The art of eyebrow threading: what it is and how it works

The ancient art of eyebrow threading is an inexpensive, safe depilatory technique that only recently gained popularity in Western cultures.

• Taming and eliminating hair, via ingenious but often painful or expensive methods, has become a preoccupation for both men and women over the years.
• Shaping and finely sculpting eyebrows with the aid of a simple twisted cotton thread and the adept fingers of a skilled specialist has been a common practice in the Middle East and throughout Asia for thousands of years.

Here is what you need to know about what eyebrow threading is and how it will keep you looking great.

Eyebrow threading is a remarkably simple, swift procedure.

• Using nimble fingers, a technician forms a large circle of cotton sewing thread, knotting the two ends together, then loops two fingers on each hand through first one side of the circle of cotton thread, then the other, creating a double strand.
• The double-strand is twisted several times through the centre; the eyebrow-threading specialist will use the twisted double strand to seize and pull hair from the eyebrow area.
• In order to control the thread more reliably and move to a fresh section of hair during the procedure, the technician may grip the thread in her teeth or loop it behind her neck.
• The specialist then employs a scissor-like movement of the fingers, using her fingers to control the cotton-thread loop as she skims the thread along the skin or brow, trapping hairs and pulling them out at the follicle.

• Perfectly arched eyebrows result from eyebrow threading, because both upper and lower edges of the brows are threaded in long, graceful, well-controlled lines.
• Bollywood stars, often noted for their dramatic beauty and extraordinarily sculpted eyebrows, are ardent eyebrow-threading clients.

• Unlike waxing, sugaring (using a combination of hot, caramelized sugar and honey) or plucking, eyebrow threading is a virtually painless procedure (although not completely, since trapped hairs are being removed at their roots).
• Waxing or sugaring removes a thin layer of skin and can cause skin sensitivity for a day or two.
• Plucking downright hurts, but eyebrow threading, when performed by a skilled professional, takes about five minutes to complete and doesn't damage skin, leaving beautiful, precisely-defined brows, without the ill side-effects.