How To Trim Your Eyebrows In 6 Easy Steps, From Experts Who Have Seen It All

We know we're not alone when we say the only thing more daunting than trimming your own ends is taking shears to your precious eyebrows. After all, while the tiny hairs do eventually grow back (assuming the follicles aren't scarred or damaged), it takes a bit longer to revert to full, feathery arches. Plus, it's a bit more difficult to hide a botched brow trim than a DIY dusting gone wrong. 

All that to say, if you can hang tight for a professional to tend to your brows, we suggest waiting it out—unruly brows be damned. But if your brows do fall on the really bushy side, you might need some extra cleanup care in between sessions. 

Let us say before getting started: You're not trying to give your brows a haircut, here. Leave the brow transformations to the professionals, we plead. 

"One of the biggest mistakes people make is they do not brush the hairs up before they trim," says Alicia Halpin, esthetician and owner of Foundation Beauty & Esthetics. When you brush up those hairs, you're able to see where the actual length hits above the hairline; if you just cut from the middle of the brow where the hairs are lying flat, you run the risk of losing a ton of precious brow. 

Healy suggests starting in sections, beginning in the front, closest to your nose. Then using the spoolie to hold up the hairs, trim those excess strands above the brow hairline, one hair at a time. 

Make sure to cut at a downward angle (similar to point-cutting your ends) rather than shearing straight across: "Don't trim across in a straight blow, as the finish is too blunt," Healy says. "You want to do one hair at a time to maintain the fringy, feathery line while controlling the length." 

Move outward in small sections, trimming one hair at a time. Although, as Healy notes, you might find that most of the action exists in the center of the brow, less so toward the tail. "I find the brow is naturally densest in the center, and that is where it can use some debulking. But the front and the end is what you want to be most mindful of." 

Et voilà! You're all set—simply set the hairs with a brow gel. According to Healy, brow gel "allows you to befriend your length." Meaning, it'll whip the hairs into place (even the long ones!), so you don't have to rely on trimming too much of the brow. "Just trim the crazy ones, and clear brow gel will take you the rest of the way."