Everything to Know About Bleaching Your Eyebrows, From Someone Who Tried It

Eyebrows are out! At least that's what any runway show or red-carpet event would have us believe. Never thought you'd be bleaching your brows? It might be time to reconsider. Let's get one thing straight, reaching for the bleach doesn't inherently mean you have to wholly commit to Team No Brow. (Unless of course a platinum brow speaks to you, then go forth!) Bleaching the brows can also be quite complementary to a full bushy brow, lightening the pigment ever so slightly to better flatter the face. For example, I am not Lady Gaga, nor do I have a catwalk appearance anytime soon. But I did want to know whether bleached brows could work for us non-celebs IRL, too.

Would bucking the "big and bold" brow trend make me feel more confident or like a duck out of water? Read on for more about eyebrow bleach, including how it works, the side effects, and my before-and-after pics.

What Is Eyebrow Bleaching?

Eyebrow bleaching is a chemical process that permanently lightens brows to match lighter-colored hair on the head and/or create a stark modern look. If you've ever gone into a salon with dark hair and left the salon a beachy, golden blonde, you already have a pretty clear idea of how brow bleaching works.

"Brow bleaching lifts pigment (melanin) and keratin in the hair to lighten the color," Ninh explains. In other words, bleach removes the natural color in your brow. Brow bleaching can take your brows just a few shades lighter or make them snow white, depending on how long the bleach is allowed to process and how dark your natural color is.

Hairstylists and estheticians can bleach brows using salon-grade products. In other words—and hopefully, this point is obvious—brow-bleaching is not an at-home DIY Clorox situation.

Benefits of Eyebrow Bleaching

The benefits of eyebrow bleaching are:

• Reducing harsh contrast between dark brows and light hair.
• Softening the look of brows, giving a more youthful look.
• Brightening the look of skin.
• Creating an "intense editorial look," according to Sumstad.
• Affordability—at-home bleaching kits are cheap, and it's a relatively inexpensive service at a hair salon.
• Permanence—bleaching, unlike dye, lightens the hair until it grows out completely.

Best Candidates for Eyebrow Bleaching

Bleaching can work for people with any skin tone or brow color, although those with very dark hair may need additional processing time so their brows don't skew orange. (This would be similar to a brunette or raven-haired person trying to go platinum in one fell swoop.) "The darker the hair, the trickier the process," Sumstad admits. "It may need to be done more than once to achieve the desired lightness." As with all beauty processes, slow and steady is the best way forward. A subtle transition, repeated several times over, will deliver the best and healthiest results.

Your brow hair needs to be in good shape, too. "Brow bleaching is ideal for someone who has healthy eyebrow hairs because any type of hair bleaching can be drying," Ninh says. Bleaching is best for virgin brow hair, i.e., hair that hasn't been processed. "I wouldn’t recommend bleaching your eyebrows if you’ve had them laminated," Sumstad suggests.

Bleaching agents, whether applied to the scalp, body, and especially the face, can be sensitizing. If you're thinking about bleaching your brows, your skin should be the picture of health. Bleach is irritating to skin by nature, so bleaching is a no-go on skin with cuts, abrasions, sunburns, or other inflamed skin conditions.

How to Prepare for Eyebrow Bleaching

Before you go all-in with brow bleach, do a patch test of your chosen product on your skin. Apply it to a small, hidden area like the inside of your arm and wash off after 10 minutes. If you don't have a reaction within 72 hours, you should be good to go. Yes, patch testing can be a little tedious—but it beats having a flaming, itchy case of contact dermatitis over each eye.

Right before your bleaching treatment, wash and dry your face. Washing at your sink is ideal as bleaching brows right after a hot bath or shower, or in a steamy bathroom, can make skin too sensitive to the formula. Then apply a barrier cream to the skin around your eyebrows, Sumstad instructs.

What to Expect During an Eyebrow Bleaching Treatment

For this to work as a good before-and-after test, I knew I had to go light with my brows, but I didn’t want to go white blonde. Even the most gorgeous models struggle to pull off that one.

Following the instructions on the Jolen cream bleach, I mixed the accompanying bleach powder and developing cream, then applied it to my brows with a cotton swab. After about 10 minutes, I wiped off the cream with a wet washcloth to find that my brown eyebrows had become buttery blonde, about the same shade as the golden highlights on my head. After washing my face again to keep any leftover bleach from irritating my skin, I was done.

Before and After

So what did my social circle think of my new look? First, I showed off my brows around the office. "I really love the lighter ones," our assistant editor said. "Your eyebrows were great before, but this makes you look fairer and sun-kissed.”

Another colleague was also a fan, saying my new look was "more modern and summery." Two more longtime friends handed me rave reviews, too. Even my boyfriend was impressed. “I like it," he said. "I think it lengthens your face and brings out your eyes.” Anything that lengthens my round, moon-shaped face is a winner. These were not the comments I had been expecting when I pitched this feature. I thought I would get, "You look like an alien,” or “Who do you think you are, Lady Gaga?”

Eyebrow Bleaching vs. Eyebrow Tinting

Is brow bleaching anything like brow tinting? Yes and no. Like bleaching, brow tinting changes your overall brow color; whereas bleaching removes color from the brows, tinting adds color. Ninh says that most brow tints are semi-permanent dyes or organic pigments like henna, which coat the hair, darkening it for three or more weeks before gradually fading away. "Brow tinting is great for evening out the density of [brows]" and "creating a fuller brow for fine or light-to-medium color brows," Ninh explains. Brow tinting doesn't work for lightening hair; tints are capable of darkening brows, not making them a paler hue. Only bleach can do that.

Eyebrow Bleaching vs. Eyebrow Lamination

Unlike brow bleaching or tinting, eyebrow lamination does not alter the pigment of the brow hairs. Instead, brow lamination is the process of straightening the brow hairs for a fuller, more fluffy appearance. Depending on the texture of the hair, the straighter appearance can create the illusion of lighter, or sometimes darker, brows, but again there is no true difference in color. Our experts suggest avoiding bleaching if you've recently had them laminated as this can be overly sensitizing to the skin and even interfere with achieving the desired color.

At Home vs. By a Professional

Although DIY brow bleaching is pretty easy to do, Sumstad strongly suggests outsourcing the job. "I wouldn’t recommend at-home eyebrow bleaching because it varies with every person," she says. Timing, type of product, hair texture, and color can all affect your results, she explains. "It may seem like you’re just applying bleach onto your eyebrows, but whenever it comes to using bleach, I’ll always recommend [hiring] a professional."

When getting your brows bleached at a salon, you and your esthetician or hairstylist will discuss your desired look, Sumstad says. Your bleaching pro should also look at the condition of your brows and skin to ensure you're good to proceed with the service. The pro will mix lightener with a developer, apply it to your brows, and wait until the ideal shade is achieved, Sumstad explains.

Aside from the expertise in technique and color matching (and, not to mention, cost), the general process of bleaching eyebrows remains the same between a salon service and an at-home approach.

How to Bleach Your Eyebrows At Home

As we mentioned, a professional bleach session is highly recommended over taking matters into your own hands. However, if you're confident in your abilities, you'll need to start with the right formula. As Gafni explains, when bleaching brows at home, you need a cream bleach that's "designed to be more gentle on facial skin." Most products intended for brow bleaching—like Gafni's fave, Jolen Creme Bleach ($7)—have a hydrogen peroxide base. Start with clean, freshly washed skin, removing any makeup and applying barrier cream to the skin around your brows. This will protect the skin from any adverse reaction to the bleach and make sure the formula is only touching the hair. Depending on the type of bleach you've opted for, you may need to mix the formula, usually a combination of bleaching ingredients and developer/activator, on your own. If this is the case, follow the instructions provided very carefully. Then apply the mixture to the brow hairs, ensuring everything you want lightened is completely covered. Set a timer for the appropriate amount of time (you won't want to miss the mark on this one!) and remove with a damp towel when finished. We suggest washing your face immediately afterward to ensure the formula has been completely removed and won't continue to process.

Potential Side Effects

Brow bleaching tends to be riskier the longer the bleach is in contact with your skin and hair. "The most common mistake is leaving the bleach on too long, which can result in burning the skin or unintended color results," Gafni warns.

Other potential side effects include redness, irritation, hair damage, breakage—this is bleach we're talking about, after all—and temporary lightening of affected skin. Worst case scenario, you can damage your eyes if the bleaching cream accidentally makes its way into your eyeballs. If that happens, flush your eyes with cold water and call your doctor, stat.

The Cost

DIY brow bleaching is shockingly affordable. You can expect to pay about $5 to $10 for a cream bleaching kit, which usually packs enough product to last for several treatments.

If you go to a professional for brow bleaching, Sumstad says you can expect to pay about $50, give or take, depending on where you live and the general cost of beauty services.

Aftercare

Once you've achieved a perfectly lightened brow, it's safe to wash your face and go about your day. If your brows take on a brassy look over time, Sumstad suggests using a purple shampoo with a Q-tip to keep that tone nice and white. We like Amika Bust Your Brass Cool Blonde Repair Shampoo ($28), a gentle hydrating shampoo with a yummy, vanilla-citrus scent.

Gafni suggests touching up brow bleach after about three weeks while acknowledging everyone's hair grows at a different pace. "As the brows grow, you may develop a 'zebra stripe' look, so you'll want to either touch up the bleach or dye your brows back to your natural color," he explains.

And there's the rub of bleached brows: Just like bleached head hair, as bleached eyebrows grow, you get dark roots—except these dark roots are smack in the middle of your face, not on the top of your head. "Brow bleaching is hard to maintain due to the nature of how eyebrows grow back," Ninh admits. When you're ready for a touch-up, the entire brow is re-bleached. This is why it's so important to start with healthy brow hair, Ninh says. "There’s no way to occlude already bleached hair from getting bleached again," she explains, and repeated bleaching can lead to damage over time.

The Final Takeaway

I had booked an emergency brow-tinting appointment, fully expecting my bleached brows to look creepy, so I was pleasantly surprised by all the flattering feedback I got. I'm still a little taken aback when I glimpse these golden arches in the mirror, but maybe this really is the new and improved me. I'm considering postponing my appointment—at least until those dark roots come through.