Tweezing vs. Waxing

Great looking eyebrows can really freshen up your look and show your face to its best advantage. It's easy to shape your eyebrows at home and doesn't require a lot of time or money but there are differences of opinion regarding the best way to do it. Since I work for a company that sells tweezers, and not wax, you might expect that I'd be partial to tweezing. I am, but not 100% because of where I work.

Home wax kits can be found in drug stores, supermarkets and mass merchandisers. Options include cold wax strips, hot wax and sugaring wax. Waxing is a very quick, often convenient, pretty inexpensive way to remove large areas of hair. The last part of that sentence is why I'm personally not a big fan of home-waxing my eyebrows. All of the waxing methods require you to be extremely cautious about where the wax is, and is not. A little bit of wax in an unwanted area, and, poof...you're missing a big chunk of eyebrow. Some people are very skilled with home waxing and, if you're one of them, then you can't beat waxing for speedy hair removal. If you're a first-timer for brow shaping or for waxing, you may want to practice waxing on other areas first.

Tweezing, on the other hand, is much easier to control because you're removing a single hair at a time. The downside, and this is for the initial brow shaping only, is that it is a longer process. You must isolate every hair, and that takes time and patience. It's also an awful lot like the difference between peeling off a Band-Aid slowly, and ripping it off in one, quick motion. Lots of little "ouches" with tweezing... one big "ouch" with waxing. But the risk of mismatched, over-shaped or missing chunks of eyebrow from tweezing is much smaller. Aside from the potential for a disastrous look, waxing can also be sticky and messy. For my money and lack of waxing expertise, I prefer the safer, and cleaner, tweezing!

If you've decided that there's no way you're undertaking this at home and you're going to a salon to have it done instead, then that changes my recommendation a bit. I'd say the most important consideration here is the professional's experience. If he or she is known for their tweezing skill, I'd go that route. If the pro is best known for excellent eyebrow waxing, then I'd take the wax. The best result is always the most important factor. And, incidentally, there's a lot to be said for having your brows professionally done the first time. When done well, you'll have the perfect shape and will only need to touch up your eyebrows as stray hairs grow in. Again, I can't stress enough, that the person shaping your brows should be very, very good at their job. I've seen some horrible tweeze and wax jobs on friends that have visited a salon. Make sure you've seen the pro's work before you hop in the chair!

One final thought, from someone who works at a tweezer company, is that whether you choose to wax or to pluck, you will always need a good slant tip tweezer. Maintaining your eyebrow shape, and avoiding those messy-looking stray hairs are key. You will need to check your eyebrows daily and be prepared to tweeze at the first sign of a new hair growing where it shouldn't. Even if you're devoted to salon waxing, you must still be meticulous about your tweezing upkeep. Hair grows at different rates so you will always have a few cropping up between waxes. Based on your budget and your preference, we have entry-level slant tip tweezers, Easy Tweeze scissors-style tweezers and slightly more professional options in a brushed stainless finish, color or patterns. We even have unique tweezers featuring a wider grip and a cushioned insert that offer increased comfort and control and tweezers that can be used by people suffering from arthritis or limited dexterity.  Finally, we have premium, professional tweezers for both salon and at-home use.