By a thread…

I’ll admit, I hadn’t heard much about the process of eyebrow threading until a salon specializing in this technique opened at a local mall a couple of years ago. I didn’t think much about it even then, as my brows are already quite sparse from a combination of over-plucking in my teens and (as I learned recently from Zuzu’s Petals at Everyday Beauty) lower levels of thyroid hormones. I’d occasionally pluck an obvious stray, but didn’t think that brow shaping would be of any benefit to me, and worried I’d wind up almost browless.

Let me first put out a word of caution about brow and facial waxing. I didn’t know this until I started researching threading, but waxing can remove a layer of skin, increasing the risk of sun damage, and for those of us of a certain age, it can pull and stretch the delicate skin over the eye. I’ve had my upper lip waxed in the past a couple of times, and though it was effective, the procedure left my skin a bit red and irritated for several hours afterward. I’ve never had my brows waxed.

Threading has been practiced for centuries in some Middle Eastern countries as well as India, not only for shaping brows but for removal of facial hair.

According to the entry on threading in Wikipedia:

Practitioners use a pure, thin, twisted cotton thread which is rolled over usually untidy hairlinesmoustaches and other areas of unwanted hair, plucking the hair at the follicle level. Unlike tweezing, where single hairs are pulled out one at a time, threading can remove an entire row of hair, resulting in a straighter line. Because a large area of hair is removed at once, it could be painful, though The Guardian reports[1] that when done professionally “with a cat’s cradle of fine thread” it is quick and painless.

It wasn’t until I read a few months ago that removing some of the invisible hairs around the brow area can actually give the brows *more* definition that I decided to give threading a try.  And I’m sold!

The process itself takes maybe 5-10 minutes (depending on how much shaping your brows need).  I don’t find it painful on the brow area, but then I’ve plucked for years.  The result is nicely arched brows that are even and well-shaped. (I’ll never again have thick brows like the woman pictured above, but a bit of definition certainly does make them more prominent.)  There’s a bit of redness immediately afterward, but it’s gone within an hour and there’s no sensitivity.

On my second visit, I asked to have my upper lip threaded as well. This stings a bit, I’ll admit, (especially when she hits the area right around the nostrils) but it’s over with quickly and I love the result. Waxing had given my lip a bit of a puckered appearance for a few hours afterward, but with threading I noticed none of that, and again the slight redness faded after about an hour or so.

Threading is also recommended for those with sensitive skin, as not only are no layers of skin removed, but there are no chemicals coming in contact with the skin. My local salon charges $18 for brows and lip, which seems reasonable to me as I only need it done every 8 weeks or so.

Have you tried threading?  What did you think?
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30 Comments

  1. Latisse has grown back my over-plucked eyebrows and given them a lovely longer ‘tail’. I wouldn’t let anyone loose on me with threads was or tweezers, don’t trust them!

  2. I have heard a lot about threading as many of my friends have it done. I tweeze my brows and any unsightly hairs as waxing results in bumps and a rash on my sensitive skin. Threading might be something I will try though after your rave review.

  3. Does anyone else use twist and roll?

    http://hairremoval.about.com/od/threading/gr/lindo-threading.htm

    You do it at home and it works pretty well for me. I’m a fair skinned redhead and never thought I’d have to worry about facial hair but, at 63, I now have some semi-coarse white hairs. I originally read about it in Oprah.

    It’s a frugal option for most of the face but the brow area is probably the one area it wouldn’t work well.

  4. The best and permanent way of removing these unsightly hairs is electrolysis. Threading is only another method of tweezing. Electrolysis can be expensive. I would go for 5 minute sessions, and went for a period of 4 years. I am sooooo happy not to have to worry about those little, bristly things ever again. It has been 5 years and I’m hair free. Something to consider.

  5. I’m an infrequent waxer, and have never been able to pluck more than one or two strays in my own brows. I tried threading once, and found it much more painful than waxing. Won’t do it again. But I’ve no threshold for pain. For me waxing is tough, but less so than the threading.

  6. I’m a total fan. I live in a very Turkish part o London and I just pop into one of the local Turkish hair salons and they do eyebrows and upper lip for £8 right there in a chair.

  7. I’ve been self-threading my lip and chin for a couple of years now. There are no threading salons near me, and frankly I’m afraid I wouldn’t be able to tolerate having my lip done all at once– I usually do a little bit at a time, at home.

    I still have to tweeze to catch the thicker hairs and also some strays, probably because I’m not as skilled as the professionals.

    I’ve never been able to thread my own eyebrows, though. I just use really sharp tweezers to get all the little hairs.

    I’ve never understood the popularity of waxing. Besides stretching the skin, stripping off the top layer, and risking a burn, I’ve heard it can cause problems for blood vessels under the skin.

  8. I have my eyebrows waxed, but it’s very gentle, and no redness afterwards. I’ve wanted to try the threading, but I go to this one woman for my eyebrows, who is so great with the shaping that I’m afraid to change. She also tints them, which I definitely needs as they’re light and it makes them look fuller and more defined. Have you ever tinted yours?

  9. I’ve done it once and I relly like it…the only reason I have not continued with it was finances and my hair stylist watches over my eyebrows for me. But, going through the process was really interesting and I loved the way my brows looked.

  10. I used to get my brows waxed. Really ruined the shape of my brows over time — they looked like C’s with no taper from end to end. And the waxing removed too much from the inner end of my brows. I didn’t realize this until I started getting my brows threaded. It’s taken 2 years to grow back the inner part of my brows, and I still have a ways to go. Threading is much more precise, in my experience. I think I pay too much though, but the lady I go to is great and I trust her.

  11. I have reduced my plucking considerably in the past 10 years after being around folks who’re nearly browless from medical treatment. I think bushier brows help a face have more expression and i hate to say this look younger.

    I brush them up and trim and that helps them not look too ungroomed. I would not put myself in a chair with someone else at the helm for fear of losing what I’ve worked on growing in.

  12. I haven’t shaped my brows in years. I went a little too far in my younger years and gave up. This could be the answer for me. Anyone know a trustworthy place to go in Manhattan?

  13. I’ve been totally chicken about this procedure, but I do have downy blonde hairs under my brows that I can’t get at with my tweezers and avoid blood loss (due to vision impairment :^) . While they don’t stand out the way the thicker ash brown hairs used to, I don’t appreciate having peachfuzz over my eyes.

    I have been using an OTC lash-growth serum on my brows, and it hasn’t done anything for volume, but it has cause the hairs to grow a little longer, so I can shape them and make it look like I have a little more volume at the ends.

    Thanks much for the link and also the important caution. Waxing is especially evil for those of us using Retin-A. *shudder*

  14. My daughter has this done as well as having her eyelashes died, regularly at a spa.
    I don’t do anything to mine. I wear bangs and that is one less thing I have to worry about. I guess I’m just lazy!

  15. I had my eyebrows waxed once and it was very painful! I think I’ve got to an age when I can’t look after them properly myself, the hairs are longer than when I was younger and getting both eyebrows to look even is a problem. So now I get them threaded on a regular basis. Works for me!

  16. I have plucked my brows since I was in high school, and am quite envious of those who say the brows didn’t grow back . . . Tweezerman should send me a Christmas card.
    When my youngest was in college, she taught me how to trim my brows, which helped a lot. She also brought me in to have them waxed. While I loved the look, my face did not tolerate the waxing at all–persistent redness and HUGE swelling problems. (I did it twice, just to “be certain”!)
    And then recently I tried threading–and I love it! No swelling! clean lines! and it is long-lasting. I am sold!

  17. Never tried threading but after reading all about it and taking your recommendaitions very seriously I will consider it! Thank you for the post – very informative – didn’t really know just how it worked. x

  18. I love threading! I’ve been having my brows shaped and my upper lip threaded now for about ten years. Love it! My only complaint is finding a threader near my current workplace – I go to a salon in Culver City and it’s not so convenient.

  19. It never occurred to me I could do this myself! I jumped right up and went to the sewing box for some thread. My mustache and beard are gone gone gone with so much less pain than waxing or tweezing. My one try at wax left a laasting impression (and a red lip). I think I’ll stick to tweezing for my brows though. They have always been a little puny and I don’t want to pull them out altogether.

  20. I had it done at the mall once and found it painful and the lady was not thorough. I self wax at home. Never thought of self threading!