Uncle.
I literally think I heard my eyebrows say “uncle”. As in “I give up”. Oh, they were tough little troopers during the process of my recent experimentation with a new trend called “Eyebrow Laminating”. They’ve been tinted before so they know the deal when some chemicals are being thrown on them, but this…even from my face right now they are thinking…
“How COULD you?”
So first of all, you smear the solution on them that breaks the chemical bonds in the short “I never did anything to hurt you” little hairs above your eyes. All the while this solution is on them, you train them into place- meaning you keep them smoothed up or at an angle to teach them how to be (and here they thought they were “OK” just the way they were…) The solution does its work of breaking down the little souls in each brow strand over several minutes. You remove the solution and rinse well.
Next, you chemically hammer them bad boys into place…
basically teaching them who is the boss. It’s you. YOU are the boss. And if solution #1 didn’t burn much, solution #2 probably will. Several minutes tick away as each little brow hair cries it’s last cry of freedom and finally the “lamination” portion is finished. Oh, but it’s not over yet.
Now we must tint those naughty brows so they are UNIFORM.
Not only are they now completely subservient, but they must also all look the same as well. Enter: chemical combination #3. This one you don’t keep on for too long because your skin is already a little sensitive from the onslaught of the previous two but also because you don’t want Groucho Marx Brows (young people: Google that). Or maybe you do. At any rate, you tint those brows and rinse. Then you brush those bewildered brows around and see that most of them have lost their will to live (except one) and you go to bed.
Now, the instructions say to not get them wet for at least 24 hours (maybe 48 but whatever)
and one who is familiar with old-school hair perms might also know that you also want to keep the hair shaped the way you want it to stay during that time. In this instance, one would want to keep the brow “looking like a brow”. Unfortunately, you spend a few hours that night barfing your brains out with the flu so your brows get bent all over the place and are now even more confused. But fortunately, they are still easily controlled, even if they are a little crimped (stay tuned for new trend: The Crimped Brow).
BUT you also notice that they feel as if they are coated with Elmer’s Glue.
So you wash dem braus and once they are dry: Elmer’s Glue. Still. So you condition them with moisturizer and hair conditioner. Still: Elmer’s Glue (and who TF is Elmer anyway?) Or maybe just Brillo Pad- take your pick. Either way, you have come to realize that your brows are traumatized and unforgiving (and who could blame them?) Maybe I’ll hit ’em with some Morrocan Oil to make it up to them because that stuff is like Windex (if you haven’t watched “My Big Fat Greek Wedding”, who even are you?)
The End.
Or is it? Stay Tuned. Will the aforementioned brows fall out? Will they eventually rehydrate and repair? (I used my hair repair go-to Infusium which made them stick to my skin like plastic, but it was a “lamination” after all, so that’s not surprising.)
Additional notes: At this time, brow lamination is a new sport. Most companies are using the products used in their lash lift protocol. This may not end up being the best method, but time will tell. In the meantime, note that I did check with the company who I trained to do the lash lifts with (Ellebana) and they have not yet come out with a brow lamination product as the lash lift is not correctly formulated for applying directly to the skin. Since I did indeed use their products to do this (to myself and not a client, mind you) I now have a greater appreciation for their wisdom in opting for further evaluation of a good formulation for a brow lamination product.
The End (for real this time).
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