How To Bleach Your Brows Like Kim Kardashian and Miley Cyrus
@kimkardashian/Instagram
Kim Kardashian is known for bringing runway styles to the streets, but the latest trend she’s sporting is unexpected and risqué – she just bleached her eyebrows. The 34-year-old posted a seemingly brow-less Instagram picture from sister Kendall Jenner’s 19th birthday bash on Monday. And as if her lack of brows wasn’t apparent enough, Kim stood next to the poster child of dark arches, Cara Delevingne, to highlight her beaming, unobstructed forehead. While Kardashian insisted, #DontBeScaredOfMyBleachedBrows because #ItsForAPhotoShoot, we can’t help but think that Kim was subconsciously trying to fit in with Kendall and her slew of model BFFs who’ve bleached their brows in the past for fashion week.
Though a recent study published by Gettysburg College observed that the more people’s brow color fades, the older others perceive them to be – when the features were more defined, the face was rated as younger 93 percent of the time – women continue to part with their dark arches. Models who walked the Alexander Wang, Marc Jacobs, and Givenchy runway shows exhibited the trend. They’ve also made an appearance – or lack thereof – on the streets. Chloë Sevigny, Kelly Osbourne, Lady Gaga, and Miley Cyrus are among some other celebrities to try bleach too. And on Tuesday, Die Antwoord’s Yolandi Visser (who’s the original “invisibrow” enthusiast) shared a video for “Ugly Boy” featuring a handful of her famous friends singing, rapping, and dancing sans brows.
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This jarring look could be considered a form of rebellion to traditional beauty, but that isn’t a bad thing, according to celebrity makeup artist and beauty expert Sarah Uslan. “Bleached brows give a grungier vibe and I think we are having such a throwback moment to that grunge era,” she tells Yahoo Style. “When I’m on a photo shoot and I bleach a brow, all of a sudden it makes everything else more interesting. I think that’s having a moment. People are wanting to look more interesting.”
But if the idea of bleach in the immediate vicinity of your eye doesn’t sound appealing, opt for the faux-bleached brow. Joey Maalouf, a celebrity makeup artist based in Los Angeles, Calif., suggests doing the following: Use Makeup Forever full coverage concealer (in your skin color) with a disposable mascara wand, apply the product to the wand, and brush your brows in an upward motion. Let it set for two minutes and repeat. Uslan, who has worked with celebrities like Rachel Zoe and Nicole Scherzinger, also suggests using a rough bristle brush, blonde brow concealer, and blonde gel for short-term lightening. But she warns that this might not do the trick.
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“Any time you lighten brows without bleaching them, you’re adding a texture – whether adding gel or cream – so if you don’t want the texture you have to bleach the brow completely.”
But there is an absolute method to the madness of bleaching eyebrows. Because bleach is such a strong product and eyebrow hair is so fine, you could run the risk of potentially burning off the hair. Or, if the bleach is removed too soon, the hair can go orange. So it needs to be left on for just the right amount of time to get optimal results. Renowned makeup artist, Violette, who’s known for playing with different textures and products, says coating the skin prior to bleaching may help.
"Some models have to bleach them very often. Some of them have their brows fall out, so they have holes," Violette tells Yahoo Style. "What we do is apply a lot of Homéoplasmine on the skin. Then every three minutes we check how the hair goes. So we leave the product on the eyebrows as less as possible."
It’s an interesting time as more and more unconventional notions of beauty are being embraced. As Uslan explains, “Kim Kardashian fits the classic standard beauty trend that’s been happening for ages – that ‘glam’ look – so I love that she’s hopefully going to impact other celebrities and show them that they can be daring instead of ‘glam;’ that they can be edgier.”
