eyebrows...threading vs. waxing

[ladycattat]

Do any of you that have experienced both eyebrow threading and eyebrow waxing care to weigh in on the experience? I have been getting my brows waxed for years, since I am totally unable to tweeze my own brows without massive pain. The last time I had my brows done was about 6 months ago, and the gal that did it managed to take a chunk of hair right out of the middle of the arch, totally messing it up. I have been waiting for my brows to finally grow back(with a teensy bit of help from the Eyelash gel), and they are finally ready. I have found a couple salons by my new house that do threading....and surprise, surprise, it's actually less expensive than getting them waxed.
I have to tell you, though.....the process does not look pleasant AT ALL, and it looks like it would take a longer time than just stick and rip. YAH, KNOW.
SO, anyway, if anybody has any advice, let me know. I am getting together with a bunch of my old HS friends in a week, and want to look my best.
Thanks,
Laurie

[Xarata]

i haven't had it done, but my aunt used to have it done all the time. It's supposed to be very quick for things like lip hair, chin hair, etc. I don't know about brows, but the women who do it are very skilled at it.

eta: I googled and found this link: http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-eyebrow-threading.htm
It has a lot of reviews by women who say they are generally much happier with the shape of their eyebrows and that while it is painful the first time you go, the pain level should be similar to waxing or tweezing. You do have to hold your skin taut for the technician.

eta: okay, so you got me curious- naturally i went and tried a tutorial. I generally don't trust myself with my eyebrows and leave them alone, but there is another sensitive skin area that plagues me- the bikini line! I generally shave my bikini line- i've tried tweezing several times, but it's slow going and excruciatingly painful so i stick to shaving. I tried threading this area, and while I honestly don't have the patience for threading myself, i can say that i would pay to have it done if there's a technician out there that does bikini lines and/or underarms. My little experiment was much faster, and much MUCH less painful than tweezing. It kind of feels like being pinched. I have never waxed and probably never will (i've seen too many friends with lost skin or painful burns that were done by professionals), but I would thread, I might take the time to really learn threading.

[kinjali22]

I thread my brows and love it! But I have never waxed my brows so I can't comment on which is better. Threading gets all the little hairs around the brows and makes them look really clean. And if you have a good threader, you'll have the best shaped eyebrows.

But I have to put a little warning out there and let you know that it will hurt the first time. I find that if you pull your skin taut while they're threading it doesn't hurt as much. And after getting it threaded a couple of times, it doesn't hurt at all. Let us know if you get it done!

[feyith]

I keep being told by makeup artists that they wish threading hadn't been invented because it's more painful and not as sanitary as waxing. I'm not sure why though.

[kinjali22]

I keep being told by makeup artists that they wish threading hadn't been invented because it's more painful and not as sanitary as waxing. I'm not sure why though.

Hmm, a new thread is used each time, so I wonder why they said that? It is painful the first couple of times, but oh so worth it

[superwahz]

I've had threading done, as well as waxing and plucking... Full disclosure though, I have relatively thin brows (the outer third is virtually non-existent) and very sensitive skin. My problem is the tiny baby fine light hairs that are on my face that never grow into anything useful, just hang around catching powders and generally annoying me. Those are useless to try and pluck, waxing helps some, threading completely took them off.

My mom has her brows threaded regularly and prefers it to waxing. She said if you get the right person, it's not painful at all, just feels like some slight pinching. When I had it done though, the woman who did mine was very rough. It was at the same place my Mom goes (she wanted to "treat" me to it while I was visiting on vacation), but not the woman who does hers. It was painful. Not much worse than plucking though. The problem is, when they don't pull the skin taunt across the brow, they end up pinching your skin!!! Since I have sensitive skin, and a very sensitive brow area, it hurt. Once I reached up and pulled the skin super taunt for her, the pain was much less. The whole area was red for an hour afterwards, and it triggered one of the vascular migraines I get from issues with my jaw/trigeminal nerve. Plus, I was on my period to boot, bad time to have hair removal done!

Overall though, my brows looked MUCH nicer than when I've had them waxed, and the effects lasted longer. Since they trim them while threading, everything comes out looking very smooth and beautifully sculpted. Much more precise than the slap and rip of waxing! I think on women with darker brows the effect would be even more beautiful and dramatic. And even though the woman was rough, at worst I had a headache and pissed off skin...which I get even if I wax or pluck. But, my skin wasn't burned, and no one ripped off the half of my eyebrow that actually grows! I'd love to find someone in my area that does threading...and does it well. I also happen to think it's more sanitary than wax, you never know how long that pot has been sitting there.

[zeebs]

I have friends who swear by threading. I have never done either (for my brows) because I pluck them. From what I understand, threading is no more painful than waxing and produces superior results.

[Ladybug914]

I have had my brows waxed for years, but recently tried threading and I prefer it to waxing. I don't break out after threading like I used to after waxing. I was hesitant at first, because I am a total wimp when it comes to pain (I cannot tolerate plucking more than the very occasional stray hair), but the lady at the place at the mall did a little trial on my brow and it really isn't any worse than waxing. I have my brows and my upper lip done.

[sewwies]

I've never has my eyebrows waxed but always get them threaded! The pains no worse than plucking and you do get lovely lines. Unfortunately the last lady to do mine got them a little wonky and because they take from the top and the bottom it's harder to cover up.

[ladycattat]

Well. I went and did it...threading I mean.
I went Friday morning so in case there was any redness it would go away by the time I met up with my girlfriends.
The place I went was very small, but threading is their main service.
COST: it cost me $9.00 plus a $2.00 tip. that is about the same it costs for waxing.
TIME: it took about 10-15 minutes, about twice the time it takes to wax.
PAIN: this was my first time, so yah, it was a little uncomfortable....like ripping pinches. Sorta like when you get your skin caught in a zipper and you rip it out. She had me pull my skin taut, and hold it, and that was a kind of a P.I.T.A..made my arms tired.
RESULTS: looks great! The brows are a tiny bit thinner than usual, but not skinny by any means. They look very elegant and polished, and I didn't feel like I needed to *groom them* afterwards. They already looked pretty perfect.

They recommend getting them done every 2-3 weeks. I would probably go 4-6; but I have to see how quickly this grows out.

Thank you all for your advise and wisdom....none of my friends IRL have had this done, but I knew I'd come to the right place!

xx,
Laurie