How to Reshape Eyebrows: Step-by-Step Guide

Reshaping Eyebrows: Key takeaways

• Reshaping eyebrows involves trimming and using eyebrow pencils to create a new brow shape that suits your face.
• The most important part of eyebrow reshaping is mapping. Use an eyebrow pencil to mark the three key areas of your eyebrow: the start, in line with your nose; the arch, in line with the pupil; and the tail, which lines up with the diagonal from the outer nostril to the outer eye.
• Once you’ve mapped, use an eyebrow pencil, like Maybelline’s Brow Ultra Slim Micro-definer pencil,l to trace the outline of your ideal brow shape, and fill in any gaps from your natural shape.
• Make sure to pluck any eyebrow hairs that fall outside of your traced look for a smooth and angled finish.
• If you’re after a natural shape, avoid overplucking and overfilling your brows to minimise the appearance of your makeup.

What Does It Mean to Reshape Your Eyebrows?

Before we start, let's quickly go over what it means to reshape your eyebrows.

While normal grooming cleans up your natural eyebrow shape, eyebrow reshaping changes it completely. Eyebrow reshaping uses mapping, selective hair removal, and eyebrow makeup to change the look of your brows and create a shape that suits and shows off your face.

How to Reshape Eyebrows

Step 1: Map Your Brows

The first step in eyebrow reshaping is to map your brows.

Eyebrow mapping is a bit of an art form and may take a while to get right, but it’s an essential part of reshaping and makes sure that the shape you pick suits your face.

Use an eyebrow pencil, like Maybelline’s Brow Ultra Slim Micro-definer pencil, to find the start, middle, and end of where your eyebrows should be. Do this by placing the pencil on the outer edge of your nostrils and marking:

• Where the pencil intersects with the outer corner of your eye, for the end of the brow.
• Where the pencil passes your pupil: for where the arch should be.
• Where the pencil (when placed vertically) intersects with your eyebrow: for where the brow should begin.

Connect these 3 dots to create a basic sketch of your ideal eyebrow shape. Repeat the process for both sides, making sure to keep the eyebrow shapes similar, but not totally identical.

Step 2: Clean Up Stray Hairs

After you’ve sketched your brow shape, you can start to clean up stray hairs. Pluck any hairs that fall outside of your sketched brow shape, taking care not to overpluck if you’re going for a natural look.

Step 3: Trim Long Hairs

When you sculpt brows, it’s important to trim long hairs as well as stray ones. Pluck any unnaturally long hairs, taking care not to overpluck, and stay within your shaped eyebrow lines.

Step 4: Shape the Brow Line

After plucking, it’s time to start using your chosen brow pencil.

Use a brow pencil, like Maybelline’s Tattoo Brow 36H pencil, to shape your brow line, following the outline of your mapping sketch. Make sure to use a matching shade to your natural colour, and use a mirror to keep track of your progress and make sure you stick to your mapped shape.

Step 5: Fill and Define

Finally, finish sculpting your brows by filling in gaps created by your outline. Use a brow pencil, like our Build-A-Brow 2 easy steps Eyebrow Pencil and Gel, to colour gaps and define your new eyebrow shape.

How to Change Your Eyebrow Shape With a Pencil

If you’re new to reshaping eyebrows, there are a few eyebrow shaping tips and tricks you should know to make sure you get the most out of your eyebrow pencil.

Fill Sparse Areas to Rebalance Shape

After mapping your eyebrow and drawing its outline, you’ll probably find that some gaps between your natural brow and sculpted brow have appeared. In order to make your brows appear natural and the new shape balanced, fill in these gaps using your brow pencil, sticking as closely as you can to your drawn outline.

Adjust the Arch and Tail with a Pencil

When you sculpt brows, you may find that your natural brow’s arch or your mapped arch is too sharp or defined for you. You can use light strokes of your brow pencil to soften sharp angles and make your brow appear more gently sloped. If you prefer sharper angles, you can also shape eyebrows with harsher, longer strokes.

The same goes for your brow’s tail. While we’d recommend ending your brow at the point where the corner of your eye and brow line up, you can use your brow pencil to shorten or lengthen this depending on the look/shape you’re going for.

How to Fix Uneven Eyebrows

Uneven brows can happen to anyone. Whether you’ve mapped wrong or just have asymmetrical brows naturally, there are a few ways you can sculpt brows to make things appear more consistent. Remember, though, brows are siblings, not twins, so don’t go overboard trying to make perfectly mirrored brows.

• Trim carefully: When it comes to trimming, less is more. Start small and aim to keep your trimming consistent across both brows so they are a similar size and shape.
• Keep your arch consistent: While your brows don’t have to be (and often shouldn’t be) exactly the same shape, your arch should be consistently placed. In most cases, aim to keep your arch around ⅔ of the way along your eyebrow.
• Use a brow pencil to fill in: Where there’s major differences between your brows, use Maybelline’s Brow Ultra Slim Micro-definer pencil to fill in gaps and keep your look consistent.
• Let them grow: If you’ve been reshaping your brows a lot and can’t seem to get their shapes even, it may be worth taking a break and allowing them to fill out a little bit before you start to sculpt again. A more even base could make defining shapes simpler.

Common Eyebrow Shaping Mistakes to Avoid

Learning how to sculpt eyebrows is a process, and as with any process, there’ll be mistakes along the way. Here are a few common eyebrow shaping mistakes to look out for as you get used to reshaping:

• Overplucking: When you’re learning to sculpt eyebrows, it’s tempting to start plucking and not stop. Overplucking is one of the main reasons brows end up looking uneven or unnatural, as too much hair loss means you rely too heavily on your eyebrow pencil. To avoid this, keep plucking strictly to where it is most needed.
• Overfilling: Too much eyebrow makeup can create an unnatural-looking result, regardless of how close a match your shade may be. Use makeup to enhance your natural brows, not to replace them.
• Overdrawing: When it’s time to sculpt eyebrows, mapping does most of the work for us. Try to keep your brows within the rough framework given to you by your eyebrow map, and don’t overdraw.
• Harsh lines: Harsh, bold lines are great for angled, defined eyebrows, but not so much for natural-looking brows. If you’re looking for something more seamless, keep the strokes of your eyebrow pen light and short, and avoid long straight lines.

Sculpt Your Dream Brows with Maybelline

Whether you’re after a dramatic, daring arch or a natural-looking straight brow, Maybelline’s brow pens and gels have you covered. With a range of shades that can suit almost any hair colour, Maybelline is the perfect choice for reshaping brows and reframing your eyes.

Discover Maybelline’s Eyebrow Makeup Range