brow training

  • How to Make Brows Fuller & Less Unruly

    How to Make Brows Fuller & Less Unruly

    If windows are the eyes to the soul then surely brows are the frames? A great pair of eyebrows can really give a face structure. They can also help correct an unbalanced face shape or give the appearance of a more desireable face shape. When so many clients are investing in lash extensions right now, it would be wrong not to have the know-how to create flawless brows to finish the look. We give you the top 10 ways to make brows look fuller and groomed…
    1. Use a brow pencil to fill in gaps and create better definition to the brow shape such as using short pencil strokes to create high points above the brows making them appear more arched and refined. Choose a brow pencil close to your natural hair colour and if between two shades, go for the lighter option.
    2. Use a brow powder to give a softer, fuller brow look. If you only want to achieve more fullness but more definition, opt for a brow powder. Generally brow pencils last longer on the skin but can look harsher on mature skin and accentuate fine lines and wrinkles. Brow powders are a softer option and can be sealed with brow gels or wax.
    3. Considering brow tinting โ€“ if daily touch ups arenโ€™t working for you, say if you swim or work in hot, humid environments, tinting may be a better option. Tinting can last 2-3 weeks. Treatments typically take only 15-20 minutes so easy to fit in alongside other beauty treatments. A longer lasting option is Henna brows which can last for up to 4-6 weeks instead. Henna brow products have great depth of colour and are naturally formulated so can be kinder to the skin. Tinting or henna can bring out the natural shape of your brows, especially for those with naturally fair or grey brows. This can make the eyes look brighter as the whites of the eyes contrast with the darker tones.
    4. Encourage better hair growth by using a naturally formulated brow oil or serum. The massaging in of products daily can also help boost blood flow to the area which in itself encourages better hair growth and improved hair condition and strength. There are many purposely designed serums on the market or just good quality castor, coconut or extra virgin olive oils will also do a great job of nourishing the hair and skin.
    5. Pluck in the right light and at the right level of zoom โ€“ ensure you pluck your brows using suitably sharp tweezers to avoid hair breakage. Try to pluck in natural daylight to better help you see the new, finer hairs coming through and ensure you are following the right line for shaping. Avoid using magnifying mirrors as they force you to focus in on one hair at a time causing you to lose sight of the overall brow shape and you can get too pluck-happy resulting in uneven brow results or overthinning the brows.
    6. Brows are sisters, not twins. Whenever tinting or shaping brows, ensure you work across both brows equally and check across both brows throughout for an even result. That said, brows are never identical so donโ€™t try to force them to be or you could end up damaging the natural line of hair growth and having overly thin brows which is both aging and unflattering. Overplucking can lead to permanent damage so take care or best still, leave it to the professionals.
    7. Have patience when brow shaping โ€“ donโ€™t be tempted to pluck a clump of hairs at a time. Work on just removing one at a time. Avoid removing longer brow hairs as these are often the leading hairs which define how the rest of the brows sit and removal can leave unsightly gaps or loss of definition. Slanted tweezers are great for helping to select the right hair. Go slow and use patience when removing odd stray hairs between brow services or if attempting some home pampering. You can always go back and take another out but you canโ€™t put a leading hair back in again if removed incorrectly.
    8. Embrace other methods of hair removal such as hot wax or threading. Both offer a quick but accurate hair removal option that take out all the hard work of tweezers. Check reviews of any therapist you are considering booking with and ideally seek out photos of their recent work on their social media to ensure you will get the result you desire. Generally speaking waxing is more readily available and hot wax is great in small areas like brows to give clean results. Hot wax is also less likely to irritate sensitive skin. Threading is great for anyone wanting a more linear, angled look due to the way the thread moves. It is great for those with naturally thick unruly brows that need some serious attention.
    9. Donโ€™t lose patience with those long unruly hairs. Use a brow gel to brush and seal them into shape. If you really must improve them, donโ€™t pluck them out but use short handled, sharp scissors to gently trim them so they sit better in place. Those long hairs often need to sit flat to provide the overall shape for your brows that all other hairs follow so take care not to be too snippy, particularly for the first few hairs at the start near the eyes as these can look bushy if trimmed too short.
    10. If you really canโ€™t get those unruly brows to sit correctly, consider a brow lamination treatment. Not only will they help give the appearance of thicker, fuller and more youthful brows; but it is a quick and relaxing treatment to receive. Typically taking around 30 minutes, results can last up to 6 weeks and when combined with a basic brow shape and tint, it can give you maintenance free, hassle free natural brows for over a month! Well worth investing in. The treatment uses similar products to lash lift (perming) products, but applied to the brows in a specific way that fixes and sets the brows in the desired direction as dictated by the brow technician.

    Want to learn to create the perfect brows, explore just some of the many brow course options we have by clicking below. Canโ€™t see the course for you or interested in a package? Give our friendly team a call on Freephone 0800 999 2277 and we can guide you to the right option!

  • Keeping your Kit Tip Top – Storing Lash & Brow Tools…

    Keeping your Kit Tip Top – Storing Lash & Brow Tools…

    As any amazing lash and brow tech knows, youโ€™re only as good as your products and tools will allow you to be. Not storing these correctly, not only shortens the lifespan of these causing wastage and extra costs but also limiting the results you can achieve. Here we discuss how you should be storing your kitโ€ฆ

    Wax Pot

    It goes without saying that your wax pot should be wiped over after each use to remove any stray wax. There is nothing worse than going for a treatment and seeing a gunky looking wax pot and wondering just where your wax will be dribbled. Where possible use wax pots with an insert to allow you to remove the wax from the heater and reseal with the tub lid, but the wax heater lid should be on when not in use at the very least. If working mobile, ensure the wax heater remains upright if wax is to be left inside the heater to avoid spillage. Allow wax to cool down sufficiently before moving the heater so for mobile therapists, turn off the heater as soon as it is no longer required. Wax is typically good for 6-12 months from date of opening โ€“ check your product for the specific use by.

    Tint & Oxidant

    Always used and disposed of in line with COSHH, you should only mix your tint once ready for use and never before your client arrives as it will not be effective by the time it is used. Always replace the lids tightly immediately once decant particularly as products will react with the air on contact and overexposure will reduce its efficacy.

    Lash Adhesive

    Only ever decant as much as you need to avoid wastage. Replace lids tightly once decanted to avoid the adhesive reacting with the air and setting hard. Keep adhesive stored upright at stable room temperature. Some adhesive brands suggest storing in the fridge but this can cause moisture to develop inside the product bottle causing it to be ineffective. You can purchase vacuum storage bags or jars which help to prolong the life of your lash adhesive once opened and also protect them from falling over and spilling in transit for those who work mobile. If products must be stored in a cooler or hotter area than where you are working, allowing up to an hour for the product to return to ambient temperature before using for best results. Working environment temperature will affect the current viscosity (thickness) of your product so consider this when deciding where to offer your treatments, for

    Tweezers

    Always ensure tweezers are thoroughly wiped after use to remove any stray hair or wax/lash adhesive residue before sterilising. Avoid leaving tools standing in barbicide continuously as this will corrode tools over time. Sterilise for the recommended time then remove. Store in a sealed plastic case or bag taking care to protect the tweezer tips, never store points down in a jar. Then simply place back in sterilising fluid prior to use once setting up for your client. Take care never to drop your tweezers as this could blunt the points. Replace tweezers roughly every 3-6 months depending on how often used. Keep lash tweezers separate from those used for brow treatments to avoid misusing these and always keep a spare pair handy just in case.

    best results. Also ambient environmental humidity will affect the drying times of your adhesive. Lash adhesive is usually good for 3-6 months dependent on the brand once opened (usually for up to 12 months prior to opening) but check product packaging to confirm as it does vary depending on the formulation.

    Brow Powder Compacts

    Always store these where they will be safe from knocks or dropping to avoid gut wrenching moments where your palette crumbles. Ensure you decant powder onto a spatula using a make up scraper or only ever use a clean applicator / brush (never double dipping) or use a special make sanitiser spray for powder compacts between each client to keep products hygienic. Many brands now offer refills for powder palettes to allow you to replace the shade you use up quickest, rather than having to replace the entire palette so it is worth considering this when buying your products to avoid having to have multiple part used palettes or powders at any one time.

    By following the above advice, you will ensure you are not only working safely and hygienically but also reducing your costs (boosting your profits) and getting the very best results from your products and tools for the longest time possible.

    Discover our optional starter kits todayโ€ฆ

  • Know your Henna

    Know your Henna

    Henna brows is fast becoming one of the most popular brow treatments, as a more natural way of giving greater definition to natural brows. Formulated to give longer lasting results than traditional tinting products and with a wide range of colours available to suit all clients, it’s important to know the benefits of offering this in demand brow service.

    Henna has been used for centuries to provide colouring the hair and has recently has a resurgence in popularity as clients seek more natural beauty options. Henna has many benefits including its ability to better โ€˜tintโ€™ the skin so is great at helping to disguise gaps or sparse hair growth within the brows (more so than a traditional tint product) and also to give a deeper, more natural enhanced brow colouring. Naturally sourced from the leaves of the henna shrub, it contains a substance called Lawsone which is effective in staining the hair and skin. To boost the speed at which the product works, often synthetic dye agents are included, sometimes known as PPD. Some clients are concerned about the use of PPD, however provided you are using products sourced from reputable suppliers, the volume and strength of PPD used will ensure the product is very safe for professional use. As with any tinting product, it is important you carry out a patch test 24-48 hours prior to use and record this on the clientโ€™s record card, patch testing in line with the manufacturerโ€™s and your insurerโ€™s guidelines.

    Henna is applied in much the same way as traditional tinting products, however its formulation is easy to work with and using a suitable brush, application can be precise to give a more sculpted, almost microbladed looking result. It can also be applied to improve the natural arch of the brows with hair removal techniques such as threading or waxing to improve the brows overall shape. It is also gaining popularity for use alongside Brow Lamination treatments as clients follow a course of treatments to regrow their brows to their former, fuller and more youthful glory.

    Henna brow treatments can typically earn you anything from ยฃ10-ยฃ25 per treatment and usually take as little as 20-30 minutes to carry out! Results last for around 4-8 weeks depending on the client and homecare adherence, quickly providing you with a loyal, regular client base.

    Top Selling Brow Treatments (based upon feedback from the many thousands of beauty therapists who have successfully trained with us over the last 29 years) are currently:

    1. Brow Lamination (now one of our best selling courses)
    2. Henna Brows
    3. Brow Shaping (waxing, threading or indeed the hugely popular Highly Defined Brows treatment)
    4. Brow Tinting

    โ€œMore clients than ever are now investing in their brows and lashes. Offering the most in demand brow treatments is essential for any beauty therapist, make up artist or lash technician to ensure you arenโ€™t losing your clients to other therapists who are more diverse. Packages that combine lash and brow treatments are hugely successful, with many clients starting out with a simple brow shaping treatment and then getting the โ€˜beauty bugโ€™ and soon become regular clients for a wide range of services.โ€

    Gain recognised training within these lucrative brow treatments with our courses from only ยฃ99. Choose to learn either at your own pace, online from the comfort of home or attend one of our 10 well located, exclusive training centres to learn face to face with our highly qualified, experienced tutors. Learn more about our Brow Course options below or call us Free on 0800 999 2277 to discover the best option for youโ€ฆ.

  • Browse the options… Which brow service is best?

    Browse the options… Which brow service is best?

    With so many new brow treatments launching, it is easy to fall behind in knowing the differences and how best to market your brow services to clients. Our blog this week focuses on whether to highly define or laminate brows…

    What are Highly Defined Brows?

    Highly defined brows is a treatment involving multiple steps to ensure the optimum brow reshaping and redefining. Starting with a thorough consultation and brow measuring, brows are darkened using brow tinting. Brows are then reshaped using a combination of brow trimming, waxing, threading and use of tweezers. Finally brows are finished using mineral brow make up products to give the perfect finish. Typically highly defined brows leaves brows thinner, with a greater arch and more defined shape and also darker to ensure they really frame the eyes.

    What are Laminated Brows?

    Laminated brows is all about restoring brows which have previously been poorly reshaped, over plucked or simply where the client wants a fuller, more natural brow look. Brows are brushed into shape by encouraging the existing brow hairs to sit upwards to create a fuller look. Products very similar to those used for lash lift, are then applied to the brow hairs to lift and then set the brow hairs into line and shape to help restore a fuller, natural appearance to the brows. Brows can also be tinted as part of the process to give more definition. The treatment encourages clients to make use of brow products such as castor oil following treatment to encourage the brows to naturally begin enhanced regrowth, particularly where overplucked previously to give more improved appearance over time.

    Our quick table below outlines which treatment is best for which clients or desired resultsโ€ฆ

    Highly Defined Brows

    • Removes unwanted, stray hairs to give a better shape and greater definition
    • Involves use of brow waxing, threading, trimming and tweezers
    • Brows are tinted to give a darker, more defined look
    • Usually brows appear thinner, reshaped with an improved arch
    • Clients are encouraged to have regular treatments to maintain defined look

    OR

    Brow Lamination

    • Involves working with the existing brow hairs, taking away only minimal stray hairs
    • Involves use of techniques to brush hairs up then lift and set in place with products similar to those for lash lifting
    • Brows are tinted to give a darker but more natural look
    • Usually brows appear fuller, reshaped to give a restored, more youthful natural look
    • Clients are encouraged to use brow oils beyond treatment to stimulate regrowth of hairs

    Not trained to offer both of these incredible, lucrative brow services yet? Take a look at our fast track courses and start earning up to ยฃ45 per treatmentโ€ฆ