One of the most common things clients say during their consultation is, “I’ve always had one eyebrow that’s higher than the other.” Sometimes it’s the arch, sometimes it’s the tail, and sometimes they are simply sisters not twins. Most people assume it’s the way their brows grow, but in reality, the brow hair itself is often only part of the story.
Unlike your nose or your cheekbones, your eyebrows aren’t fixed in place. They are constantly influenced by the muscles beneath the skin, which means they are always changing position throughout the day. Every time you smile, laugh, talk, concentrate or even look at yourself in the mirror, the muscles around your eyes and forehead are working, causing your brows to lift and lower ever so slightly. These movements are often so subtle that we don’t notice them ourselves, yet they can completely change the way our brows appear.
This is one of the reasons I spend so much time assessing my client’s facial structure before I begin tattooing. Cosmetic tattooing isn’t about measuring the brows and forcing them to be perfectly symmetrical. Every face has its own natural asymmetries, and trying to tattoo two identical brows often means moving well away from the client’s natural brow hair. Not only can this look out of balance with your features, it usually requires ongoing waxing or tweezing to maintain the shape. If that maintenance isn’t kept up over time, the natural brow hair begins to grow back, leaving what appears to be two different sets of brows.
Several muscles work together to lift, lower and shape your eyebrows throughout the day, meaning their position is never completely static. Understanding how these muscles function helps explain why one brow may appear higher than the other and why your brows can look slightly different depending on whether you’re smiling, talking, concentrating or completely relaxed.
The frontalis muscle lifts the eyebrows, the orbicularis oculi gently lowers them, while the corrugator supercilii and procerus muscles influence the position of the inner brow when we frown or make facial expressions. Because these muscles are constantly working together, even subtle differences in muscle activity from one side of the face to the other can change the way your brows sit.
Like in other parts of the body, these muscles aren’t always equally active on both sides of the face. One side of the forehead may naturally work a little harder than the other, causing one eyebrow to sit slightly higher. Some people unconsciously raise one eyebrow while they’re talking, concentrating or smiling. Over time, these repeated movements become habitual, meaning one brow often appears higher even when we believe we are completely relaxed.
Research has shown that brow asymmetry is frequently influenced by muscle activity rather than differences in the brow itself. In some cases, the muscles compensate for subtle differences elsewhere around the eyes, creating the appearance of uneven brows. Once you understand how much these muscles influence the eyebrows, it also explains why my consultation process looks a little different.
Rather than asking my clients to sit upright in front of a mirror, I complete the initial brow mapping with them lying comfortably on the treatment bed, their eyes gently closed and their face completely relaxed. When sitting upright, we are constantly using the muscles around our eyes and forehead. Even something as simple as talking, smiling or looking in the mirror can cause one eyebrow to lift without us even realizing it. If I were to map your brows while those muscles were active, I’d be designing your brows around a temporary facial expression rather than where they naturally sit at rest. By allowing the face to fully relax, I’m able to assess your natural anatomy and create a brow design that works with your features rather than against them.
Once I’ve completed the mapping, I ask my client to sit upright before I begin tattooing. At this point I’m no longer looking at where the brows naturally rest; I’m observing how they move. Some clients have a dominant eyebrow that lifts slightly while they speak, while others raise one brow when they look in the mirror or concentrate. These subtle movements are all taken into consideration before I make any final refinements to the design. This two-step process allows me to create brows that feel balanced both when your face is relaxed and when you’re naturally expressing yourself throughout the day.
Every brow I create begins with understanding your unique anatomy. I assess your natural brow growth, facial proportions, muscle movement, existing asymmetries and the way your face rests before I begin tattooing. I use as much of your natural brow as possible, enhancing only the areas that need support rather than dramatically reshaping what already exists. This allows your healed brows to blend seamlessly with your own hair growth, remaining beautifully low maintenance and looking as though they were always there.
My goal is not to completely redesign your brows or to make them perfectly symmetrical. Rather it is to understand the face I’m working with, respect its natural anatomy and create brows that complement your features both at rest and in movement. Because the most beautiful cosmetic tattooing doesn’t look tattooed at all. It simply looks like your brows, only better.
