How to Grow Out and Shape Your Brows

If a stray is growing at an odd angle, don’t bother tweezing — trim it instead. “You want to resist the urge to touch your brows,” says makeup artist Maribeth Madron, even if that means hiding your tweezers from yourself. “If you can’t get to the tweezers immediately, the feeling to pluck will pass.” 

There’s one exception, however, to the no-tweezing policy: If you’re prone to sprouting a few hairs between your brows, we’re not going to tell you to walk around with a unibrow for months if that’s not your style. To make sure you’re not over-plucking, Madron recommends using your finger as a guide. Place your index finger between your brows and draw a line on either side of it with an eyeliner pencil. Remove your finger and only tweeze the hairs in between those two lines. 

“You don’t want to remove too much hair from the inner corners,” says Madron. “It’s very hard to get the hair to grow back in those spots, so I always err on the side of caution.”

Fill in eyebrow gaps like an expert.

Even though you can’t pick up your tweezers, you can still pick up your makeup. There’s no avoiding it: Your brows will go through an awkward phase during the grow-out process, and makeup is going to come in handy. 

“This is where brow fillers, pencils, waxes, and putties come in handy,” says Madron. “If your brows are a good shape, but you’re filling in holes, pencils and powders are best.” Madron recommends the Maybelline New York Brow Define + Fill Duo, which is a dual-ended stick with a pencil on one end and a powder on the other.

If you’re growing out more than just a few sparse patches, a pencil won’t cut it. “What you want to do is paint on the brow shape you’re desiring,” Madron explains, “covering up all the patchy, new growth inside the lines with a wax/powder combination or a putty-like product, both of which are more forgiving, allow for less precision, and tame stubborn hairs.” We’re fans of the Maybelline New York Tattoo Studio Brow Lift Stick and the Merit Brow 1980 Volumizing Pomade. 

As far as color is concerned, go one to two shades lighter on your brows if you’re a brunette, or try taupe if you’re blonde. Gafni’s advice? Use short strokes angled in the direction of hair growth to beef up bald spots, but stay within your natural brow line. “Never create an arch with makeup,” says Gafni. “Even the right shade can look obvious. Your bone structure should create the arch for you.”

Facilitate eyebrow growth by conditioning at night and taking hair growth supplements.

A brow conditioner will help speed the growth process along. Madron’s favorite is RevitaBrow, a peptide- and vitamin-rich serum that she recommends to many of her clients to help encourage hair strength and prevent breakage and loss. But one conditioner doesn’t necessarily fit all. “You may need to try different products with different active ingredients,” says Madron.