Eyebrows can be a delicate subject, especially among older women. Many of us over fifty aren’t aware of the link between brow maintenance and looking young.
Eyebrow mistakes are easily done, but they can age you, making you look a lot older than you are.
Well-groomed eyebrows shape the face. They’ve gotten a lot of attention in the last few years as a fundamental part of grooming. Many young women have opted for large, dark, and well-defined brows. More mature women should tread cautiously on this trend. Too much, or too little color and shape of the brow can have a less than desired effect. Let’s cover a few eyebrow mistakes that older women make, and how to avoid them.
Keep reading to learn more about your eyebrows and how to prevent them from aging your face!
Common Eyebrow Mistakes That Age You
Not Filling In Your Eyebrows
This is one of the most common reasons why you may look older than you are. Your eyebrows in your fifties or sixties will not be as full as they were in the past. Eyebrows can change a lot as we age. They’ll naturally become sparser and thinner over time.
Thin and patchy brows will only add years to your face, but filling them in can have the opposite effect, making you appear younger.
You can do this by using an eyebrow pencil or a colored brow gel. If you use a pencil, make sure that it is sharp to avoid drawing on thick lines. I have tried both and find the gel gives a more natural look.
You can also find brow powders that are better for shading large areas of skin beneath the brows. Filling in sparse or thinning brows can do wonders for your face, making you look more vibrant and youthful as a result. Just remember to have a light touch. It’s better to apply too little than too much.
Making Your Brows Too Dark
Drawing on very thick, heavy brows may be a popular beauty trend, but it does nothing for mature women. Older women should avoid too-dark brows at all costs.
Of course, filling in your brows is essential, but again this should only be done with a light hand. Filling in your brows with dark, solid lines can appear fake and unnatural. You need to choose the right color for your face and hair.
At most, this should only be a shade darker than your hair color. Use your brow pencil, pomade, or powder in light strokes.
The aim is to make your brows look natural, not overdone.
Making Your Brows Too Light
We’ve covered why adding too much color to your brows can age you, but the opposite can have the same effect, especially for older women.
Eyebrows naturally lighten as we age. And they go gray like the rest of our hair. Lighter brows can wash your face out, as there is less contrast among your features. Not applying enough color to your brows can make you look tired, older, and drained.
Try to find a medium ground when filling your brows in. Your brows shouldn’t look drawn on or too thick, but they shouldn’t be so light that they disappear into your face either. Use your natural brow color as a guide.
Letting Your Eyebrows Grow Too Much
Thinning hair happens naturally as we get older. This can make it tempting to grow out the hair on your heads, but avoid doing this when it comes to your brows!
Untrimmed eyebrow hairs can cross over each other and create a bushy appearance. This can make your eyes appear droopy, smaller, and sunken, all things that can add years to your face. Eyebrow hairs grow coarser as we get older. If they aren’t groomed regularly, they can become unruly, making them even more difficult to groom later.
Make sure that you keep up with a regular eyebrow maintenance regimen. Whether you do it yourself or go to a salon, waxing, threading, and trimming will help to keep your brows in check.
Here’s an embarrassing secret. I didn’t know you were supposed to trim your brows with scissors. I always tweezed stragglers, but somehow never got the memo about trimming!
One day when I was about 40 (yes!) my hairstylist took it upon herself, grabbed a little pair of scissors and brushed my brows in the opposite direction and trimmed across the top.
Thank you, Tammy! It was a revelation! My brows rarely need tweezing anymore, but I continue to trim them at least once a month.
Avoiding An Eyebrow Arch
One of the easiest ways of making the face look younger is by adding a simple, defined arch to the brows.
A nice arch can make the eyes appear open, adding vitality and warmth to the face. This is particularly important for mature women, as a well-placed arch can give the face a lift, without any surgery required!
Avoid tweezing too much from under the eye when adding an arch, as over-arched brows can make you look angry and older, which is what we want to avoid. Define the arch with makeup using a brow pencil, as this will give you more control over the shape. You can also use an angled brush and a pomade if you prefer.
Oftentimes you don’t have to reshape your brows. Most women can stick with the natural shape. This gives a softer, more natural effect.
FOR MORE ON NATURAL MAKEUP CHECK OUT THIS ARTICLE
Tadpole Brows
Tadpole brows, as the name suggests, are brows that are too thick at the front, then thin out a lot at the ends, like a tadpole.
This is one of the most common eyebrow mistakes that mature women make. Tweezing too much can damage the brow hair follicles, stopping hair from growing on the ends. My brows have definitely stopped growing where I’ve plucked for years.
Tadpole brows look unnatural and can make you look surprised all the time. As they are so prominent, they’ll take the attention off your eyes, which is what we want to avoid. If you do have sparse brows on the ends gently fill them in a bit.
Using The Wrong Products
It’s important to use the right product for your brow needs. Thinner brows do better with sharp brow pencils, as these can create thin, hair-like strokes on the skin.
Fuller brows that have a few sparse areas will do better with powder, as the product will adhere to the skin underneath the brow hairs.
A brow gel can help brows that have lost their color. These will have a wand that applies a color through the brow hairs, making them look darker in the process.
Remember to use the right shade and apply with a light hand. Experiment with different brands and shades until you find the right products for you.
Leaving Stray Hairs
Eyebrows will grow out over time, which can be frustrating if you’ve been to the salon just a few days ago!
Stray hairs will pop up between your maintenance sessions, but it can be easy to forget about them during that time.
Unfortunately, stray hairs can take away from well-groomed brows, drawing the attention away from your eyes in the process.
Invest in a well-made tweezer so you can get rid of any wandering brow hairs. Use an eyebrow brush to brush the brow into place.
Next, use the tweezer to pluck away any excess hairs that grow beyond this shape. You can also use brow scissors to trim longer hairs that fall out of place.
Beware of over plucking, as you may lose your brow shape, which may need more makeup to conceal later.
Avoiding Highlighter
For older women, a simple touch of highlight under the brow bone can lift your brows. This can make you look more vivacious and youthful as the highlight adds a wonderful glow to your face.
You can use a cream or a powder to do this. Don’t add too much, all you need is a little touch of highlight under the brow bone. If you’re wearing more eye makeup, feel free to add a touch of highlighter to your eye’s tear duct too, as this will open up your eyes even more.
Believe it or not, I learned that trick from my 15-year-old student. She used a bright color, but the same technique with an off-white shade works great for us mature ladies.
FOR MORE ON MAKING YOUR EYES POP WITH COLOR READ THIS.
The Bottom Line
Eyebrows can have a dramatic effect on your face, but there are a lot of mature women can do to avoid looking older than they are!
The tips above will help you avoid making aging brow mistakes, helping you look younger and peppy as a result. Investing in eyebrow makeup and grooming tools can go a long way toward keeping your brows looking great. Just remember to keep it subtle.
Too thin, thick, heavy, or light brows will draw attention away from your gorgeous eyes, which isn’t good for anyone!
Frequently Asked Questions
Do Dark Eyebrows Age You?
The short answer is yes. Eyebrows naturally lighten as we age, which is why darker eyebrows are associated with youth. However, this doesn’t mean that you should tint or fill in your brows with the darkest color you can find!
Brows that are too thick and dark can look fake and heavy on your face, making you appear older than you are. Look at younger pictures of yourself from a few decades ago and see what color they were naturally, without any makeup.
Aim to recreate this color with a brow pencil or brow gel, using a light, gentle touch. The goal is to add more contrast to your face, but not so much that your brows look fake or unnatural.
Do Eyebrows Change As You Get Older?
Eyebrows can change a lot as we age. The tails of our brows begin to recede first, followed by the fronts of our brows later. The skin underneath the brows can become drier, meaning that the hairs lose their moisturizing oils. This can make the brow hairs coarse and wiry.
The brow hairs can lose their color too, turning white or gray as time goes on. The skin in the brow area can start to lose its elasticity, which makes the brow tail droop, pulling down the eye in the process.
Makeup and a good brow maintenance regime can minimize these effects as we get older.
How Much Of A Difference Do Eyebrows Make?
Full, well-shaped brows can balance the face, bringing facial features into harmony with each other. On the other hand, brows that are poorly shaped, too thin, or the wrong color can hurt your appearance. They may draw attention away from your eyes, making them appear smaller than they are.
In addition, poorly-shaped brows can create shadows under the eyes, giving the impression of bags beneath them.
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