How to Get Fluffy, Feathered Brows

If you’ve ever plucked with wild abandon–only to hate yourself after–this one’s for you.

Updated on August 10, 2022

With the recent resurgence in '90s beauty and fashion trends—think the Rachel haircut, mom jeans, and bubble braids—one beauty bullet we've been lucky enough to dodge (for now) is razor-thin eyebrows.

If you want your brows to look naturally fuller but not outrageously bushy, the fluffy brow is currently the most sought-after look in the brow world. An evolution of the boy brow, the fluffy brow still focuses on fullness, but with an emphasis on lift and structure. Think fluffy in the front, full at the arch, and tapering down to a neat point at the end.

The problem is that unless you were naturally blessed by the brow gods, a thick brow takes a bit of work. However, no matter how sparse or unruly your natural brows are, there are many tips and tricks to make your eyebrows appear thicker and fluffier. Follow our step-to-step guide to achieve fluffy brows.

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Shape Your Brows

The first (and arguably most important) decision is how to shape your eyebrows. Before you get too tweezer-happy, keep in mind that less is more! The more brow you have, the easier it will be to work with. Eyebrow mapping is a good technique: Start by mapping out where your brows should start and end, where the arch is, and how high the arch reaches. By honing in on these focal points, you can set your brow to be perfectly framed around your eyes.

Most often, it's the length that causes the undesired look, not the amount of hair. In this case, a trim is in order. Use a spoolie to comb the brows in the direction they lay naturally, then trim off any excess bulk.

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Lift Up All the Hairs to Prime the Brow

Before you fill in your brows, ensure you lift the existing hairs in an upward motion (this will give the "fluffy" illusion). You can do this with a brow gel, but my preferred method is using an eye primer, which will help condition the brows and allow makeup to glide on smoothly. Using your fingers or a clean spoolie brush, completely coat all the hairs in the product and comb the hairs upwards so you are exposed to the skin underneath.

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Fill in Any Sparse Areas With Light Strokes

Although you can use the eyebrow tool of your choosing, I prefer powders and pomades to pencils. They look more natural and let you use an angled brush for more precision. Your impulse might be to start with the front or top, but this can make your end result look harsh. When first dipped in, your product will have too much for the front, which is usually the sparsest part of the brow. Instead, start by drawing in the bottom to create your outline and tail before using the remainder for the sparse hairs in the middle.

Remember: A light hand is key here—go slowly and apply fine strokes to mimic natural hairs. And don't fill in all the empty spaces, as natural brows do show some skin between hairs.

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Spritz Hairspray to Set Everything in Place

To safeguard your brows, go over your finished look with a small amount of hairspray or eyebrow wax. After covering a clean spoolie in the product, gently brush your eyebrow hairs up one more time until you get the desired feathered finish. This will help keep the natural hairs in the right place throughout the day.

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Apply Concealer Directly Under the Brow to Highlight

This step is optional, but taking a few extra seconds to do so can really give you that extra oomph and lift that makes fluffy brows so special. Using a brush, dab some concealer just under your arch and tails, being sure to blend. It's subtle, but it will create a lifted effect and help emphasize all the shaping work you just did.

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