Contents of the article
Contraindications
During brow lamination all lotions and tint touch the skin under and around the eyebrows. For this reason it is paramount that there are no irritations on the skin whatsoever.
- Acne/hormone medication and other topical medication – can cause skin peeling and affect the treatment outcome.
- Any skin irritation (sunburn, psoriasis, dryness, etc)
- Breakouts
- Beauty spots/birthmarks
- Warts
- Previous allergic reaction to Lash or Brow lifting products and/or tint – if there is a history of allergic reaction to tinting, Brow Lamination can still be performed however tinting step should be skipped
- Bleaching – bleaching dehydrates the hair and can result in overprocessing and overpigmentation after tinting
- Henna dye less than 1 week before Brow Lamination – henna dehydrates the hair so it may result in overprocessing
- Skin scrubbing – less than 24 hours before the Brow Lamination – can cause additional skin irritation
- Recent brow tattoo – skin must have healed completely before lamination
- Recent facial peel – leave at least one week between treatments
- Botox or fillers – leave at least two weeks between treatments
- Spray tan – leave at least 5 days between treatments
- Sunburn – skin must have healed completely before lamination
- Head Lice
- Alopecia Areata
Consultation
It is important to explain to the client how the Brow Lamination treatment works in order to eliminate false expectations. Brow lamination does not fix the brow hairs in the specific position as it does with lashes. It makes the brow hairs softer, and easier to maintain and shape. So it is imperative to explain that the client will still require to use a brow gel to set hairs into desired position each morning.
One of the main questions about brow lamination is how long the results will last. This depends on multiple factors:
- How much the hair growth direction is changed. The bigger the change, the quicker the results start to fade
- How much hair the customer has. More brow hairs mean longer lasting results because the loss of single hairs is not as noticeable
- Home care. When customers nourish their brows and keep them in check with brow styling gel, the results will last longer
Since eyebrows can be lifted and tinted to either look sleek or bushy, show customers pictures of different options to choose from.
Talk to customers also about home care as it will play a big part in how long the results will last.
Step 1: Clean customer’s eyebrows
Cleanse customer’s eyebrows thoroughly before the treatment to get rid of any makeup, natural oils, etc. It’s best to use a cleanser that is pH neutral (not pH balanced) as it starts to lift cuticles gently. When using our Clean 11 make sure to use the professional saline foam.
NB! Do not exfoliate eyebrows before lamination to avoid skin irritation. Applying lamination products on broken skin noticeably increases irritation.
Step 2: Apply Easy Lift primer
Easy Lift has a dual purpose:
- To prepare brow hairs for the treatment by making their structure super soft so it’s easy to shape them without using glue
- To fully open brow cuticles without dehydrating them like regular primers do
Open cuticles allow the lotions to penetrate deeper into the hair for maximum effect. Don’t skip this step as our products DO NOT WORK PROPERLY without it.
Easy Lift is intended to be used ONLY with super gentle Ruthie Belle Lash & Brow Lift product series, as it enhances the effect of the curling lotion. If it’s used with a more aggressive Lash lift brand, brows can easily over process. Read more about Easy Lift chemistry here.
Apply Easy Lift with a tapered long tip micro brush. Apply it generously – use as much product as necessary to thoroughly cover all brow hairs (especially tiny crosshairs that are the most difficult to lift) but avoid flooding the eyes. The product needs 30 seconds to do its magic and it doesn’t need to be removed or rinsed. Don’t press hard on the skin when applying as the product needs to open the brow hair cuticles and not the skin cuticles.
Step 3: Apply organic lifting or brow curling lotion
Both of our lifting lotions are used the same way.
The purpose of the curling lotion is to soften the keratin in the hair so that we can reshape it. The direction of brow hairs in this stage does not affect the end result so it’s not important to keep them brushed in any particular direction. Read more about the chemistry of curling lotion here.
Curling lotion processing time depends on the coarseness of the hair and how much its direction needs to change. The coarser the hair/ the more the direction needs to change, the longer the processing time.
The lower part of eyebrow hairs naturally grow upwards and the top part downwards. The top part also has many little stubborn cross hairs that are the hardest to lift. All of this means that the top of the eyebrow takes the longest and most work to reshape.
Start applying curling lotion from the top of the eyebrow so that the hairs that need to change direction more can process for longer. Cover the whole brow with a generous amount of lifting lotion.
Spread the lotion from the inner corner to the outer corner and then brush the lotion from the outer corner to the inner corner, making sure that the roots of the hairs get covered. Repeat the movement upwards once and downwards once.
Apply more lotion if needed.
NB! Our lotions are gentle so you need to use a sufficient layer for them to work properly. This is very different from aggressive lotions – if you use the same amount of our lotions as aggressive lotions, the brow hairs will not change direction!
Avoid rubbing lotions onto the skin to avoid irritation and focus on covering the brow hairs from the root.
Process between 9-15 minutes.
You can check the processing times by lifting some of the hairs in the opposite direction. If they bounce back – it means that they are not ready yet. If they lack any resistance – then they are. It is better to check the hairs in different locations of the brow as some areas can process faster (for example, the head of the brow generally has softer and lighter hairs thus they require less amount of processing time).
NB! Avoid brushing the hairs during and after the Lifting lotion as it may cause them to stretch and become curly.
For most eyebrow types the front and tail of the eyebrow lift faster than the middle part so lotions should be removed from there first.
Remove lotion residue with a dry cotton pad or q-tip. If customer starts to feel itchiness during the lifting stage, remove the lotion and proceed to the next step.
Step 4: Apply fixing lotion (+ cling film)
Fixing lotion gives brows their new shape. Read more about the chemistry of fixing lotion here.
Apply fixing lotion to the whole eyebrow and then shape it however you would like the eyebrows to look. I recommend using the mini applicator brush to spread the lotion and to shape the brows as their dense bristles make separating brow hairs very easy and therefore allow the lotion to spread more evenly. The brushing must be done gently so as not to irritate the skin and avoid stretching the hairs after the Lifting lotion. As an alternative, an angled brush can be used to achieve the desired direction.
NB! Brow hairs should never be raised by more than 45 degrees relative to natural growth direction to avoid kinks after growing out in a few weeks. On average the head of the brow will have a 90-degree angle, the body approximately 75 degrees followed by the apex and the tail going from 45 to 0 degrees (like shown in the picture below):
PRO TIP: If there are just a few stubborn hairs that won’t lay flat you can secure them with glue prior to the application of the fixing lotion. Alternatively, you can also use a bit of cotton net.
For sleek brows, cover them with cling film and press down firmly.
If you prefer a more natural airy look leave out the cling film.
Processing time for our fixing lotion is 7 minutes for all hair types. Don’t worry if you leave it on for a few minutes longer though as this will not irritate the skin.
Remove lotion residue with a dry cotton pad or q-tip.
Step 5: Tinting
As the brow hairs have been chemically treated, the processing time for tint is shorter than without lamination. Tinting time varies, depending on the type of tint you use and the desired outcome.
NB! After applying the tint the hairs should be brushed as they were during the Fixing lotion as the hair cuticles are not fully closed and the brow shape is still setting.
My recommendation for doing brow lamination on new customers is to remove some of the tint from the start of the eyebrow after 4-5 minutes to check the shade. This will leave a nice ombre effect and also give you a good indication how your customer’s eyebrows are reacting to the tint. You can always re-apply tint after removing if you desire the start of the eyebrow to become darker.
PRO TIP: Always choose a tint color that is a shade lighter than what you would usually choose in order to avoid over-darkening the brow hairs.
Remove lotion residue with a damp cotton pad or q-tip.
NB! It is better not to use henna dyes or hybrid tints after the brow lamination as they dry out hair and skin. Henna can also result in unpredictable pigmentation. (Not advised to use Estel, Binacil, Bronsun, Elan). If your client prefers to achieve tinted skin it is advised to do it a day after the Brow lamination was performed.
Maximum developer % should not exceed 3%.
Step 6: Shine Repair
Apply Shine Repair exactly the same way as fixing lotion.
Process for 4 minutes for all hair types.
Remove lotion residue with a damp cotton pad or q-tip.
Step 7: Waxing/threading/plucking
Always shape eyebrows after lamination is finished as this causes skin abrasions so no cosmetic products should be used on the skin afterwards. Also, I do not recommend applying any make-up on broken skin.
NB! Eyebrow trimming is highly not advised. Brows and lashes are genetically “programmed” to grow to a certain length. Cutting prolongs the life of the hair by making it grow thicker and wirier thus making the follicle weaker. Also, by cutting the brow hair, we expose the cortex to the elements which in turn can make the brow hair lose its natural pigment.
For example, barbers quite often cut men’s eyebrows, and more often than not they end up having very light, sparse but very long wiry eyebrows.
Brows require home care after lamination. Please read about home care from our dedicated article.