Eyebrow Threading

Tweezed, plucked, trimmed, waxed…threaded?

I first heard of threading while walking through the mall and saw a shop dedicated to it. It looked strange, and for some reason the words ‘threading’ and ‘eyebrows’ just sounded painful together. A few weeks later I heard girls at  my work talking about it and they swore by it. So for the sake of journalism and my own curiosity, I decided to give it a shot.

I showed up to my appointment, eyebrows a mess, ready  for my transformation. I took a seat and the stylist began began to work her magic. After plucking away stray hairs, she took a thread to my face. The string was anchored in her mouth and twisted and dragged across my eyebrows. I hardly felt anything it all, just a slight scratch. Before I even had a chance to register that this wasn’t so bad after all, the whole thing was over. I was handed a mirror to look at the results. Brilliant. There were no stray  hairs or gaps, just a pair of really great eyebrows.

You may have seen kiosks pop-up around the mall and stores offering this exotic service. However, eyebrow threading is simply another way of removing hair by using a thread as opposed to the traditional wax, or tweezers.

Threading has been all the craze among Indian communities for centuries and has recently become part of the mainstream culture.

Rambha Singh, an eyebrow threading specialist at Ragtops Day Spa and Salon in Tempe says she has noticed eyebrow threading has recently become very popular.

“I see a lot of clients who used to wax and [now] have very sensitive skin,” Singh says.

And it’s true, though waxing has been the preferred way to shape eyebrows, it can do a lot of damage to the skin. Aside from the usual irritation and redness of the skin, side effects of waxing include loss in elasticity and suppleness. “Waxing causes more wrinkles,” Singh says.

Threading, in its magical way, is not harmful to the skin at all. The procedure is actually quite painless and less intimidating than it sounds, no ‘threading’ is actually done. 

The process is done by twisting and rolling a 100 percent cotton thread across the the surface of the skin. This intertwines the hairs and they are pulled out from the follicle, making it a natural and less harmful way to shape those brows.

“I actually never waxed because I was terrified,” says family studies senior Betsy Woulard, “‘and with plucking, I couldn’t get the ideal arch.”

Plucking the eyebrows, though more precise, can be a little tricky and a lot more irritating. Sometimes plucking one hair, becomes plucking four. It can lead to an over-plucked brow, or (gasp!) a bald spot.

“With threading,” Singh says, “if I want one hair, I take one hair. If I want a lot, I take more hair.”

Using threading to clean and shape the eyebrows creates a cleaner, more precise arch. Woulard says ever since she was introduced to threading she hasn’t used any other method. “I’ve been addicted to eyebrow threading ever since,” she says.

The result is said to last longer too. Woulard says she goes about once a month to get her eyebrows done, as long as she maintains her brows by plucking stray hairs with a tweezer.

It takes all of five minutes if you go to someone with experience. It is inexpensive, running about $5 to $12 depending on the salon. One thing that is certain though is the result; more shapely, clean, face-framing eyebrows.

“Eyebrows can make a huge difference in your appearance,” Woulard says. “I get so many compliments on my eyebrows now.”

Contact the Reporter at Javega1@asu.edu

Tagged as: beauty, eyebrow threading, eyebrows, shaping eyebrows, threading