HOW I DYE MY EYEBROWS (AND WHY I WISH I STARTED IT YEARS AGO!)

I’m all about finding the most effective and efficient beauty routine. If I can get the same look by doing something at home myself without having to go into a salon, I’m all about trying it! (like when I did my own eyelash extensions a few years ago; you can read that post here)

Every time I mention that I dye my own eyebrows, I get questions about how I do it. It’s really simple and really fast, but there are a few helpful tips and tricks I’ve picked up along the way, so I wanted to create a full post to walk you through exactly how I dye my own eyebrows. I’ve been dying them for the past 2 years, and I feel like it is a really good alternative to microblading…just a lot less painful and a lot less expensive. I’m a natural blonde, so my brows are basically non-existent because they are so blonde. Dying them consistently saves me time getting ready in the morning and makes me insanely jealous of those of you out there that have naturally dark eyebrows! If you have blonde eyebrows or if you are considering microblading, this post is especially for you.

MY FAVORITE JAMMIES EVER (I wear an XS and own them in five colors)  ||  GOLD SIGNET RING  ||  EYEBROW TINT KIT ||  LIGHTER BROWN OPTION HERE 

Growing up I’ve always had really blonde eyebrows and eyelashes. Like…so blonde they are pretty much invisible. Eyebrows are so important because they frame your face! I was so excited when I turned 12 and could finally wear a little makeup. I remember the first thing my mom taught me how to apply was an eyebrow mascara that made the biggest difference. I felt like I didn’t disappear in pictures because I actually had eyebrows! Middle school is the armpit of life as it is, so I was just excited to be able to go through the armpit of life with eyebrows. I’ve been using an eyebrow mascara and eyebrow powder (this one is my very favorite, I use the medium brown shade and it lasts me almost a full year) for the past 20 years. I listed some of my favorite eyebrow products in my makeup favorites post you can check out here. It wasn’t until just a few years ago that I tried my hand at dying my brows, and I wish I had been doing this all along! It is so nice to have my actual brows tinted brown. I fill them in a bit still with this brow powder, but it takes me under a minute because most of the work is already done when I wake up in the morning.

I’ve had the same eyebrow tint kit and it has lasted me TWO full years. I literally just finished up the last little bit of the dye and ordered a new kit last night, and I ordered the Medium Brown color. For under $20, thats quite the amazing deal. The eyebrow tint kit comes with everything you need to dye your brows in a handful of different shades. When I tint my brows, I usually tint the skin under by brow a little at the same time. My skin doesn’t stay tinted for too long, maybe 4-5 days, but my brows stay tinted for about 2 weeks. They fade very slowly over time and I am super happy with this product!

The eyebrow tint kit comes with 20 color capsules with the dye powder inside. Start by breaking open one of the capsules (this can be a bit tricky, hold either side and twist in the opposite direction, then slowly and easily break it apart without the powder spilling all over the place)

STEP 1: Add the dye powder to the small mixing cup. 1/2 a capsule is plenty to dye my eyebrows, so I usually only pour in half the capsule, then pop the capsule back together to use at a later date.

STEP 2: Squeeze in the developer creme (the white bottle). I threw away the kit instructions forever ago, but I usually do a 1:1 ratio with the dye powder and the developer. If I use half a capsule, I mix in a little less than 1/4 tsp of the developer, so a very small amount. I’ll still have plenty leftover too!

STEP 3: Mix together the dye powder and the developer so that it is evenly mixed and is the consistency of a lotion. If it looks like a thick paste, you will need to add a little more developer. You will want the color to be a true right brown. If it looks a little light to you, you probably used too much developer, so add a little more powder. The more you dye your brows, the easier it will be to tell the right consistency based on how dark/light your brows dye. But the beauty of this is that it’s all temporary! If they are way too dark, give them a good scrub and just know that they will fade to a much less dramatic color in a few days.

STEP 4: Next, take the same brush you mixed the dye with and with careful small strokes, brush it on your eyebrows. A little goes a long way, so don’t have too much on your brush. I apply the dye like I apply my brow powder. I start at the front of my brow by my nose, and make small little upwards strokes. I paint the dye on my skin and my brow hair. Have a q-tip close by to wipe off any excess.

The most important part is making sure that the dye gets on your brow hair and not just your skin, so sometimes I go back over the brow with dye and just lightly dab it so that it coats the brow hair. I usually put the dye on my right brow first, leave it on while I put the dye on my left brow, then I wipe off the dye on my right brow with a wet washcloth (warning: this will dye your washcloths. I have a few that I use specifically for when I dye my brows). I typically leave the dye on each brow for about 2 minutes. A word to the wise: you can always go back over the brow if it isn’t as dark as you want, so err on the side of leaving it on for a shorter amount of time than longer. It’s really easy to paint a little more dye on and leave it for a minute if they are too light, rather than having them be too crazy dark and waiting a few days for them to fade. If I have an event, or if I am shooting something big like one of my Monthly Dresses, I will dye my brows about 3 days before just in case they turn out a little darker than I like. That way they will have lightened a bit.

Dying my own brows has been a serious game changer for me!  It has made getting ready in the morning go so much faster. If you try this out let me know how it went for you in the comments below!

Want to know more of my favorite make-up products that last all day? I wrote all about them in this post.

photography by Jordan Zobrist