8 Easy Ways to Maintain Your Brows Between Appointments

When your brows are freshly groomed an amazing transformation happens: Your smile gets bigger. You stand a little taller. You have a little extra Cara Delevingne-like swagger in your step. When a single part of your beauty look holds enough power to make or break your day, you want to make sure they look their best in between waxing and threading appointments. All it takes are a few magical products and a little bit of know-howand lucky for you, Jared Bailey, Benefit Cosmetics Global Brow Expert, is seriously into sharing. Below, we tapped the pro for his best-kept brow secrets.

Be Strategic About Booking Your Appointments

Just like other hair on your body, your brow hair grows in a cycle. I recommend going to your brow appointment once per cycleabout every four to five weeksso that the stray hairs all eventually starting coming in at the same time, says Bailey. Once you get the follicles on the same growth schedule, youll notice you can wait longer in between appointments.

Tweeze Carefully

Maintaining your brows without tweezing is ideal (to maintain a consistent growth cycle), but sometimes beauty doesnt work on the timeline you want it to. If thats the case, never pluck a naked brow. First, fill in your brows as you normally would, says Bailey. Then go in and pluck any strays that fall above or below the shape. Leave the hairs that are 1/8 away from your brow or else you risk creating a holes and patches.

Conceal Overgrowth

Your first instinct might be to just apply foundation or concealer over the area, but the brow bone needs a slightly different game plan. Its essential to use a primer because the area can get pretty oily, and without one your concealer might start to look a little slick and hairs will become noticeable, says Bailey. Benefit Air Patrol BB Cream Eyelid Primer not only smooths out the area, it contains a slight, blendable tint to cover up strays in one swoop. If you have darker brows, pat on a concealer, like Bobbi Brown Creamy Concealer Kit on top of your primer for more coverage.

Fill Them in With the Right Products

Enhance the brow shape and make it last by filling them in. Benefit goof proof brow pencil makes it so easy for even the brow novice. The teardrop tip of the pencil is created in a way that ensures effortless application and the formula is designed to adhere to your hairnot the skinso it looks really natural, says Bailey.

Maintain Your Color

Since your brows are so close to the sensitive eye area, you cant use your traditional box of at-home hair dye. Tinted brow mascaras are a great way to keep up with the color, but make sure the color has dimension, otherwise your brows look lackluster and dull, says Bailey. Benefit 3-D BROWtones is like adding instant highlights to your hair with its multidimensional shade.

Keep the Brow Area Healthy

SPF is always a tried-and-true rule to keeping your skin protected from head to toe. The rest of your brow routine is not unlike how you care for the hair on your head. Its like when your hairstylist tells you to massage your head in the shower and condition your hairthe same is true for your eyebrow area, says Bailey. Take an eye-specific cream, like Kiehls Rosa Artica Eye Cream, and gently tap it all across the brow bone to stimulate the area and keep it hydrated.

Stay Away From the Scissors

A trim might sound like a better idea than plucking, but its harder to do on your own than you think. Its like trimming your bangs: It takes a really professional eye to be able to do them yourself, says Bailey. If you do want to give brow scissors a shot, first use a clear shaping gel and direct the hair in the direction you want it to grow. Allow the gel to dry and the trim hair by hair, making sure to look into the mirror after every snip to make sure youre not clipping away too much.

Let Them Be!

Gone are the days of super crisp, clean brows. From the runway to the red carpet and real life, brow hairs that are a little longer and a little bushier are more modern and effortless, says Bailey. Since the bushy, full brow is on trend, youre no longer breaking beauty rules by simply letting them grow out.