What I Learned From Getting Eyebrow Extensions

I have a confession, I’m a bit of a virgin when it comes to eyebrow maintenance. I didn’t own a pair of tweezers until I was almost out of high school. I got my eyebrows waxed for the first time for my college graduation. To say I was late to the eyebrow game would be an understatement. Now let me be clear, I wasn’t immune to the importance of eyebrows—the main reason I neglected them for so long was because I have incredibly light, almost blonde eyebrows. And if I’m really being honest, I’ve always been a little scared of them.

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Under the distress of peer pressure I recently ventured into the world of threading. As I sat there having my face pulled at odd angles so my technician could “clean them up” she suggested I have my brows tinted. This scared me and I almost bolted for the door. I’ve always wanted more defined eyebrows but the offer had me conjuring up so many worse case scenarios. So what exactly drove me to get eyebrow extensions? One word: Instagram.

I wish I was kidding, but I’m a sucker for Cara Delevingne eyebrows and when I saw extensions popping up with more frequency in my feed I knew it was something I had to investigate. These perfectly arched brows screamed “try me!” And so, once again, I gave in and jumped in head– or brows I suppose – first. It wasn’t until after I made my appointment at NYC’s Townhouse Spa that I started to freak out. Really freak out. I was going to end up with huge black caterpillar eyebrows. I just knew it.

So when the day came for my treatment I was a ball of nerves. My technician Linda D. Howard was my eyebrow fairy godmother. From her soothing sweet voice to her casual chitchat about her recent beach trip I was instantly put at ease. I’m pretty positive she could see the beads of sweat rolling down my face, but she talked me through the whole treatment and I realized there wasn’t anything to be scared of.

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First she gave me a background on extensions. Originally technicians like herself had used eyelash extensions which worked pretty poorly because the color was so dark and the glue was much too intense. But after reassuring me that there had been huge improvements in the glue and extensions themselves, I felt some color returning to my cheeks. She told me that extensions are best meant for “someone trying to grow out their eyebrows or have a fuller look.” If you’ve over plucked or have lingering ’90s thin brows you can get extensions to ease you through that awkward growing out phase, but ultimately you should really get them to enhance a look because “extensions are best hair on hair. Hair to skin won’t last more than three days or so and can irritate the skin.”

I settled in and told Linda to do her thing. I trusted her. About an hour later she told me, “it looks so beautiful, so natural” and handed me a small mirror to see my first completed brow. To say I was shocked is an understatement. Half of my face had been transformed. I was liking what I saw. I quickly handed her back the mirror and told her to get started on the other one. After about two hours and what seemed like hundreds of extensions I was done! I was a new woman with bold new brows.

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A typical treatment lasts around two weeks, but it’s important to know that your lifestyle can make that window smaller. Things like steam, sweat, bickram yoga—you get the idea—can be done with extensions but they can cause you to loose them faster as the glue bond will loosen. I had to wait 24 hours to shower but after that I could shower as normal making sure to not scrub my brows or be too harsh with them. While I loved my just done brows, I really noticed that they hit their peak a couple days after the treatment. They were still reaping the benefits of the tint and while some of the extensions had fallen away, my brows still looked long and full. I was even getting constant compliments on them – a perk I did not expect.

If you’re thinking of trying out extensions make sure not to shape, wax or tweeze your brows prior to your appointment. Leave that to the professionals. I’ve lost most of my extensions by now, but the tint Linda used to prep my brows is still holding strong. While I felt a total transformation with new eyebrows, it’s not something I could see myself doing regularly. Linda even told me that most of her clients were preparing for special occasions or helping cover up over-plucking. In a sense, a bit like treating yourself to lash extensions. So, if you’ve got a wedding or big event coming up why not try a brow update? Make sure to plan your treatment for just a couple days prior so your extensions truly look their best before the big day.

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