Susan's Place Transgender Resources

Hi, I have sort of bushy eyebrows and have been thinking about having them thinned/shaped to be more feminine. I'm not entirely sure what approach I should take. I know some girls shave off their eyebrows and just draw them on. I'm afraid of plucking them myself because I might make them shape oddly or unnatural by accident. I also heard that when you pluck out your eyebrows, they grow back darker and thicker, which sounds terrifying. My older sister waxes her eyebrows, but she doesn't know I'm trans, so asking for advice is out of the question. What ways did you approach achieving more feminine eyebrows? What service had the best results long term?

An example of the type of brows I'm trying to achieve would be like this. http://i.imgur.com/fyHM53o.jpg

You could have a look here:
https://www.susans.org/forums/index.php/topic,146688.msg1230675.html#msg1230675

http://tesoromiolisa.com/2013/02/27/brow101/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Et3EcfPSCqg

You can either shape them yourself of have them shaped.
Quite a few people have them shaped once. But it depends on the person doing the shaping.
I'd advise to go slow and look at results often if doing it yourself.

The shaving them off and drawing them in doesn't really look that great, that's my personal opinion and maybe I've just seen way too many terrible attempts and never seen it done well. I'd recommend getting them professionally shaped, they won't grow back darker and thicker if they're plucked - usually it's the opposite. If you start HRT you'll find the coarseness and length of growth will change with time (about 24 months).

Have been doing my eyebrows for around 2 years now.  I would recommend plucking to a feminine shape on a routine basis.  Try not to go too far, but don't worry, they'll grow back within 2 weeks if you pluck too much.

Then once you've been living with the shape for a while (and you know you like it), stop plucking, and start getting electrolysis on them so you can drop the plucking maintenance routine.

I've had mine waxed and threaded.

Threading: Fast, but ridiculously painful. They also make you hold your skin tight by placing one finger above the brow and one below the eye the entire time.

Waxing: Takes a little longer, but not as painful and you don't have to hold anything.

Unfortunately, my brows seem to grow insanely fast. So, I tend to get them waxed only when I have a special event. In the meantime, I just pluck the hairs in between.

I too have bushy eyebrows, and I was not happy with the "volume" even after plucking/shaping. The easiest way to reduce bushy eyebrows is to comb all your eye brow hairs up over the upper hair line of your brow and carefully trim any hairs that stick over the hair line. This will reduce the bushy effect well but will maintain the basic shape. This is especially good if you have to present as male at times- You end up with well groomed brows in either mode. I have to do this at least once a week, but once you get the hang of trimming, its quick and easy and provides good results. Suggest doing this and then figure out if you need additional shaping once the volume is under control. Remember that well groomed thicker brows are still on trend right now!

There are also some products like brow pomades and sealers/waxes which can help you control your brows. Anastasia Beverly Hills makes some great stuff. You can buy it at Sephora or online. Women with great brows generally use products (or get them tinted regularly.)

Your face, but agreed with others that shaving them off and drawing them in rarely results in a great look. It's super hard to consistently draw in brows that look good.

I get mine threaded.  It is painful the first time, but easy after.  They shape them.  I always go for thin high arch.

I get them waxed at Ulta. I consider the lady that does them to be a friend. She acts like a mother in some ways. Its kind of funny too because I also consider my stylist to be family as well. The three of us were kinda of an Ulta family. We even got in to trouble as a family. We've had a number of amusing things happen during my time there. My stylist went to a different salon though so the amusing moments between the three of us aren't going to happen anymore. Also since I'm getting laser hair removal in the eyebrow area in addition to the rest of my beard and mustache area I only have a small window to get it done and I was too busy last time.

I'm getting brave ... Next week I'm going to try the "permanent makeup" eyebrows ... The girl that owns the salon is an MTF TG, so she'll understand exactly what I need.  She says the "permanent makeup" lasts for 12 months or more, so we'll see how this goes ...

I used Kevyn Aucoins 'Making Faces' to learn how to do my brows.
When I was first shaping in the beginning, I drew kind of a 'cheater line' in white eyeliner and tweezed below it, maintaining the arch and shape I wanted. It just became simple maintenance after that. I'd have to let them get pretty wild now to have to do more than that.

Super easy, and as a 14 year old boy, it was cheaper and less stressful than asking mommy and daddy dearest to take me to get my brows done..

I am a little bit lazy to trim my eyebrows regularly. You may learn from youtube videos:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQgzsE4uaPM

I also have bushy eyebrows and sometimes I trim them.

(https://c1.staticflickr.com/9/8556/29605887203_4ea4c4d7e7_b.jpg)

barbie~~

Quote from: Punzie on September 25, 2015, 05:59:15 AM
I also heard that when you pluck out your eyebrows, they grow back darker and thicker, which sounds terrifying.

This is true for other parts of the body but not around the eyes. The skin tries to protect itself by grows not only re-growing, but growing more hair where it has been traumatized by being pulled out. I don't know why, but this doesn't happen around the eyes. You may have noticed alot of older women who have almost no eyebrows because they destroyed the follicles from years of over-plucking.

Quote from: Punzie on September 25, 2015, 05:59:15 AM
What ways did you approach achieving more feminine eyebrows? What service had the best results long term?

It was kind of tricky settling on an eyebrow style that worked for me and my male alter, Primary.  He was happy with trimming them with a comb when he cut his hair and plucking out the strays above his nose. They made me very uncomfortable and I could never have let anyone see me with brows like that. We finally decided the best thing to do was recreate the way they were before hormones kicked in when we were an adolescent.

It took several months, but we only plucked 10 new hairs on each brow a week. There were no big mistakes that way and the shift was so slow even we could barely notice. When we were both satisfied, the lady who was removing the hair on our face make them permanent.

Quote from: Punzie on September 25, 2015, 05:59:15 AM
An example of the type of brows I'm trying to achieve would be like this. http://i.imgur.com/fyHM53o.jpg

It's super important to trim your brows with a comb before you do anything so you aren't mislead by their bushiness and accidentally over pluck.

Pretty much all of the guides for shaping eyebrows follow a person's brow line. The brows on the girl in your link look amazing on her, but depending on the shape of your face and the spacing of your mouth, nose and eyes, the perfect eyebrows  for you may turn out be completely different! Some girls like the look but it 's tricky forcing eyebrows into a shape that is not natural for a person's face.

Not sure if anyone else has noticed this happening after being on HRT for a few months,but my eyebrows are noticeably growing new hair in an arch on the tops in a female fashion.It will make it lots easier to shape them when I get ready for that in the next little while in my transition. Very surprising that this is happening.Have never read of HRT doing that to eyebrows before, but its great news! :)

Had my eyebrows shaped with electrolysis, very happy with results.  Was actually a nice break compared to electrolysis on more difficult areas (neck and upper lip).  Electrologist followed simple rule and it worked great - thin eyebrows from below the mid-line, eliminate all random/straggler roots, develop a higher eyebrow line with natural hair.  I've had friends notice and compliment unprompted. 

I didn't ask my electrologist to do this - she asked me.  She does this automatically for all MTF clients unless they decline. 

Kendra

 Wondering if brow shaping would be part of a makeover? Just curious mind you.

  Hugs,
   Laurie

Quote from: Punzie on September 25, 2015, 05:59:15 AM
Hi, I have sort of bushy eyebrows and have been thinking about having them thinned/shaped to be more feminine. I'm not entirely sure what approach I should take. I know some girls shave off their eyebrows and just draw them on. I'm afraid of plucking them myself because I might make them shape oddly or unnatural by accident. I also heard that when you pluck out your eyebrows, they grow back darker and thicker, which sounds terrifying. My older sister waxes her eyebrows, but she doesn't know I'm trans, so asking for advice is out of the question. What ways did you approach achieving more feminine eyebrows? What service had the best results long term?

An example of the type of brows I'm trying to achieve would be like this. http://i.imgur.com/fyHM53o.jpg

In my opinion, to a degree at least, thick eyebrows can look really feminine. So, how bushy are we talking?

Mine, btw, are on the thinner side, so I try to make them thicker, like what you see on a lot of girls on Instagram nowadays. My avatar does a good job of demonstrating how my eyebrows look on a day-to-day basis given that I make them thicker and more defined.

So, regarding whether you should pluck them, I'm leaning towards no myself.

K.C.

Shaping your eyebrows can make a big difference. I don't think bushy eyebrows are a problem. Quite the opposite. Mine are bushy and thick, thanks to that I can give them different shapes and play more. Also, thick, dark brows can be quite feminine, and they are becoming popular. Most cis girls have to paint their brows to make them look thicker. In your case, if you shape them correctly, it would be as always wearing makeup, withouth having to put it on and take it off every day.

In my case, I plucked them myself. I went slowly, starte by plucking the hairs that looked out of place, away from the eyebrow. I was still presented as a male by then. Some time later I started to slowly make it thinner.

I have only dont anything with mine twice.

First time was waxing, a fried i was out too took me, on one of my first en fem outings, this was like three years ago, and the second time was last week, I went for "threding" It was different, but had a better result.

Wax or threading lasts a couple months... more permanent would be microblading. It's tattooing your brows on basically. Lasts a few years.

Quote from: Harley Quinn on August 20, 2017, 11:39:15 AM
Wax or threading lasts a couple months... more permanent would be microblading. It's tattooing your brows on basically. Lasts a few years.

Don't they have to already be gone for that to work? You can't tattoo hair NOT to be there.

:

April 22, 2015, the day of my first face to face pass in gender neutral clothes and no makeup. It may be months to the next one, but I'm good with that!

Being transgender is just a phase. It hardly ever starts before conception and always ends promptly at death.

They say the light at the end of the tunnel is an oncoming train. I say, climb aboard!

Think outside the voice box!

It gives you a defined shape. I just shave/pluck around it. I just touch it up with a razor.

Quote from: Harley Quinn on August 22, 2017, 08:35:34 AM
It gives you a defined shape. I just shave/pluck around it. I just touch it up with a razor.

That makes sense. I get mine waxed. I can't see up close without reading glasses and they block my eyebrows.

:

April 22, 2015, the day of my first face to face pass in gender neutral clothes and no makeup. It may be months to the next one, but I'm good with that!

Being transgender is just a phase. It hardly ever starts before conception and always ends promptly at death.

They say the light at the end of the tunnel is an oncoming train. I say, climb aboard!

Think outside the voice box!

(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FNI8PyiL.jpg&hash=1b82a61e4fae8d79f120ddfc2ceb02b4dd50a03d)
(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2Fu6sEF9I.jpg&hash=69661150e2fb52fd2cbf0987a347cf6cda2398d6)
My before and afters

The color will lighten up over the next couple weeks. But they'll just be done.

I had the microblading, and the lady at the salon accentuated the female "arch" ... it's great.  Once a month waxing of the hairs keeps the hair only in the "tattooed" area, looks great, and lasts a year.

Well welcome to the complicated world of brows. I myself had this dilemma a few months ago. There wasn't anyone I could consult. I had them waxed at a nail salon and that was a disaster. They shaped them well for a "guy"! So made me scared to choose someone else. I knew I didn't want to butcher them myself. So I looked up waxing centers with prices and reviews. I found one close by that had very good reviews. I went in and my waxing tech totally understood what I was trying to achieve. She knew plenty of trans and knew this was important to us. She was like "honey, I am going to make you brows look fabulous!" I told her I wanted a natural looking result and not the high arch I see on many older women that looks very phony. When she got done i was very impressed and she did a great job. I have gone back again when they started bushing out. With my hormones though hair growth has been slowed so now I can keep up with any growing back in the waxed area. So I would suggest if you are not comfortable doing it yourself then find a pro at a waxing place. Good luck and your pic is a good eyebrow look, very natural.

Thanks ... I wanted to post a closer view here in the reply, but I can't figure out how to put a picture in here.  "Insert Image" above just puts a text [img] here ... I'll put a closer view in here if someone can tell me how to do it.

You need to place your image on an image server like imgur.com and capture the link. Then place it in the text as followed.
[img]http://link.jpeg[img]

OK Thanks ... I'll try that ...
(https://imgur.com/8IWjDCq)

Still trying
(https://imgur.com/a/0H34M)

One more try ... If this doesn't work, I give up ... It's too cryptic for the average bear.
(https://imgur.com/SaiGIyj=1)

If you right click on the link and copy the image address then paste it into the post, it will work.

(https://i.imgur.com/8IWjDCq.jpg)

I have always had very thin but yet still somehow bushy eyebrows. They are a good thickness in the middle where my nose is but then fade out into nothingness. Mine are tattooed on but they fade in toward the thickest hairs in the middle so it blends in very nicely! No one can ever tell the difference. I would upload a picture but I don't think my rank is there just yet   :( I would recommend picking a salon with good reviews and trans friendly staff (if possible) and having a first waxing done. After that, you could definitely maintain the image by plucking hairs in between visits and make the salon a place for some you time!

Thanks!  Now I see the photo ... Perhaps you did something to make it work!

Eyebrows are tricky. You can't really just pick out a style you like. Unless you have the same shape face  as the person with the eyebrows you like they won't look good on your face or will look really artificial.

It's also really important to trim them back  first so you don't over pluck them. Comb through the brows and trim the hair that sticks above the teeth with an electric trimmer or personal shaver. This will giver you a better idea of what you are actually working with.

There are lots of good tutorials on shaping brows based based on lines of symmetry from the corners of the mouth, nose and eyes. A really good place to start is to look at through pictures of yourself before you hit puberty. That will give you a good idea of the brow that was natural for you before the effects of testosterone. You can tweek things from there

The best thing to do is play around with a black eyebrow pencil to find the perfect shape. Then pluck outside the color of the brow pencil.

Personally I like thinner brows instead of "caterpillars' but that is just me. But get a brow comb and some cuticle scissors and comp up and then trim along the brow line you made and the same and comb down and trim outside the line. You can also get a beard trimmer or use your boyfriends and then use the longest guide if you are in a hurry. I mean if you wear makeup you are going to use an eyebrow pencil anyway to accentuate them.

But shaping them you need three marks and then go from there. Take a ruler and from the edge of your nostrils and go straight up. That is where you should make the first mark. Then from the edge of the nose to the pupil and make a mark and that is the natural arch and then from the nostril to the outer corner of the eyelid and that is where it should taper.

But take your time and find the right shape with the markers and then fill them in with the brow pencil while using concealer if need be and then pluck away. If the first time you don't like the shape then wash your face and start over again.

Im so jealous of your brows #browgoals

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

Quote from: Oliviah on October 14, 2015, 11:56:58 AM
I get mine threaded.  It is painful the first time, but easy after.  They shape them.  I always go for thin high arch.

This is also my preferred  method. After the first threading, it gets less painful for each additional session.