How often should I tweeze my eyebrows?

Eyebrows aren't always cooperative. They get too bushy, they grow in the wrong direction, and sometimes they even form the dreaded unibrow. Whatever the case may be, people spend a lot of time and money to keep them under control. There's waxing, eyebrow threading and even laser hair removal, none of which comes cheap. One of the most common techniques is tweezing. The results aren't permanent like laser hair removal, but they are comparable to waxing and come at a fraction of the price. You can buy a pair of tweezers at the store for less than a couple of dollars.

Tweezing works a lot like waxing. The big difference, however, is that you have to pluck individual hairs when you tweeze instead of yanking out a bunch all at the same time. Both techniques work by pulling hair out of the hair follicle at the root. That's why they hurt, but it's also why they last so long. In most cases, a hair you pluck with tweezers won't grow back for at least two weeks [source: Barba]. Unless you're incredibly diligent, though, you'll probably have to pluck a few hairs every day to keep up. You'll save money by not waxing, but you also might lose time.

How often you want to tweeze your eyebrows is really up to you. It can be time consuming, so be as thorough as possible. The more careful you are, the less time you'll have to spend in front of the mirror touching up before work or a big date. For the best results, make sure you hold the skin taught and grab the hair as close to the root as possible [source: Hirsch]. Otherwise, you might end up breaking the hair off above the root, and it will grow back faster.

Tweezing is a cheap alternative to the other techniques used for shaping eyebrows. If you've got the time, it can definitely save you some money. See the links on the next page for more information on tweezing and skin care.