capri Institute of Cosmetology in New Jersey.

Valentina is the owner and director of skin care for Aquamedica Salon and Day Spa in Long Branch NJ.

Q: Hello, my name is Silvia Klusova, I am about to graduate from Esti program here in Austin, Texas..I am interested in international licenceor diploma, if you can help navigate me to the international web site, where I can expend my Texas license. I'll be moving to Europe next year. You are well known, professional with alot of experience and I will appreciate if I can get any information from you, what should I do or where to upgrade or expend my license....I will be very thankful if you respond to me with a good news...Thank you  Silvia

A: If you are looking to obtain a diploma in Cosmetology that is recognized Internationally, CIDESCO is a great place to start.  The CIDESCO Diploma is the world's most reputable international qualification in the field of Esthetics. The Diploma is awarded to candidates who have passed practical and written examinations and have completed at least 600 hours salon experience. CIDESCO Diploma holders also receive a CIDESCO badge that is instantly recognized as a sign of excellence.

There are over 160 CIDESCO Schools around the world teaching to the internationally acclaimed CIDESCO standards leading to the CIDESCO Diploma.  In the Texas area, you can inquire with the Institute of Cosmetology and Esthetics located in Houston.  Here is their contact information:

Institute of Cosmetology & Esthetics
7011 Harwin, #100
Houston, TX 77036
Tel: 713.783.9988
Fax: 713.974.3129
margritaltenburg@aol.com

I also recommend that you become a member of the National Cosmetology Association (NCA).  As seen on their website, here are some of the benefits of becoming a member of the NCA:

Career Strength
Exclusive member resources to inspire your creativity and career development - plus educational events and trade shows to hone your professional skills and knowledge.

 Community Strength
NCA members have given hundreds of thousands of volunteer hours - and even more dollars - to help those in need.

 Industry Strength
NCA fights for legislation and regulation that protects the safety of our clients and the integrity and professionalism of the salon industry.

You can learn more about the benefits of becoming an NCA member by visiting http://www.ncacares.org/join/benefits.cfm

I hope this helps you achieve your goals of becoming the ‘best’ in this very rewarding field!

About Valentina Chistova

Valentina Chistova is a world-renowned aesthetician and beauty expert whose experience encompasses all facets of skin care and body treatments. Internationally trained, educated and certified, Valentina has devoted more than twenty years to her profession.

Valentina is a member of the National Cosmetology Association and a CIDESCO candidate (Comite International Desthetique et de Cosmetologie Desthetique), which is the highest degree of beauty therapy certification available in the United States and worldwide. Most recently, Valentina completed a rigorous training program with the Spanish organization Wontersaf, one of the world's leading centers for trichology, capillary diagnostics and scalp and hair treatment to combat hair loss and other hair dysfunctions. Valentina also holds a

Registered Nursing Degree from Kharkov State University and Cosmetology degrees from the Kharkov Medical Institute in the Ukraine and the Capri Institute of Cosmetology in New Jersey.

Valentina is the owner and director of skin care for Aquamedica Salon and Day Spa in Long Branch NJ.

Follow Valentina’s blog at http://ValentinaChistova.com