Eyebrow shaping is one of the best ways to accentuate your best facial features, brighten your eyes, and give your entire face a youthful and memorable appearance.
However, like a bold new hairstyle, it can be tricky, especially if you choose the wrong brow for your face shape.
Fortunately, unlike hairstyles, there are only five basic brow shapes to choose from. Once you know how to match them to your face types, choosing the best one is simple.
In this article, you’ll learn exactly how to do that, plus the best tools and methods to shape your brows to perfection.
Five Basic Brow Shapes
The exact number of brow shapes is a topic of much controversy, with some articles and experts citing as many as a dozen (or more).
While it’s true you can take one brow shape and customize it several different ways (tapered, medium arch, high arch, etc.), there are essentially five basic brow shapes:
- Arched: This type has a natural arch or peak in the middle or towards the temple
- Round: These brows are naturally rounded, like a half-moon
- Upward (high arch): This type grows more sharply upward than an arched brow
- S-shaped: These brows go upward, then curve, creating a rough “s” shape
- Straight: This type goes straight across the face and may be full or tapered, depending on the person
How Do You Find Your Natural Brow Type?
Your natural brow type is the shape you grew up with before you started plucking or using other brow-shaping methods.
If you’ve been plucking or shaping your brows for a while and have forgotten your original brow type, try looking back at some old elementary or high school photos and compare them to the graphic above.
Ideally, you want to remain true to your original brow shape and use brow shaping to enhance what you already have.
If you can’t figure it out, no worries. The following sections will explain how to discover and use your face shape (which never changes) to pick the perfect brow shape.
How to Find Your Face Shape Type
Your eyebrows should be shaped to complement your face shape type.
There are six face shape types, each with its defining features, including:
- Round face: Soft, rounded facial features and an even face width
- Oval or oblong face: An elongated version of a round face with soft features
- Square face: Sometimes referred to as chiseled, this face type has very defined and angular features
- Rectangle face: Similar to a square face, but elongated
- Heart-shaped face: This type typically has a sharp chin and defined or high cheekbones
- Diamond face: Think thin or narrow, typically with high cheekbones, and the forehead narrower than the cheekbones
- Triangle face: High cheekbones, a strong jawline, and a narrow chin
Some people can determine their face type by looking in the mirror, while others need to consider more subtleties.
Although you can take measurements of your face and try to determine which part is larger than which, this is easier said than done, especially without assistance.
The easiest way to know is to use the visual cues listed above or use AI-assisted online tools, which will tell you your face type.
Of course, if you see an esthetician or dermatologist, they can also determine this for you.
Regardless of how you do it, once you determine your face shape type, you can match it up with the five basic brow shapes, and you’re ready to create your new look.
How to Find Your Ideal Brow Shape to Complement Your Face
It’s the moment you’ve been waiting for, time to match your brow shape to your face.
Best brow shapes for round faces
- A medium to high (upward) arch can help add dimension and a hint of drama to soft, round facial features.
- Round faces typically benefit from fuller to medium brows.
Best brow shapes for oval faces
- This elegant face type looks good with just about any brow.
- However, a straight brow or gentle arch is especially complementary.
- Oval faces also look great with full brows.
Best brow shapes for square faces
- A rounded brow is ideal to complement the angular nature of square faces, adding an element of softness and warmth.
- Use your natural brow thickness as a guide. Some square faces benefit from thicker brows, while others look better with medium ones.
Best brow shapes for rectangular faces
- A straight or rounded brow works well with chiseled, rectangular features.
- As with square faces, use your natural brow thickness as a guide. Some rectangular faces benefit from thicker brows, while others look better with medium ones.
Best brow shapes for heart-shaped faces
- A rounded arch and full brow help balance the sharp chin while accentuating the cheekbones of a heart-shaped face.
- Heart-shaped faces can support thick eyebrows beautifully.
Best brow shapes for diamond faces
- A soft, curved arch is highly complementary to this angular face type.
- Medium-thick brows are usually ideal for diamond-shaped faces.
Best brow shapes for triangle faces
- An S-shaped brow or low soft arch helps balance out this face type and complement its features.
- Full brows also look great on a triangle face.
Tips, Methods, & Tools For Successful Eyebrow Shaping
Nearly every beauty and brow expert agrees that the best tip for successful eyebrow shaping is to follow your natural shape.
The second-best tip is to figure out your face type and start slow and subtle versus dramatic.
The third-best tip is to hire a professional to help you establish the proper shape, symmetry, and track.
Yes, your brow hair can grow back, and you can reshape if things go wrong, but it’s next to impossible to do a comb-over on your face while the hair regrows!
So, if possible, hire a stylist to get you started until you achieve your perfect shape.
From there, you can do touch-ups at home based on your skill and comfort level.
Here are some of the most popular brow shaping tools and methods.
Eyebrow Threading
This ancient method of hair removal involves using the thread tension to snag and quickly remove hair around the brow line.
- Pros: It’s quick, long-lasting, and very accurate. Some people find it less irritating than waxing or sugaring, and it requires no product, just threads.
- Cons: It can hurt, cause temporary redness and irritation*, and it’s not something most people opt to do at home. *Soothing plant-based oils, like Desert Essence 100% Pure Jojoba, can help calm irritation after threading.
Waxing or Sugaring
Before threading, waxing was the standard professional method of eyebrow shaping, and it still works great.
Warm wax is applied to the unwanted hair and quickly pulled off, removing the hair at the roots.
Sugaring is very similar to waxing, but is often more suitable for individuals with sensitive skin or those who tend to experience ingrown hairs.
Sticky sugar and lemon juice are used instead of wax, and the hair removal process is the same.
- Pros: It’s quick, long-lasting, accurate, and can be done professionally or at home. Sugar wax can also be made at home using a DIY recipe and works best on shorter hair, vs. waxing, which requires longer hair.
- Cons: Both methods hurt, can be messy, cause temporary redness and irritation*, and can take some time to master at home—you need just the right amount of wax or sugar and pressure to get it right and not lose more hair than you want.
Soothing plant-based oils, like Desert Essence 100% Pure Jojoba, can help calm irritation and redness and remove excess wax or sugar wax.
Plucking
Plucking or tweezing brows is the most common method of brow shaping for DIYers.
Some people use it exclusively, or between other hair removal procedures, to keep everything tidy.
Finding the right tweezers can make all the difference, so test out rounded versus square versus sharp tips to discover the right tweezers for the right job.
Depending on the shapes and angles you’re looking for, you may need more than one.
- Pros: Cheap, easy to use, long-lasting, and super DIY-friendly.
- Cons: Slightly uncomfortable (this discomfort lessens over time), not ideal for styling large sections of hair, and it can be easy to over-tweeze at home.
Microblading
Also known as eyebrow tattooing, microneedling is a great semi-permanent option for people seeking thicker-looking brows.
Unlike a regular tattoo, microblading uses a superficial ink depositing process to create the look of eyebrow hair, but it eventually fades over about a year.
It’s also a favorite for people who have over-plucked or lost most or all of their eyebrows due to chemotherapy, alopecia, thyroid conditions, or other health issues that affect brow hair growth and regrowth.
- Pros: It creates the appearance of fuller-looking eyebrows, lasts about a year, is typically fairly painless (a microblading device is not the same as a tattoo), and saves time.
- Cons: It’s expensive (ranging from $500 to several thousand dollars), it can be uncomfortable depending on the person, it’s not for all skin types—especially sensitive skin or those with inflammatory skin conditions, and, since it’s semi-permanent, you’re stuck with results whether you like them or not.
Eyebrow Styling Tools and Products
Brow styling products are a great way to add more definition and pop to your brows daily and between shapings.
Popular eyebrow styling tools and products include:
- Clear or tinted brow gel
- Eyebrow brushes
- Brow pencils
- Brow pomade
- Brow shampoo
- Volumizing pomades
- Brow scissors
- Tweezers
- Electric eyebrow trimmers
- Dermaplaning tools
If you’re wondering, yes, clean brow products are available, so just be sure to check the labels.
Finally: What’s The Best Accessory For Great Brows? Healthy Glowing Skin
Want some jaw-dropping, glowing, dewy, clear skin to go along with those fabulous brows?
Then check out Desert Essences’ clean, natural, and sustainably sourced skincare products.
From cleansers to moisturizers, ceramides to blemish treatments, we have everything you need to support your clean beauty routine and healthy lifestyle.
Our Jojoba Oil is perfect for after waxing, sugaring, or threading to calm irritation, moisturize, or remove excess wax.
Clients also love using our Restorative Facial Oil to shape and nourish their brows naturally.
Shop our complete line of skin care, hair care, body care, oral care, and more here.