How to fill your client's eyebrows in like a pro

Q: Which techniques are best for filling in brows with make-up?

The biggest error you can make when filling in a client’s eyebrows with make-up is applying product through the full brow and camouflaging any natural hair. The trick is to follow the natural hair growth and be realistic with the silhouette.

Your client’s brows will not be identical in shape, so you need to fill in the gaps with the illusion of hair strokes, aiming for symmetry and a finish that will match the overall effect of their make-up.

I use a pencil shaper – a product with a needle-shaped tip – to sharpen my eyebrow pencils finely so that I can create these hair strokes. Brow crèmes are also good for creating shape that will last from day to night as they apply as a cream but set like a powder, ensuring a natural finish.

For special occasions that require an ultra-realistic look, I recommend clients try brow extensions because they give a 3D appearance that’s unachievable with make-up alone. They also last up to three days.

To the naked eye, you can’t tell which hairs are real and which are extensions, and it adds a new skill to your make-up offering, which in return generates new and returning clientele.

Rebecca Cathcart is the lead make-up artist for beauty brand HD Brows. She has worked on campaigns and shoots for Dior, Fendi and Grazia Arabia.