Not only do well-defined brows make you look fresher and younger, they make you look groomed and enhance your eyes, whatever their shape or colour.

Professional care
I think it's worth going to an expert to have your eyebrow shape done professionally at least once, then you can follow the shape and just pluck away new hairs as and when needed. Personally I go once a month (to Nadya Bekar at Bloww, 4 Regent Place, London W1, 0207 292 0300) because I'm too impatient when I do my own and end up with uneven, lopsided brows. Nadya waxes and tweezes and shapes for £15 (she'll also trim if your eyebrows are too long – definitely very ageing), but it's all so fast you barely have time to register any pain.

I've also heard very good reports of the Estee Lauder eyebrow bar, at which trained therapists reshape and/or tidy your brows at a cost of £15, redeemable against purchase. You might, for example, want to put it against their brilliant Artist's Brow Stylist Mobile Essentials Kit, £18, a clever all-in-one eyebrow shaping kit with mini tweezers, brow brush, brow gel and dual ended pencil all slotted in to a mascara-style wand. For your nearest brow bar, call 0870 034 2566. You can catch Shavata or one of her team at Urban Retreat in Harvey Nichols in Manchester, where an eyebrow shape starts at £21 (0161 828 8856).

Going it alone
If you're plucking and shaping your own brows, reduce the ouch factor by doing it after a warm shower when your pores are slightly open or apply an ice cube to the area to numb it. You could also try Eylure's Easy Tweezy Brow Balm, £7.49, which you apply half an hour before plucking to prime, moisturise and desensitise the area. Where to pluck? The natural shape of your brow should be your guide, plucking just a few hairs at a time from the brow bone and closer to the inner corners of the eyes. It helps if you have a really good sharp pair of tweezers – the Tweezerman Slant Tip, £16, are brilliant and they also have a lifetime guarantee (stockists/mail order 0207 237 1007).

Expert tips
To check where your eyebrow shape should begin and end, there's an old trick requiring a pencil. Hold the pencil alongside your nose as you look directly into a mirror. Your brow should start in line with the pencil's edge. Then hold the pencil at an angle, diagonally from the base of your nose out past the outer corner of your eye. Your brow should end on this line. If the brow is much longer it can give a droopy effect to the eyes.

If you have very thin brows or sparse areas, use either a sharp brow pencil or powder shadow on a brow brush. Match the pencil or powder to your hair colour for the most natural effect. Or you could try Bobbi Brown's Natural Brow Shaper & Hair Touch Up, £12.50 (0870 034 2566), which has an easy to use mascara-style wand with a cream-gel formula designed to define and fill-in brows. It comes in seven close-to-nature shades.

If sparse brows are an ongoing problem, you might consider a semi-permanent enhancement technique. Similar to tattooing, it delivers a pigment to the skin, which looks incredibly subtle and realistic and lasts for up to a year. Brow procedures start at £450. For further information visit www.naturalenhancement.co.uk.

Copyright © 2006 allaboutyou.com