Secrets of Eyebrow Mapping
As the popularity for eyebrow enhancing treatments continues to rise and the growing desire for the “clean girl aesthetic”, beauty professionals such as yourself, may need to keep up with the demand.
The process of enhancing eyebrows often involves brow mapping, a customized shaping technique that creates perfectly symmetrical eyebrows for each individual client. While it may not be the most visually captivating or interesting part in social media videos, its importance cannot be overlooked. Not only is eyebrow mapping crucial in creating the ideal brow structure to enhance natural beauty, but clients will trust you to achieve their desired results through your expert knowledge. For artists seeking to enhance their skill set by adding eyebrow treatments, or want to learn more about eyebrow mapping, this blog will provide comprehensive guidance on the step by step process of mastering the art of eyebrows.
Why is eyebrow mapping important?
Eyebrow mapping is essentially a blueprint showing the best path for eyebrows based on the proportions of one’s face. If we were to map two different faces, it is highly likely the resulting path will look completely different, despite using the same technique. Brow mapping is essential for preventing an unflattering shape being drawn that could actually work against the facial features.
Specifically for the artist, it allows them to stay within the lines, and avoid over tweezing or waxing the hairs, providing a clear guide to follow along.
Mapping will also help identify any unwanted areas the current brow hair might be covering, helping you decide where to keep and where to remove any hairs.
How to complete an eyebrow mapping?
To begin the process of eyebrow mapping, you can use tools such as brow rulers, mapping string or paste, eyebrow pencils, and professional eyebrow brushes.
For the sake of simplicity, we will use the following in our example:
- Eyebrow pencil
- Eyebrow brush or ruler
The eyebrow anatomy is divided into 4 components which is the head, body, arch and tail. These will be the main reference points for mapping.
Then, connect the vertical markers of your client’s eyebrows by drawing parallel horizontal lines from front to front, arch to arch, and tail to tail.
4) Finally, draw the rest of the eyebrow shape by connecting the points that were just marked.
What is the best eyebrow mapping tool?
There are a variety of eyebrow mapping tools to help with the brow mapping process. With so many different options available, one tool isn’t necessarily enough, and will usually come down to personal preference that may be more ergonomically comfortable for the user. Regardless, these tools will still achieve the same results in the end.
Let’s look at each individual tool a little bit closer:
Brow Mapping String
Mapping string is an essential tool for all brow and PMU artists and provides precise lines and strong pigment that will help you to create perfectly symmetrical brows. The string easily glides onto the skin, leaving crisp lines, easily marking the reference points.
Our Flex Beauty Mapping String is ultra thin and easily glides onto the skin, leaving crisp lines every time. The glass bottle provides a secure environment for the thread, protecting it from drying out. The integrated cutter allows for precise measurement and effortless trimming with minimal mess.
Golden Ratio Brow Rulers
Golden Ratio Ruler provides precise measurements for ensuring the length and distances are accurate. These brow rulers are based on the golden ratio rule which approximately equals to 1.618 or the rule of thirds. This rule is a naturally occurring sequence of numbers that can be found everywhere such as in nature, art, music etc. The golden ratio represents symmetry, balance and harmony.
Caliper Tools
This sliding gauge ruler is designed with a precise scale range of 0-150 mm (0-6 inches), and features both two units of inch and mm for accurate measurement and convenience. It is the ultimate tool for achieving perfect symmetry, measuring precise length, and determining the thickness of the eyebrows on all face shapes.
With the Flex Beauty Caliper Tool, you can precisely map the arch, tail, and bulb of each eyebrow, leading to flawlessly symmetrical and custom brows for your clients. This tool enables precise measurement of the outer and inner diameter, as well as depth, effortlessly meeting your specific beauty or other needs of measurement.
Brow Paste
Eyebrow pastes are specifically designed for the brow area that will help to outline the eyebrows with a brush or applicator. Brow paste is ideal for creating a precise eyebrow contour, ensuring that the coloration stays within the lines without staining the skin.
The Nikk Mole Brow Paste is the world's first patented Brow Paste. This creamy paste will glide on the skin, creating the shape of your clients dreams while allowing the customer to visualize the end results. Due to its smooth texture it is extremely easy to apply and a small amount is enough, making it super cost efficient.
Mapping Pens
Brow mapping pens can come in a variety of different textures. One example would be a mapping pen with gel ink. Our Flex Beauty Brow Mapping Gel Pen is designed specifically for shaping eyebrows before the brow lamination, tinting or permanent makeup procedure. It features a fine tip perfect for creating smooth and precise lines, helping to determine the ideal shape of the eyebrows. These pens are made with skin friendly ink that easily glides on the skin, and usually does not require an additional application tool.
Another style would be the a brow paste in a pencil format that eliminates the need for a brush application tool to directly apply the paste. The Nikk Mole Brow Mapping Pencil is velvety and smooth, creating the perfect brow shape with minimal pressure. It comes in a beautiful golden case with an angled brush to help perfect, apply, blend and clean the paste. The paste can be easily removed from the skin with the help of the brush or moisture.
Brow Pencils
Eyebrow pencils can serve as a versatile 2 in 1 product for both shaping, marking reference points or filling in eyebrows for makeup application. The ergonomic handle facilitates precise outlining of a predefined eyebrow shape in order to achieve perfect dye application.
The Elan Powder Eyebrow Pencil is a long-wear pencil with a powder formula that glides on easily and is perfect for shaping, filling in and defining the eyebrows. This versatile eyebrow pencil can be used as part of the daily makeup routine or as one of the eyebrow shaping and tinting procedure steps using the Elan eyebrow tints.
Wooden Cotton Applicators
The long cotton design and thick head make these applicators perfect for removing a heavy amount of tint around the brow area after dye application, or cleaning the skin of makeup residues. The Flex Beauty Wooden Long Cotton Applicators features a compact, rounded end made of non linting cotton, ensuring no loose fibers will interrupt your removal process while refining the perimeter of the eyebrow.
Freehand Mapping
The freehanded technique may be a direct contrast to the golden ratio method that emphasizes perfect proportions and symmetry. However, for some brow artists the freehand technique may be the favoured option to create a highly customized brow shape for your client. To achieve the freehand technique, you can use tools such as mapping string or mapping pastes/pencils without the use of brow rulers to create your very own desired brow shape.
What are some of the current eyebrow mapping trends?
As with any service, the beauty industry loves to evolve and there is no shortage of creative ideas coming from our lovely brow masters. Here are a few brow mapping trends that have caught our eyes recently:
1) Using a mix of different colours for mapping pastes, gel pens or mapping string on a different section of the eyebrow. For example, using one colour on the top of the eyebrow, and using a different colour on the bottom of the eyebrow. Who says you have to use the same colour for the entire mapping process? There are no rules in creating unique custom colour combinations where it could either fit your aesthetic style or simply want to add a pop of colour to your day. Nevertheless, the use of fun, colourful hues can easily grab the audience’s attention. (As seen on @_chateaudebelle)
2) The use of mapping string ink to create a barrier border. This technique maximizes the use of the ink by smudging the ink outwards in the surrounding area of the brow. This extra layer of ink around the brow will create a protective barrier during the tint/ dye application so it does stain the surrounding skin. This application process can be faster as it achieves the mapping step as well as applying the border at the same time. (As seen on @browrenaissanceacademy)
3) Using brow stencils can provide a quick application of shaping/drawing on the eyebrows if time may be an issue. Brow stencils are used in the highly popular air brush brows method, but it could technically be used on everyone. It would be a matter of applying the right eyebrow shape on your client, or this can provide the opportunity to test the right eyebrow shape without having to go through the brow shaping process which can be time consuming.
4) The use of an app on mobile or tablet can be useful for practicing the mapping technique if you are just starting out. It can also be used to pre draw brows on your clients before the actual procedure. It provides the opportunity to correct any mistakes, or simply testing out the look and showing your client what the final result could like.
The Brow designer app is available for android and IOS users. It is the ultimate brow shaping tool. The app is designed based on workflows and experience of PMU artists with the goal of creating the best possible brows. The AI powered app automatically maps eyebrows onto a face, then allows you to customize the size, shape, and position to create your desired look. (@browdesigner_app)
Conclusion
Brow mapping is a technique that is easy to learn, but may require some investment In terms of time, or financially by signing up for a course or class. However, the knowledge can be a valuable skill to possess in order to expand your service horizons if you’re not already offering brow treatments. With the continuous rise of brow enhancements, learning the fundamentals and basics will allow you to constantly experiment with the new trends and attract new clientele to your business.
