Brow Pencil vs. Brow Pomade: How To Choose

Eyebrow trends are hard to follow. If you lived through the sparse brow trend of the ‘90s, you might have found it hard to adopt the new thicker, fuller, and more natural brow trend we see today. 

That’s okay. One thing that remains certain is that brows should always look groomed and defined. Together, we’ll talk about what makes eyebrows so important and whether pencils orpomades are the right tool for achieving your perfect brow. 

What Should I Know About Eyebrows?

Honestly, what’s all the fuss about two tiny strips of hair? Let’s talk about some of the basics of eyebrows.

Eyebrows have a growth cycle like the hair on your head and eyelashes. They have four stages of growth, and the entire life cycle of a single eyebrow hair lasts approximately 12-15 weeks. 

Don’t let that scare you if you are waiting for over-tweezed or waxed brows to regrow. Eyebrows typically regrow within four weeks if they’ve been thinned out by waxing or shaving. 

Your eyebrow hairs can go in any direction, which is why grooming your eyebrows is important. Although they are small features, they are powerful features on your face and are vital to facial recognition and nonverbal communication. 

With age, we lose pigment not only in the hair on our heads but also in our eyebrows. Don’t worry; it takes years after the hair on your head goes gray before your eyebrows turn gray. 

Bottom line: eyebrows are kind of a big deal. 

What Should I Know About Brow Products?

It’s no secret that we’re a bit obsessed with brow grooming. From powders to pencils to gels and pomades, there’s no shortage of brow-sculpting products to create the brows that will really raise eyes. 

Here, we’ve created a cheat sheet on all the brow products at your disposal.

Brow Gel

Think of this like clear mascara for your eyebrows. Brow gel comes in a tube with a spoolie wand, just like mascara, and is designed to tame wild eyebrow hairs and put them into place. Unruly brows can benefit from this type of eyebrow hair gel, but the flip side is that it can give you a completely unnatural finish. 

Your untouched eyebrows aren’t shiny, goopy, or slick, and unfortunately, applying eyebrow gel will give you a brow that is all of those adjectives in one matted-down coif. 

Eyebrow Pencil

A brow pencil is similar to an eyeliner. It’s usually wooden and contains a blend of waxes, oils, and pigments. Brow pencils allow you to add definition to your eyebrows by filling in sparse areas with individual strokes that look like individual brow hairs. 

Brow pencils are easy to use, blend well, and somewhat foolproof. Be warned, you can overdo it. Brow pencils can look unnatural if you use too much, leaving your brows heavy, dark, and villainous. It’s also a bad idea to “outline” your brows with a pencil and fill them in. 

They’re also famous for sweating off and running down your eyelids, so make sure the one you get is high-quality and water-resistant. 

Brow Powder

Eyebrow powder is the new kid on the block, and makeup artists and novices alike are smitten. More finely milled than eyeshadow, this eyebrow product is capable of producing a seriously natural look that other brow products simply can’t mimic. 

Powder has a better ability to reach your skin through your brow hairs and create believable, added volume to your brows. 

Eyebrow Pomade

This eyebrow product is its own unique creation. Not quite an eyeshadow, not quite a cream or powder, brow pomade falls somewhere in between. Online makeup tutorials even offer “how to make your own brow pomade” videos that include mixing dark eyeshadows with (wait for it) hair gel. 

Brow pomade is like a creamier form of brow gel with a heavier tint of color. It can come in either a palette or in a tube with a spoolie wand. Brow pomade can be tricky to use because it’s easy to go too heavy or too dark, especially if you’re using a palette. However, done correctly, you can use brow pomade to brush through your brows and add color and volume without looking overdone. 

Whether you use a pencil or pomade depends on your end goals and proficiency with brow products. 

How Should You Use a Brow Pencil?

A brow pencil is easy to use. You really only need the pencil itself and a clean spoolie wand. RMS Beauty gives you both in one tool, with our Back2Brow Pencil. 

• Using small, hair-like strokes, fill in areas of your eyebrow from the arch outward that need extra volume. 

• Using the spoolie end of the Back2Brow Pencil, brush upward through your brows to disperse the pencil, and blend it to avoid harsh lines. 

Start off using fewer filler lines than you think you need. You can always go back in and add more later, but it’s ridiculously hard to remove eyebrow makeup without ruining the rest of your makeup once it has been applied. 

What Are the Pros of Using Brow Pencils?

Using brow pencils is easy, fast, and can help compliment an already healthy and natural brow look. If you’re regularly having your brow shape maintained with microblading or waxing, a brow pencil is all you need to add definition and create a natural, polished look. 

What Are Some Cons of Using Brow Pencils?

It’s definitely possible to go hard with a brow pencil. We’ve all been there; you’re focusing a little too closely on your eyebrows, and when you take a step back from the mirror, you’ve literally drawn an entire eyebrow. Drawn-on eyebrows are a really outdated makeup look. 

How Should You Use Brow Pomade?

Using brow pomade is a little trickier. You’ll need a good brow brush, preferably an angled brush that you can use with a brow pomade palette. If your pomade is in a tube, the brow brush is probably a spoolie. 

• If you’re using a palette, load a little of the pomade onto your angled brush and sweep it through your brow hairs, starting at the arch and moving toward the outer edge. Avoid putting pomade on the extreme inner edge of your eyebrows, which can automatically make your brows look heavy. 

• Next, take a clean spoolie and brush your brows upward and outward to blend the product into your brows and help disperse it evenly. This can be tricky because some brow powders dry and flake. 

• If you’re using a tube of brow pomade, you’ll use the included spoolie to brush your brows up and outward. Because brow pomade is tinted, use it sparingly, and be careful where you apply it. If you accidentally brush past your brows, you’ll end up with pomade over your eyebrows on your skin. 

If you find your pomade dries before you have a chance to fully blend it, try using your fingertip to smudge it into place once you’ve applied it. You can also use an eyebrow brush or a cotton swab. 

What Are the Pros of Using a Brow Pomade?

A brow pomade works great for a really bold eyebrow. It’s also a good tool for people who naturally have thin, sparse eyebrows or extremely light-colored eyebrows that need a heavier tint than someone with dark hair. 

What Are the Cons of Using a Brow Pomade?

Pomades create a really bold eyebrow, and sometimes that isn’t the end goal. If it's a completely natural-looking eyebrow you want, a brow pomade may be too shiny and thick for those results. 

What Is RMS Beauty’s Choice?

Given the choice, we’re choosing a pencil over a pomade every time. Unless you’re a professional, using pomade is just too risky. Beginners have a hard time achieving a natural-looking brow with these products, and even seasoned users can sometimes create a brow that is just too heavy for their face. 

Pencils give you the ability to add volume without creating harsh lines. They’re also easier to smudge and blend for a softer look. Your natural brows aren’t shiny or sticky, and pencils give you a matte look and natural finish that is believable. 

Ingredients Matter

You know the team at RMS Beauty isn’t going to settle for less than the cleanest, greenest ingredients in our products. That’s why you’ll never find ingredients like parabens, carbon black, paraffin, or sulfates in our eyebrow products. 

Instead, we use natural, organic jojoba oil, beeswax, mica, and iron oxides to create eyebrow products that nourish your eyebrows and support hair growth while keeping your skin healthy and hydrated. 

Perfect Brows, the RMS Beauty Way

Whether you have thin brows or full brows, you can keep them looking natural and defined with easy-to-use and sustainably sourced products from RMS Beauty. Brow shapes and arch sizes may come and go, but natural, healthy brows are always on-trend. Keep your brows beautiful. RMS Beauty gives your brows the definition you want and the nourishing ingredients they need. 

Sources:

Hair Loss | Dermnet

5 Ways to Get Overplucked Eyebrows to Grow Back | Cleveland Clinic

Carbon Black | Safe Cosmetics