Joey Healy - Brow Guru

Joey Healy is one of the warmest, funniest, chattiest (in a good way!) and talented makeup artists I know.  He specializes in brows and has LOTS of opinions on them J!  Joey has an AMAZING line of brow products at www.joeyhealy.com and is crazy good at shaping brows.   

So Joey, what is the biggest mistake women make with their eyebrows?

Where do we start?!  A lot of women completely over analyze things by getting magnifying mirrors, getting way too close, and they over pluck.  They take way too much.  You have to “step away from the mirror”.  Your brows are sisters, not twins.  Symmetry is really important but if you’re always striving for perfect symmetry you’re going to over pluck.

What are your thoughts on tweezing vs. waxing?  Threading?

Waxing – has chemicals, you can get burned and you can’t (or your shouldn’t) do it if you’re on Retin A, have a sunburn or are irritated.  Waxing is good for indiscriminately removing a large area of hair – on your legs for example – not for shaping precise areas.  Also, if you have an event you should not wax your brows day-of because your foundation won’t adhere to your skin for 24 hours post waxing – you’ve removed a layer of skin.  And lastly, sometimes people double dip in wax which is just gross.

Threading – threading is an amazing ancient practice, and when done right, it’s beautiful.  People who go over to India and the Middle East to train are amazing.  The problem is, not everyone is good at it and you can get really patchy work (literally) from someone who isn’t experienced.  It’s less sanitary because of the whole string in the mouth thing and can leave you red but I find it be much better than waxing.

How do you pick the right color of pencil/powder for your brows?

It’s admittedly hard to do which is why I give explicit product directions on my website when people are shopping.  Generally speaking you should match your eyebrows, not the hair on your head (unless you’re a redhead and then you should match your hair).  If you want a vampy/pinup look go darker, if you want something lighter bleach your brow and then use something soft on top. 



 

Generally you want harmony with the color and ashy tones work best for blonds/light brunettes.  Put it in your brows and wait 5 minutes for it to oxidize – then judge the color.

Speaking of pencils and powders, how do you know which to choose?

For thicker, more dense brows that are complete on their own, powder is better.  It just amps up the volume.  If you need to “fake it” more, then pencil is good to crispen up an arch or taper your tail (end of the brow).  So you may use one of the other or both if your arches are full and tails are thin.

If someone has patchiness in their eyebrows is there anything they can do to grow the hair back?

I actually have a brow enhancing serum that totally works.  If you’re over plucked, over waxed or just unlucky it is perfect.  It’s also great because as we age people lose brow hair and this product was developed to help it grow back using great ingredients.  The formula is one of the only paraben free ones on the market and is full of hyaluronic acid which binds moisture to the skin.  The key ingredient though are the penta-peptides which are a chain of five amino acids that stimulate the dormant hair follicles and help them to grow.

Seriously?

Yes!  I use it day and night.  You have to use it religiously AM/PM for the first six weeks and then nightly afterwards.  But if you do that you WILL see results in 2-3 weeks.  Not only does it grow your brows, it deep conditions your existing brows so they’ll be thick and shiny.

Amazing!  Okay – what are your tips for at-home tweezing?

1 – Don’t use a magnifying mirror.  Your brows don’t grow in straight rows like little soldiers and using a mirror will make you over pluck.

2 – Exercise patience and keen judgment – fill them in and see if it’s good enough. 

3 – Be as objective as possible – know that it is hard to have perspective on your own brows.  If you’re not sure about something, STOP, and come back to it the next day. 

4 – Use good tweezers – sharp and slanted.

5 – Use witch hazel to clean your skin before you start plucking.

6 – If you need to trim (and chances are good that you do) go to a pro for a lesson.  Trimming and tweezing go together. 

Thanks Joey!!

All makeup done by Joey Healy

Auri ~ here's what Joey had to say about your excellent question:
Hi Auri! The best product I've found on the market for dealing with ingrown
hairs is Tend Skin. A little of the product on a cotton ball post-plucking
should solve your problem. Also, always pluck hair in the direction of hair
growth and use good tweezers to make a clean pull - not breaking the hair in
half but getting it out at the root. Hope that helped!