Tinting your brows at home without going too dark

Brow tint at home goes wrong in the same two places every time. The shade, and the timing. Get those right and it is genuinely simple.

Go one shade lighter than you think

Tint develops darker than it looks in the bowl, and brows frame your whole face, so being slightly too dark is very visible. As a rule, one shade lighter than your hair if you are dark, and one shade darker than your hair if you are fair. Anyone can make a mistake here, but too light is a mistake you can fix in ten minutes and too dark is one you live with for a week.

Watch the clock properly

Set a timer, do not estimate. Start checking at half the time on the box. On fine or fair hair, tint can reach full depth in three minutes even when the box says ten. Wipe a small section with a damp cotton pad to see the real colour, because what sits on the skin looks much darker than what is on the hair.

Protect the skin around them

A thin ring of balm or thick cream along the edges keeps the stain where you want it. Skin takes tint faster than hair does, which is why the block outline is the classic home tint giveaway.

Shape before colour, not after

Tint whatever is there, then tidy up. Pluck first and you will remove hairs that would have shown up once coloured, and you end up thinner than you meant to be.

If it does go too dark

Wash immediately with a cleansing oil or an oil based makeup remover and massage gently. Within the first hour you can lift a surprising amount. After that, it fades on its own over roughly a week.

Shape, colour and the whole method are covered properly in Lashes & Brows.