The ends of your brows should, ideally, gently taper to a clean point. If your eyebrows are shortened or thin out at the ends, this can make your face appear older. Similarly, if your eyebrows have a heavy, blocky tail, this can overpower your whole face and look unnatural.
“Keeping the natural curves of your brows is important, though your natural brow height and angle of the curve will determine the right shape,” says Cervellone. “To look more youthful keep your brow more a gradual higher arches and lifting the tail height will lift and open your eyes.”
Letting brows go untamed
While some of us notice brows thinning with age, for others brow hairs can become longer and courser, making your eyelids look droopy and your eyes appear smaller. Either tweeze at home or visit a salon to get your eyebrows tamed into flattering arches.
Jamie Long, Lead Stylist at HD Brows advises, “It's certainly true that certain brow shapes can make you appear older. The type of brow that is going to suit you will depend on your face shape. “Darker eyebrows are ideal for looking younger, as they provide a greater contrast to the surrounding skin on the face.
Fuller = More Youthful
Full, bold brows are a subtle sign of youth and good health. At some point in the aging process, our hair begins to thin out and become more sparse, which is why thin brows can be associated with aging. Over-plucking and drastically thinning your eyebrows can make you appear older than you are.
Thin brows are well suited for those who have smaller eyes and more delicate facial features. They're also perfect for those with oval and round face shapes. Thick brows give narrow faces a broader, more harmonious appearance.
In terms of colours, the expert explained “darker eyebrows are ideal for looking younger, as they provide a greater contrast to the surrounding skin on the face".
Like we said, your eyebrows should be darker than your hair color—with one exception. Those with black hair may find a deep black color to appear too harsh, depending on the look they're going for. If that's something you can relate to, you may prefer a softer brow.
Blame most cases of eyebrow thinning on aging. Eyebrows start to look sparse due to the natural decline of testosterone (in men) and estrogen (in women) that begins in the 40s.
Having bushy, unshaped eyebrows can easily make you older than your actual age. On the other hand, fully groomed eyebrows act as an anti-aging antidote as they make your eyes appear wider and make you look more youthful and well-rested.
“Naturally, as you age, your brows generally get a little patchier. Also, the tail tends to drop, which can pull down the eye and make it look droopy.
Kenneth Beer, the heart-shaped face is considered to be the ideal face shape because it is seen as more youthful. This is because, as we age, the fat pads in the middle and upper face droop and collect at the bottom third of the face, causing the face to have more of a pyramid shape.
The trick to really natural looking brows is blending, blending, blending. Fill in sparse areas where needed then take a spoolie and brush color into brows over and over again. The more blended-in, the more natural-looking.
Amy Clark of Rob Peetoom Salon New York says to make sure the shade of your brows compliments the tones in your hair color. "My general rule would be to keep it as close to the shade of your hair as best as possible, or one shade darker," she says.
With the above in mind when considering whether your eyebrows should be lighter or darker, I'd suggest the main rule of thumb is… “…to have your brows similar to your hair colour! You can't go wrong! If you wish to go for a slightly different colour, I'd recommend only 1-2 shades darker or lighter!”
The end of your brows should be darker than the front to balance out the face. The light hits the centre of your face, so unnaturally dark brows always look odd. Not only that, dark brows towards the front give the illusion of an impending frown, weighing down the centre of your face.
High arches can give a shorter face the drama and length you need to bring that “I'm the boss” vibe to your look. Longer faces: a lower arch is the way to go. Don't switch them though—high-arched eyebrows on a long face will bring attention to the forehead. DON'T DO THAT.
They're also great for women with rounder face shapes. Moreover, thick eyebrows are perfect for women (and men) with more prominent facial features such as solid jaws and fuller cheekbones.
Full, dramatic brows can provide shape and symmetry to the face. Thick brows appear more youthful than sparse brows, and they frame the eyes naturally and beautifully.
We'll give you the short answer – eyebrow shape definitely enhances your natural beauty! Eyebrows are like the perfect frame around a beautiful work of art (your face). Just look at this picture of Rihanna, before and after going for an eyebrow tint.
The tails of the brows get lighter and thinner with age, and you may also notice some patchy areas. Fill the tail area with a brow pencil, then go over the whole eyebrow with tinted brow gel. Fill in with brow powder for patchy spots to make your arches appear fuller. The added contrast will give a fresher appearance.