Brow Glossary

Measuring and marking your face before shaping, so your brows suit your features. Your brow artist looks at where each brow should start, arch and finish, and how the two balance.

Removing stray hairs to create a neat, defined shape. It can be done with wax, threading or tweezers, and many clients have a mix of all three.

A dye that adds colour to your brow hairs so they look fuller and more defined. A skin test is usually needed at least 48 hours before, and rules on tinting near the eyes vary between countries.

A plant based tint that stains both the brow hairs and the skin underneath, giving a fuller, softly filled look. The stain on the skin fades sooner than the colour on the hairs.

A treatment that softens and resets your brow hairs so they sit upwards and outwards in a brushed up, fuller shape. Results usually last around six to eight weeks.

Styling products used at home to hold your brows in place. Clear formulas set the shape, while tinted ones add a little colour.

Soft, full, brushed up brows with a natural, textured finish. Lamination or a styling gel often creates the look.

A brushed up, feathery style first created by coating the brow hairs in clear soap and brushing them upwards. Today brow gels and lamination give a similar effect.

Brows with a soft, hair like texture, created by brushing hairs into place or by fine hair strokes in semi permanent brows.

Full, strongly defined brows with deeper colour and a clear shape.

A light tidy and soft shaping that keeps your own shape, with little or no added colour.

A hand tool with a row of fine needles is used to place pigment into the skin in fine, hair like strokes. It creates a natural looking brow that lasts for months, with top ups to keep it fresh.

A machine with a single fine needle places pigment in hair like strokes. Many artists find it suits a wider range of skin types. Read our Nano Brows treatment guide.

Pigment is shaded into the skin to give a soft, filled in, makeup like finish. When the colour fades from lighter at the front to deeper at the tail, it is often called ombré brows.

A mix of hair strokes and shading in one brow, for definition with a fuller finish.

Straight after treatment, semi permanent brows look darker and sharper than the final result. They soften and settle over the following weeks, and the healed result is what you will wear day to day.

A follow up appointment several weeks after your first treatment, once your skin has healed, to refine the shape and strengthen any lighter areas.

A top up appointment, often every year or so, to refresh colour as the pigment fades.

The colour used in semi permanent brows. Your artist chooses a shade to suit your hair colour and skin tone, and how it heals can vary from skin to skin.

Treatments that lighten or remove old brow tattoo work, such as laser or saline lightening. Read our Saline Brow Tattoo Removal guide.