ASCP Skin Deep

MARCH | APRIL 2017

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www.ascpskincare.com 61 There is a time and place for drama, fun, and individuality when it comes to brows, but designing for the real, everyday woman is what the majority of us do, and we need a realistic way to do it. These real clients want brows that are flattering and easy to manage once they get home and wash off that amazing design we created. Brows should be in correct proportion to the rest of the face's features to achieve a balanced, flattering shape— so say the rules of geometry. When designing brows, it's imperative that we use the facial features, as well as the brows, to guide us in the right direction to creating that beautiful brow. First, take note of the size of the client's facial features. Are they petite, average, or full? Once you determine this, you will have a plan in place to create a brow that will be balanced and work to enhance all of your client's features. For example, if someone has petite features, small eyes, small nose, and a small mouth, you want to give them a brow thickness that is flattering and matches the geometry of those features. A heavy, thick brow would be overpowering and totally out of balance on a petite face. Like an oversized coat, the brows would swallow up their face and detract from their natural beauty. Think of brows as a punctuation mark; they are there to emphasize the beauty of the face as a whole and make it shine and sparkle. BE THE EXPERT If you are calling yourself a brow expert, you need to actually be an expert. This means that you invest in your education to gain the knowledge and tools to become a brow artist. If you don't know the difference between a brow design and a brow wax, chances are you aren't going to be successful at performing either one. My biggest pet peeve is when people try to use social media as a shortcut to learning brow design. I can't count the number of times I've seen a post like this: "Help, I have a client coming in 5 minutes for a brow design and I've never done one." Don't get me wrong, social media is great, but you aren't going to learn to design a brow in 140 characters, or become an expert by watching a 2-minute video. Do yourself and your unsuspecting client a favor and cancel the appointment until you are properly trained. Brow shaping is a high-degree-of-difficulty service and requires a much higher skill level to perform with precision. Learning how to design brows requires practice—and lots of it. But it is worth the time and effort, because brow design is one of the bread-and-butter services of waxing. There will always be clients who regularly have their brows done, and if you really know what you are doing, you will always have clients. When you are the expert, you are able to take charge of your service. You will no longer second-guess yourself or rely on your client to tell you what to do (which never works, by the way). As the expert, you will be able to charge a higher dollar amount for your brow services. As the expert, you will know what to do and how to do it to give your client the beautiful brows they never thought they could have. That is an amazing feeling! WHAT'S MY SECRET? As promised, I am going to share my personal secret with you for creating balanced brows on every client, every time. Who does this method work on? • Clients who don't have much hair to work with • Clients who have too much hair • Clients whose brows have been messed up from improper hair removal My method comes from countless hours of practice, and is a combination of various techniques I have learned and created in my treatment room over the years. My foolproof strategy is the Same Thickness, Tapers to a Point (STTP) method. It's simple geometry. Because trust me, I couldn't do anything complicated. The basic idea is that a balanced brow should be the same thickness from the starting point to the peak of the brow, and then taper to a point at the end. It's as easy as that. The following illustrations show a sampling of unbalanced brow shapes I have had the pleasure to correct over the years using my STTP method. Brow correction is my favorite thing to do. It's easy to make a good brow look good, but to make an improperly shaped brow look good takes skill. On the left are the unbalanced brows; on the right, the brows have been balanced using my STTP method. As you can see, a balanced brow is not a cookie- cutter brow. They can be thin, thick, flat, rounded, or highly arched. YOU CAN DO IT! The only thing standing in your way of becoming a great brow artist is you. The more comfortable you are with brows, the easier they will be to conquer. Remember, brow design is a skill anyone can learn if they apply themselves. Becoming a brow artist separates you from the pack and makes you a desirable commodity. Do great work and people will follow you to the ends of the earth. I truly believe that brows have the power to transform our lives and the lives of our clients. Go forth and create great brows! Balanced Unbalanced

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