Colonel Cator's Grooming Regimen Lesson #14: Just Browsing

Tired of that unibrow? Our expert shows us how to reap the benefits of a tweezer.

Last session, our in-house grooming specialist, Colonel Cator Sparks, gave us tips on travel products . In today's lesson, he teaches us the fundamentals and benefits of a tweezer.

I know I’m treading on more thin ice here by bringing this subject up, but seriously, do you want to look like a Ewok for the rest of your life?

Grooming your eyebrows ain’t no sissy thing. Some of you lucky chaps don’t ever need to touch them since they never grow out of bounds, but some of us (me included, thanks Greek ancestors!) need to take control of this situation when the unibrow forms and starts going into your hairline.

But don’t fret, nobody should really notice if you do it subtly. We aren’t aiming for drag queen brows, just a little maintenance.

I reached out to Sania Vucetaj who owns Sania’s Brow Bar here in Manhattan. She is so well-known that she was hired to tweeze up a storm at the VMA’s and plucked Panic at the Disco and Fall Out Boy to name a few.

What are the pluses of plucking?

Because the one thing men can visually do to make themselves look younger (because they obviously don't wear makeup, hardly dye their hair, and most, thank goodness, do not get fillers), is by grooming their brows.

So what should he do?

A man should stay a man, so first off, he wants to keep them as natural looking as possible, with NO arch. Never get your brows threaded or waxed because they will always shape too much, and you will look feminine.  

Tweezing is the best way because you pull a little at a time, so it avoids taking off too much. The biggest mistake men make is to separate the center too much.  It looks extremely awkward, think Drake—though he is handsome and extremely talented.

Any tricks to tweezing?

Your brows should start aligned with the top bridge of your nose (hold a thin object to measure (Use the handle of your tweezers).  The brow should be straight from top and underneath.  The back end will wind up being a slight higher but in a gradual way; this will give a nice lift, and a clean look.  You want  to keep them clean but natural (think Ed Westick).

Then take a small flat tip scissors and a plain mascara wand. You brush upwards with the brush, and snip straight across (a little at a time), but make sure you don't cut too short because this will make them look very thin, and fall downwards.  

Never let a barber buzz your brows because this will give an uneven botchy look (and will cause the brows to grow in faster, longer). 

Some men use moisturizer, but make sure nothing gets into the brows because this will make hairs fall out, and cause sparseness.

To achieve better brows, use these products that Sania recommends:

Stainless Steel Tweezerman Slant Tip Tweezers
Buy It Now at Amazon, $18
“These are really the only ones I like to use because other tweezers can break hairs as you pull, and can hurt more because the grip isn't great.”

Revlon's Safety Scissors are great for clipping eyebrow hairs as Sania recommends.
Buy It Now at Amazon, $10

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