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3 best eyebrow treatments on the high street

Don’t know your microblading from your brow extensions? We’ve got you – Healthista picks three best High Street eyebrow treatments for your every need

When it comes to giving out brows a makeover, it’s not that easy to know where to begin. So we’ve tried and tested three eyebrow treatments that you need to know about if your eyebrows need a little bit of TLC. Here’s our handy guide to help you find out which eyebrow treatment would be the best pick for you.

Best for a natural look:

Benefit brows

The Benefit brow wax is a quick way to flatter your brows and give them your preferred colour and benefit brows pic 2, 3 best eyebrow treatments you need to know for a brow transformation by healthistashape.  Whether you’re searching for eye-opening arches or a little extra lift in your overall look, Benefit claim to leave you looking polished, pretty and put-together. Every brow service begins with Benefit’s signature technique, Brow Mapping: a 3-step custom technique that identifies the perfect shape on any face. And according to the beauty company, their tint takes to even your super fine hairs, leaving each eyebrow looking more full. Healthista’s digital director, Yanar Alkayat had her brows transformed at the Benefit bar.

Benefit brows cost between £14.50–£21.50 for a wax and £11.50–£23.50 for tinting. 

Healthista reviews

It’s never a chore getting your brows done at Benefit, what with the party music (brilliant 80s compilation when I was there), the fun makeup and the playful interiors it’s like a trip to the tuck shop with a pocket full of money. For the purposes of this story, I’d endured three weeks of eyebrow hair growth and felt like two hairy slugs had taken up residency on my face. I couldn’t wait for a transformation.

My Benefit Brow girl was Sarah who firstly listened to my brow needs – we agreed on the thickness, height of arch and overall look before we got started. Sarah then marked out the brow shape in pencil and then applied the tint. Even though my brows are dark Sarah says a tint helps to define the shape and darken smaller, finer hairs.

I love how Sarah was able to keep the thickness of the brow from edge to edge along with a high arch.

Don’t worry you won’t be left looking like a clown – a few minutes later the tint is wiped off ready for shaping. There is no threading at Benefit so all shaping is done by wax and then some fine tuning with tweezers. The wax is non-allergenic which is great for me as I’m allergic to some sticky substances including some hair removal waxes.

Sarah talked through the shape again before swooping in and this regular dialogue is something I like about the Benefit service, rather than leaving you nervously wondering what shape you’re going to end up with.

Yanar before and after eyebrows, 3 best eyebrow treatments you need to know for a transformation by healthista
Before and after the Benefit brow treatment

The verdict

I love how Sarah was able to keep the thickness of the brow from edge to edge along with a high arch. The home maintenance has been the easiest ever too – I just use a few slicks of Benefit Goof Proof eyebrow pencil or Precisely, my brow eyebrow pencil for a stronger look. I used to be addicted to threading but fell out of love with it as the shape never felt like it followed the natural movement of my brow so the upkeep was always an effort. I feel this service is perfect for girls who like a natural but still polished and groomed look.

MORE: The expert’s guide to celebrity eyebrows

Best for natural but long-lasting:

Tracie Giles 3D brows

Micro-blading has been a big beauty buzz word for a while now. It’s a practice that originated in the Far East and uses a hand-held blade to implant light strokes of pigment into your skin to give you shapely and fuller looking eyebrows. But micro-blading is old news now – make way for the new semi-permanent brow treatment, 3D brows. They use a similar technology but the treatment was developed specially by the Tracie Giles clinic (she has done the brows of Made In Chelsea‘s Louise Thomson and Loose Women‘s Andrea Maclean) and uses a device that is similar to a tattooing gun to paint fine hairs onto your eyebrows, drawing individual hairs into the skin using a microscopic needle. Healthista writer, Parisa Hashempour, has tried and tested the 3D brow treatment at Tracie Giles semi-permanent makeup salon in Kensington.

Tracie Giles 3D brows start from £495 and are available at the Tracie Giles salon in Kensington. 

Tracie giles outside, 3 best eyebrow treatments you need to know for a brow transformation by healthista
Our tester had her 3D brow treatment at the Tracie Giles makeup salon in Kensington

Healthista reviews

As I sat on a chair and waited in the Tracie Giles salon I was growing ever-more nervous. Was this going to hurt? The fact that the procedure is carried out with what is basically a tattoo gun had me feeling a little on edge. When I first went into the treatment room, semi-permanent makeup artist, Tilly King helped me to figure out what shape I would like to have. She drew the shape onto my skin with a pen and once a few adjustments were made, Tilly applied the anaesthetic. ‘Will it hurt?’ I tentatively asked her. She told me it was just a bit scratchy and that although it hurt a little at first, after the second layer of anaesthetic was applied some clients had been known to fall asleep.

She told me that her past clients have included those with alopecia or people that have had chemotherapy.

This put my mind at ease a little and as I lay down on the treatment bed the ex-body tattooist explained that her work at Tracie Giles could be extremely rewarding, telling me that her past clients have included those with alopecia or people that have had chemotherapy.

microblading 1, 3 best eyebrow treatments you need to know if you're looking for a transformation by healthista
Before and after my 3D brow treatment

She applied the anaesthetic to my brows and we waited for it to start to go numb. After a short wait, she began to draw on the first layer. The pigments used at Tracie Giles are made from organic and inorganic materials – Tilly explained to me that this meant it was basically like a mineral makeup, only underneath your skin. After the first layer of pigment, the second layer of anaesthetic was applied. On a scale of one to ten, I would say the pain was about a five. It was scratchy and uncomfortable but not unbearable.

The needle hurt more on some areas than others… this was where I had more nerve endings on my face.

The needle hurt more on some areas than others. Apparently, this was where I had more nerve endings on my face. Although it wasn’t horrible, I admire those people that managed to fall asleep while having the treatment done – there was no chance of that happening for me. Tilly built up the layers of pigment, drawing over the fine lines that she had drawn with the needle. In total three layers were tattooed onto my skin.  Then I was told to come back in four to six weeks time for my retouch. I was also told not to put any makeup on my eyebrows for as long as possible. After a couple of days, the skin on my eyebrows started to flake a little bit but I was warned that this would happen so I didn’t have to panic.

microblading 2, 3 best eyebrow treatments you need to know if you're looking for a transformation by healthista
Before and after Tracie Giles 3D brow treatment

The treatment took around two hours but thanks to good conversation and a fun, cheesy music playlist playing in the background it seemed to go quite quickly. Then I was told to come back in four to six weeks time for my retouch. I was also told not to put any makeup on my eyebrows for as long as possible. After a couple of days, the skin on my eyebrows started to flake a little bit but I was warned that this would happen so I didn’t have to panic. At first, my skin was quite tender and sensitive but within a week or so it had started to heal and feel more comfortable.

The verdict

All in all, I was happy with the results. I was a little apprehensive at first because the colour didn’t seem to match the colour of my eyebrow hair and I thought that the strokes were a little obvious at the front of my brow. But the colour quickly faded (after about two weeks) and my eyebrows were left looking thick, full and natural.

eyebrows after 6 weeks, best eyebrows on the high street by healthista
This is what the Tracie Giles 3D brows looked like 6 weeks later

If like me, you love to save as much time as possible in the mornings then this is the treatment for you. The thing that I loved most about this treatment was that I didn’t have to spend an age in front of the mirror every morning painstakingly painting my eyebrows on. Plus there’s no worry they might smudge away later in the day. And what I most liked about my 3D brows was that although they were long-lasting, I wasn’t committing myself to a lifetime of the same eyebrows – unlike eyebrow tattoos, they fade away after time.

I would definitely recommend this treatment to anyone looking for a long-lasting, low maintenance brow treatment. It’s amazing to be at the gym and not have to worry about leaving a line of dark brown gel across my face if I wipe my forehead. Tracie Giles suggests returning for a retouch within the first twelve weeks and then the treatment should last around 2-3 years depending on your skin type.

MORE: How to look good in winter – 9 best beauty products for tired skin

Best for definition:

High Brow Expert

The Eyelash Design Company, Lash Perfect have created a new treatment for eyebrows, Hi Brow Expert, which combines two very popular brow treatments: Lola Brows and Brow Perfect.  Lola Brows uses a personalised colour, like a dye, to fill in gaps of over-plucked eyebrows, and build a lasting shape for up to three weeks. Brow Perfect involves adhering fine hair extensions to create a brow where there may not be hair and can last up to two weeks. Healthista writer Vanessa Chalmers went to the Lash Perfect salon in London’s West End to try out the treatment.

The Hi brow expert treatment is available from £35 nationwide and £55 at the Lash Perfect Lash bar. 

lash perfect bar, 3 best eyebrow treatments you need to know for a brow makeover by healthista
Outside the Lash perfect Lash bar in London

Healthista reviews

My beautician Emma Apps took off my eyebrow makeup whilst we discussed how I like them to look. This is something I would recommend thinking hard about; I told her I liked them definitive, but what I really meant was bold. These are two different things!  Once we’d discussed preferences, such as the fact that I didn’t like an arch that was too high, and I square the centre of my brows, Emma began applying small hairs to build the texture. This is the Brow Perfect part of the treatment. She only added around 10 hairs per brow, and there wasn’t a huge difference after this step.

The bold and defined shape works well for those who want a ‘done’ look.

She then went on to mix the colour for my eyebrows. She said it was a ‘chocolate’ toned colour, which I was slightly dubious about considering I have little chocolate tones in my brunette hair and more ashy tones around my face. However, I use a ‘dark brown’ colour in makeup myself, so it wasn’t too far off.  The Lola colour was carefully painted onto the skin. Emma brushed the hairs as she worked, ensuring the hairs remained free from the product and from sticking together. Once this was done (the whole treatment took around 45 minutes), Emma tidied up the hairs that needed plucking.

The finished look was a lot more ‘defined’ than I had expected and draw myself, but they were pretty identical. Had I asked for a more faded look, I may have been able to build it up with more. Despite this being great for a defined look, a softer look can also be achieved, as seen below:

Stephanie Maylor eyebrows, 3 Best brow treatments by healthista
Stephanie Maylor achieved a softer look with the High Brow Expert treatment via Instagram @stephanie_maylor

Even though I got a lot of compliments from my colleagues I couldn’t help but feel that to me they looked a little different to my own style. I believe this is mandatory with any eyebrow treatment, as no one but yourself has the ability to draw your eyebrows how you like (even if you know the beautician has skills to draw them as they should be).

high brow expert, best 3 eyebrow treatments you need to know for a brow transformation by healthista
Left: After applying the fine hairs (see in the centre of the brow). Right: After the Lola was added

My Hi Brow Expert eyebrows were supposed to last me 2 weeks or more, with ‘break down’ after 10 days. I wasn’t allowed to use any oily skincare products too close to them, as this shortens their lifespan. After about 6 days they began to flake in the centre. I wasn’t too bothered by this, especially as without makeup they were terrifying on my face. I used the Hi Brow smoothing wax to keep my eyebrows tame, as well as the compact powder to fill in gaps as they formed, which worked a treat. It was the exact same colour and little effort needed. Until the last patches of tint remained, the powder finished the look perfectly until I was able to use my eyebrow products again.

Vanessa brow before and after, Best 3 eyebrow treatments you need to know for a brow transformation by healthista
before and after using the Hi Brow compact powder

The verdict

Overall I was happy with the results. I think Hi Brow Expert is ideal for those who wear makeup every day and want to lessen the time it takes. The bold and defined shape works well for those who like a ‘done’ look. A softer eyebrow is also achievable, but it still uses a block colour as opposed to resembling natural fine hairs. I felt the eyebrows looked far too ‘done’ and unnatural without makeup. This is due partly due to the fact they do not resemble single hairs, but a block colour.

What’s your go-to brow treatment? Let us know on Facebook, Instagram @HealthistaTV or Twitter @HealthistaTV

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