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Brows so great we've considered sticking caterpillars on our faces to match theirs

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Since the meteoric rise of the big bold brow, also known as model Cara Delevingne's bushy eyebrows and worn by favourites in SA like Amanda Du Pont, we've been growing ours.

READ MORE: I really wanted Yara Shahidi eyebrows, so I had them microbladed 

Whether naturally grown or achieved by means of brow tools/treatments, here are some tips from local bold brow-havers: 

Some, like this beauty, local filmmaker of Skin Diver, Katya Abedian has grown a natural Frida Kahlo-brow for most of her life.

She says, "Wear your brows proud. Thick or thin, light or dark - try not to touch them too much if you can. Let them be wild and free!"

your local alien ??

A post shared by Canary In The Coal Mine (@katyaabedian) on

Sarah Langa Mackay notes that "I usually use brow pencils to draw hairlike strokes on my brows so that they look fuller, but recently I have been experimenting with other options that are more practical such as micro-blading, which I get done at Fabulash International in Sandton."

Local beauty and lifestyle vlogger, Kiara Kittner says, "I naturally have dark, thick brows. With that being said, I've always placed emphasis on the way that I shape my brows. As our brows border our face, I think its very important to complement the natural shape of your own brow. I am very light on the hand when it comes to shaping because once you take too much off, it's hard to get your brows naturally thick again.

"I like to brush my brows up with a spoolie brush and then trim the hair that is longer than the shape of your brow. This way, when you style them you can easily achieve the 'fluffy brow' look by brushing the hair upwards with a brow gel (my fave is the Maybelline Brow Precise Brow Gel). If you have thinner brows and you wish to make them appear thicker, the Benefit Precisely, My Brow Pencil is great for creating hair like brush strokes to fill them in." 

Fashion influencer Pamela Mbhele says "I maintain my brows without tweezing/waxing them to keep them looking their best without ruining them.  I use a dark brown pencil from Rimmel, but I find it's difficult to achieve the same shape on both brows." 

So she decided to go short

A post shared by P A M S O L E (@pamzokuhle) on

Another local influencer, Iman Mkwanazi says "I always let my eyebrows grow out and thread them according to their natural shape. The idea of makeup for me is to enhance ones existing features, not to alter them."

Is micro-blading tricky on darker skin tones?

Ever since this surge in brow spotlighting, there's been a bunch of new developments in brow technology. 

Most notably, that of micro-blading and nano-blading/needling. The latter is the latest in brow technology, yet it doesn't seem to be available in SA just yet. According to Elle.com it uses ultra-fine nano needles to mimic the diameter and dimension of a real hair in the skin. 

READ MORE: WATCH: Everything you need to know about microblading 

Vogue.com recently reported that nano and micro-blading are, in fact, fantastic brow sculpting and exaggeration tools, yet women of colour need to be careful who they choose as their therapist. 

"Things to note; not every brow specialist can perform this treatment on non-caucasian skin. There is not much of a contrast between darker skin tones and the pigments being used, so aestheticians not used to working across skin tones won’t be able to deliver realistic results. Also as many women of colour tend to have oilier skin, excess sebum within the skin can blur out the micro-bladed lines. The use of brightening ingredients such as vitamin C - which many women of colour feature in their skincare regime to combat pigmentation issues - can also gradually fade the brow hair lines that has been created."

However, Nicol Frank of Blush South Africa, who is an expert in micro-blading, says "Micro-blading is amazing for darker skin tones, it looks absolutely natural, like really, really beautiful. Often the results are actually best on darker skin tones." 

So it's really just important to visit a technician that has experience and is skilled in what they're doing. Don't opt for cheap, too-good-to-be-true deals on beauty treatments or procedures like this, as it could cause permanent damage.  

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