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Beautiful Brows: Waxing Vs. Tweezing

By Naomi Torres, About.com

eyebrow shapingQuavondo Nguyen / IStock Photo
Just by taking away a few too many brow hairs, or leaving a couple extra can entirely throw off the overall balance and shape. How you choose to design your brows can mean the difference between a beautiful frame to your eyes, or an uneven mess.

Waxing versus tweezing, the two most popular ways to create beautiful brows remove the entire hair follicle from the root. So what’s the difference between using these two methods for shaping brows? Here’s the face-off.

Contradictions

  • Waxing: Certain conditions or medicines conflict with waxing, and can make skin red or scabby.

  • Tweezing: Can basically be done on anyone, despite their condition medicine they take. When used correctly, tweezers shouldn’t have any harmful affects on the skin.

Speed

  • Waxing: Many hairs are taken off at once, so it’s fairly quick.

  • Tweezing: Hairs have to be removed one-by-one, which can take a half hour or more for eyebrow shaping.

Fine Hairs

  • Waxing: Grabs onto all hair, even fine ones. You get a very smooth surface.

  • Tweezing: Can grasp thicker hairs, but has a hard time taking out fine ones. So some “fuzz” will still remain (this is good for men who don't want a very clean look).

Control/Accuracy

  • Waxing: If you’re not experienced the wax can accidentally spread onto more hair than you wanted, and remove hairs you weren’t planning on. Even removing a few extra hairs can mess up the overall shape of the brows.

  • Tweezing: You have great control, and can accurately choose the hairs you're removing.

Supplies

  • Waxing: You need to get wax, a heater, strips, applicators, powder, and wax remover.

  • Tweezing: You only need a good pair of tweezers.

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