So, one of the things you all might not know is that my last boyfriend back in the days when dinosaurs roamed the earth was a hairstylist. A very good one in fact and an excellent colorist. He had my hair go, in the years we were together, from deepest blue-black to platinum blond with stops in between. With my pale skin and light eyes the black was the most dramatic (although I enjoyed the medium ash blond the most.) when we parted I kept up with the process until it just became too much of a pain- my hair grows very quickly and I would have visible roots by the end of the week. At the time my hair was also about shoulder-length and I decided to cut it all off and just be salt and pepper, naturally.
While the black was nice, there was one problem with it. My eyelashes. He could color my brows but for some reason I backed at having regular hair dye on my lashes. My lashes are long, but the color only goes about 1/3 of the way and the tips are white. So I had a rather bunny effect going on here.
Fast forward a few decades and I was starting to get more and more grey in my brows. I previously had plucked the offending ones out, but that path, if continued, would turn me into Clara Bow. Not a good look on a middle-aged man. So I decided to go ahead and get an eyelash. brow dye kit off of Amazon after watching some YouTube videos on how to do the procedure. I won’t bore you with the mechanics of it (since I did not exactly follow the manufactures directions) but I will tell you that I was very pleased with the results. My brows are not completely black since I didn’t leave on the dye for that long, but the greys are covered. My formerly bunny-like lashes are black from root to tip and supposedly will stay that way for about a month. I’m sorry I didn’t take any before pictures, which makes after pix superfluous. But trust me, it makes a world of difference. I don’t look like I am wearing mascara (at least I hope I don’t..), it just looks better. Plus I think the supplies were about $20 and should last me at least 6 months.
Do any of you dye your lashes or brows? What were your experiences with it, or would you consider doing it? Discuss in the comments..
Image: internets
I stopped wearing makeup entirely after I turned 40 with the exception of lip gloss. However, I continue to dye my hair, which I have done continuously since junior high (my mother was a stylist and started brightening my blond as a baby). I have never worn my natural hair color my whole life and don’t plan to do any of this “aging gracefully” nonsense–I plan to fight it every step of the way, like the old L’Oreal commercial used to say!
Good for you! I’m all for artifice. I just stopped dying the hair because it was way too much upkeep. I literally will have roots in a week. But I have toyed with the idea of a rinse. Medium ash blond perhaps.
But people hav e gotten used to seeing me with grey heir.
This inspires me to finally try getting my lashes and brows done professionally. Since I am allergic to a lot of mascaras and makeup it may be worth the money. I don’t trust my hands to do the application of dye well enough (unsteady hands due to disability) and I hate seeing uneven results.
It does seems harder to find a salon where they do this now than say 10 years ago, but when I visited a spa hotel last year, the person doing brow and lashes treatment was all booked up weeks in advance, so the market for it is still there. These days I sometimes apply a lash serum with a hint of colour and some brow wax, both darkens the hairs just a little.
If you aren’t comfortable doing it yourself then by all means go to a pro. I didn’t have an issue.
I have long, naturally curly eyelashes that are the color of fishing line – that is, colorless. I’ve had make-up artists gasp when putting mascara on me – it’s that dramatic. My eyebrows are likewise there, but very hard to see (I’m a natural redhead and very fair). I’ve had both brows and lashes tinted, usually either before major surgery (when I know I don’t want to bother with makeup but don’t want to look like a lash-less zombie) or before a long vacation (same reason, but happier). I like it and sometimes think it would be a good thing to keep up (and less work in the mornings). I prefer not to scare my students, so make-up is a work essential. I’ll have to check Amazon…
I used a brand called Swill O Par or something. I covered the skin around my eyes and brows with vaseline and used disposable (washable) mascara applicators to put in the colorant (which stays on for one minute) and the developer, which you rinse off immediately after application. I did it a couple days in a row to darken things up and am very happy with the results. They recommend using a cotton swab for the colorant and this ridiculous (IMHO) comb for the gel developer. I think the mascara wands make it a lot easier to control and ensures that it does not touch skin, or g-d orbit my eyes.
Checking Amazon, it was $7 for the box and they have brown, which might suit you better.
What’s so wrong with gray hair?
Absolutely nothing. The hair on my head is as silver dusted as Joan Crawford at the 1963 Oscars. But I want my brows to not be salt and pepper and I finally have visible lashes, so I am happy. I don’t think I will ever go back to dying my hair since it’s just such a pain and I don’t think things like Just for Men look good.
I’m an avid self-brow dyer. Super cheap, five minutes. Any sparse areas get a bit-o-pencil and brow gel. Brow dye is AWESOME. Now lashes…. I’ve had done several times. I like it, but it’s no longer done in north cali salons, and I don’t feel comfortable with chemicals THAT close to the peeps with my unsteady hands. I have had lash extensions professionally done, and while they don’t last as long as people say they do they are freakin’ amaaaazing.
For hair touch-ups, the 10 minute Clairol touchup kits just for that are great.
I really like the results. I am definitely going to keep doing it.
I LOVE this post! It’s that time of year when so many of us are stuck indoors with nothing to do but look at our faces and wonder what the hell is happening. Okay – maybe just me.
Anyhoo…I have tried brow tinting twice. Each time it was with negligible results (and one was a near-disaster, with the dye adhering to my skin!). The problem is I have very sparse eyebrows so there’s little hair for the dye to adhere to (see ‘near-disaster’). So now I use a brown pomade, being careful not to do it – as QC ^^^ said, brow definition makes a big difference and without it I really do end up looking like an overbaked scone.
xoxoxoA
and ps. I’s seen ya, Tom. You have a stunning amoung of amazingly gorgeous hair!
Thanks! It’s the irish in me. I likely will never go bald, just go Phil Donahue white.
I was very careful applying the stuff so I wouldn’t get it on my skin. I see so many people (men included) who dye their hair black and get the scalp too. Looks like they poured crude oil on their head.
My hair is salt and pepper, still lots of pepper but I’m hoping that in time, it’ll be pure white like my mother’s was. Brows occasionally have a gray hair. I prefer to brush a little eye shadow powder into them (matte taupe now, but I’m considering something darker with a little shimmer–why not?) using a slim, slant tipped brush. Brow definition makes a big difference in how I look–it really frames the eyes and facial expression. When I had chemo a few years ago, I drew them on this way every morning. I will never dye my hair, and I avoid using mascara, so a bit of brow powder and a good eye liner work for me…so far. 😉
I am fine with the grey on my head bot for some reason draw the line at the brows. The lashes were just icing on the cake. I like the dark lashes without using mascara, which I am hopeless at and always forget that I am wearing it and rub my eyes.
I’ve had my eyelashes dyed in the past and loved it; however, it didn’t last long enough. I am very very fair with blond hair and essentially invisible eyebrows and eyelashes, which is no facial definition whatsoever. Therefore, I’ve had my eyebrows micro bladed with permanent makeup and they look very natural if one finds a person that knows what they are doing.
A friend of mine who has allergies to makeup has her’s done with permanent makeup. It looks great. But I don’t need more eyebrows, just to cover the white hairs (and to clip the old-man length ones that grow to three feet or more 🙂
I don’t do eyelashes and brows but weekly beard dying happens. Salt and pepper looks great till I’m in drag, so…….
Portia xx
I just started doing the brows and lashes, and I like it a lot. Doesn’t look fake at all.
Well I tell myself that..
I’m not old enough to go out and dye my eyelashes or my eyebrows. I have a hard enough time doing mascara and eyeshadow let alone let that stuff near my eyes.
I am. I can cope with the steely grey hair, but the brows I can’t. The eyelashes aren’t as bad as I thought they’d be.