Brows…to sit or lie

Back in the early 90’s when I was in school for esthetics the instructors trained us to wax the brows sitting up just like you would if you were applying makeup to someone’s face. As the years went by and I worked in a large spa/salon I witnessed the newer estheticians waxing clients brows while they were lying down. Myself and a few other co-workers looked at each other perplexed and said what the heck are they doing and why!?

I really was in awe that someone would take the risk of sitting behind the head of a client and literally waxing their eyebrows upside down! Think about it, you don’t walk around with your chin where your forehead is and your brows where your mouth is so why would you have someone wax you as if this was going to turn out good for you?

My co-workers and I that didn’t believe this method was a good idea started calling these works of non-art, gravity brows. 8 out of 10 times the brows came out uneven and crooked. Our faces are typically not symmetrical so by not looking at the face straight on causes this shift to happen. Some estheticians will wax standing next to the bed and lean over the client while they are lying down, then the problem becomes a big fat backache for said esthetician.

Later I realized that the newer generation of estheticians that came out of school were taught to make more money by “adding” a waxing service to a facial, namely a lip, brow or chin. I get the making more money concept but not at the expense of messed up brows. A lip or chin is easy as your goal is to remove all the hair not “shape” anything that includes an arch. The newer estheticians goal was to not disrupt the client who was already lying down to have to sit up to have their added service.

Now that I’ve been an esthetician for over 20 years I can usually spot right away what client has laid down for their brows, because of course the brow line is off. When I ask if they laid down for their last brow wax the answer is yes 99% of the times. I may just still be set in my ways of how I learned but as I type this out it really is the most logical choice and if you received a brow laying down and it turned out well, then I’d say you got lucky. For now, I stand by my word and observation and I say definitely sit if you can!