11 Things That Can Go Wrong When Doing Your Brows

Whether you keep them thin and polished or prefer wild and bushy, your eyebrows can totally impact your overall look. Styling them yourself can be legit intimidating, so I've scouted out all the mildly funny and totally common things that can go wrong when doing your own brows so you don't panic if something less than awesome happens. DIY beauty life requires a willingness to accept that funny, unfortunate things are going to happen, and you just have to roll with it.

Before you start DIY-shaping your brows, knowing the look you're going for is completely crucial. If you're not exactly sure what you want to achieve, I recommend scanning this epic roundup of celebrities with full brows for inspiration (what can I say, I'm totally biased toward full brows), as well as the the one secret to perfect eyebrows to help you understand how your face shape matters.

Once you've got a solid idea in mind, it's time to gear up for all kinds of (slightly painful) DIY fun. Know that I'm here and rooting for you, and don't panic if you encounter any of the below things that can go wrong when doing your own brows! You got this.

1. Over-Shaving The Middle

Tinkle Eyebrow Razor Pack of 3, $4.45, amazon.com

It might be tempting, but resist the urge to run a razor between your brows or they'll end up way too far apart. Shaving too much space in-between your brows can also make your nose look wider.

2. Over-Arching

Anastasia Beverly Hills Perfect Brow Pencil, $ 23, sephora.com

Once you start plucking, it can be easy to go to town with tweezers and thin out your arch until you look perpetually surprised or pissed. Luckily, filling in with a brow pencil can work wonders until some of the arch hairs come back in.

3. Straight Up Over-Plucking

Slant Tweezers, $7.97, TweezerGuru

A magnifying mirror skews your ability to judge how much hair you've removed, and it's way easier to over-pluck until you're left with barely-there brows. Try to stand at least and arm's length away from a normal mirror in natural light to get the most accurate reflection of how your brow shaping is going.

4. Waxing During Your Period

Huffington Post pointed out that waxing is likely to be way more painful during your period, as you're body is feeling all kinds of hypersensitive. Why make waxing more painful than it already is?

5. Creating A Tail That's Too Long Or Short

In an awesome article on eyebrow shaping, Bustle writer Miki Hayes shared, "If the tails of your eyebrows are too short, it can make your eyes and nose look disproportionately large. If the tails of your eyebrows are too long, it can make your eyes look disproportionately small." Luckily, it's simple to fix. Hayes explained, "To make sure the tails of your brows are extending as far as they should, take a flat edge and line it up with the corner of your nose and eye."

6. Not Blending Your Pencil In

Retractable Brow Pencil, $12, Sephora

There's a balance between creating a brow that's well-colored and shaped and one that looks like you drew on your face. Use small "hair length" strokes to create a natural look with a brow pencil.

7. Using The Wrong Blending Pencil Or Shadow Shade

Gwen Stefani Brow Box, $30, Urban Decay

You ordered a cute new brow kit only to discover the colors are totally not within your shade range. BUMMER. In the future, try to hit up a shop like Sephora where you can ask an expert exactly what brow hues would work for your ColorIQ palette.

8. Not Shaping Enough

Fierce, full eyebrows are definitely trending, but no shape at all can make your eyes look smaller. Even a few well chosen plucks can go a long way in really opening up your face!

9. Irritating Eyebrow Skin Post-Waxing

You ripped off your wax and ended up with seriously irritated skin. Ouch. Fortunately, you can quell most post-waxing inflammation by placing an ice cube over the irritated spot for about 30 seconds. Repeat as necessary until swelling and redness disappear.

10. Forgetting To Moisturize Post-Shave

Daily Advanced Lotion, $15.99, Cetaphil

As PopSugar pointed out, shaving is exfoliating and not moisturizing afterward means your dry brow skin struggle is gonna get serious. Always remember to swap the freshly-shaved brow areas with a gentle sensitive skin moisturizer to keep things smooth and hydrated.

11. Skipping Gel

Brow Gel, $22, Anastasia Beverly Hills

Again, as trendy as "untamed" brows may be, long brows will likely look a little too wild without a quick swipe of gel to set certain strands in place. Once you get in the habit of doing this, you won't even think twice about it!

Want more style tips? Check out the video below, and be sure to subscribe to Bustle’s YouTube page for more hacks and tricks!

Images: Isla Murray/Bustle; Lindsey Rose Black; Courtesy of Brands; Getty Images (3)