Would YOU brave a £55 brow ‘perm’?
The latest treatment claims to fill out thinning eyebrows. INGE VAN LOTRINGEN plumps for the fluffy look
Like any fashion, eye-brows have come, gone and come back again, in various shapes and sizes over the decades. But the current ‘big brow’ trend, as influenced by the model Cara Delevingne, shows no sign of abating.
eyebrow grooming is a booming business, which has grown by almost 400 per cent since 2011. So it’s not surprising that the past decade’s succession of big brow innovations, from the apparently drawn-on Scouse brow, via the HD (High Definition) look, to brow extensions and micro-blading (semi-permanent tattoos), has spawned yet another new procedure: brow lamination.
This may conjure up images of stuck-on plastic brows with a vinyl gloss, but the latest eyebrow-enhancing treat-ment is much simpler. essentially a perm for brows, it promises a pro-nounced, fashionably fluffy brow that can be brushed into a perfect arch in seconds, with no downtime (or invasive blades, however micro) to boot.
Since full, handsome brows look more youthful than sparse or skinny ones like mine (eyebrows tend to thin with age), this sounds like a treatment i should be signing up for . . .
Before my appointment, however, i google images of ‘laminated’ twenty-somethings with thick, vertical brows, which make me more than a little apprehensive. But Beverly Piper, founder of The eyelash Design Company, who has a flagship Lash Perfect Beauty Bar in London’s Soho, assures me i will not end up looking like a werewolf, and will be delighted with my subtly fuller, perfectly behaved new brows.
Beverly, who adapted her ‘Hi Brow Lamination’ treatment from a Russian concept, is genuinely excited about the results she gets for her clients. Rather than filling in and drawing out your brows to proportions that don’t suit your face, the treatment relies on the hairs that are already there, how-ever lacklustre.
SHE says it tames the unruliest of brows, ‘making it a cinch to comb them into a perfect arch — or, if you so desire, brush them upwards for that “feathery” [i’d call it she-wolf] look’.
‘And,’ she adds, ‘if you have grey hairs coming through, which can often be wiry and curly, this will kick them into touch, straighten-ing and smoothing them. in many cases, it helps cover gaps that may have resulted from thinning, over-plucking or unruly growth.’
My eyebrows definitely can’t be classed as ‘unruly’. They’re not very big and the hairs are so blonde as to be barely visible, although they are tightly packed and sit in neat arches. A 60-second brow tint every three weeks or so makes them magically appear, but that — and plucking the odd stray hair — is the extent of my usual brow grooming regime. That is all set to change, as Beverly tips back the treatment bed and gets to work, combing my mini brows upwards with a tiny brush, and covering each hair in a little glue. ‘This fixes them into the straight, symmetri-cal position we’re aiming for, and it also stretches them, making them slightly longer,’ she explains.
Next, a ‘perming’ lotion is applied, which ‘softens the bonds in the hair, making them lose their natural shape and priming them for a re-shape’. After ten minutes of ‘cooking’, the solution is removed and replaced by a setting lotion to keep my curved hairs per-manently poker-straight (until they grow out, that is).
This is followed by an optional, but recommended, brow tint, which makes brows look fuller. A strengthening and hydrating keratin lotion is applied (any treat-ments like this temporarily weaken hair structure, so extra care is essential), then a quick touch up with wax and pencils and i’m done. it all takes about 45 minutes.
i’m pleasantly surprised: in the slightly distorted light of the salon, my re-incarnated brows look a lit-tle wilder, but nicely emphasised, with a really good, natural-looking colour. However, Beverley warns, i’ll have to do more grooming than i’m used to for about a week.
‘Until the roots grow out, giving your brows some of their natural direction back, they will be very soft and floppy if you don’t set them with wax,’ she explains.
She wasn’t kidding. When i wake up the next day, i appear to have one-and-a-half brows, the right one having sagged down the mid-dle, with the left one showing great big gaps i never had before. i’m horrified, but a panicked raking-through with my brow brush quickly re-shapes them (they are indeed super-responsive to any grooming action).
Still, there is no denying that my tightly packed hairs have sepa-rated and spread out.
FROM a distance, this makes them look wider, but they are far less dense and more gappy than before, and i have to fill them out with make-up. (My favourite cheat is Lottie London Arch Rival Microblade effect or Benefit Gimme Brow). Also, a few hairs didn’t get the ‘lie straight’ memo and have decided to form U-bends that stick up, Denis Healey-style.
However, a week later they’re behaving better. Also, the tint lasts much longer than usual because the perming solution made the hairs extra porous. But shape-wise, my ‘easy’ brows continue to require daily grooming for another couple of weeks, way too high-maintenance for my liking, so, overall, lamination isn’t for me.
But anyone with all-over-the-place brow hairs, or thick but gappy ones, who doesn’t mind a bit of maintenance, will love this treatment. it’s perfect for re-directing wayward hairs, turning messy arches into shapely ones for up to eight weeks. And for that fashionable, feathery look, push them in the opposite direction to growth and you’ll be an insta hit.
Hi Brow Lamination, £35 (£55 with brow tint), lashperfect.co.uk