Biju-ewelled.

If anyone reading this has seen my passport picture circa 2007 whereby I only have half a right eyebrow - you'd be forgiven for thinking maybe brows isn't my area of expertise, but we all have to start somewhere right?!

So it was my birthday eve, and I noticed that my brows were a little lackluster. I usually pluck my brows or get them waxed, however it had started to bug me that I couldn't quite get the shape I had wanted -  a natural curve whereby the brow is at is highest point then gently slopes back down again. Nothing resembling a clown mind - just a nice, natural shape. 

I had watched my Auntie use the Biju brow service in my local House of Fraser in Grimsby many a time. She would lie there and be threaded and tinted, whilst myself and my cousin were banished to another shop. It was the fact she had used the service for a quite a while now, that made me trust they knew what they were doing, especially as she always seems so pleased with the results.

The Biju brow bar has 7 UK locations, and in other locations a greater variety of treatments are performed such as leg waxing. Generally, an appointment is something I'd advise as the two treatment chairs are always busy whenever I walk past. However I happened to go in on a Sunday, which was a slightly less busy time, and so I was able to get my brows done straight away. I had picked up a leaflet the week before to check out prices, and it said not to remove any hair from your brows for at least a week prior to your treatment, so I made sure I followed this advice (hence the dodgy before pic).

Firstly, the therapist asked if this was my first time using the service, and how I usually tame my brows. She then asked what sort of shape I would like to be achieved, and told me that if it became too painful we could take a break (always a sentence guaranteed to put you at ease!)

In order to thread each eyebrow, I had to put one hand over my closed eye, whilst using my other arm to hold up the skin on my forehead. This is essentially to help sculpt the brow, and be able to perfect the shape as much as possible.

So I guess the big question at this point, is what was the pain like? I have to say that after having my brows previously waxed at a salon, threading does hurt considerably more. However, the pain is very short-sharp, therefore somehow more bearable than you would expect considering it does bloody hurt! It also made my eyes water quite a bit, and later they did look quite bloodshot which is unusual for me. 

Beauty treatments are often a compromise of putting up with some kind of pain or discomfort in order to achieve a good result - so when you think about it like that, it's not so bad. Also, to do each eyebrow is surprisingly quick, and the whole treatment was complete in under 10 minutes. 

If you are worried about the pain, I can tell you that although it's more painful than waxing - it's no where near as painful as an injection in the roof of my mouth, that I had to have once at the dentist (lovely I know!) .. so generally unless you have absolutely no pain tolerence at all, you should be fine.

After the threading was finished the therapist trimmed my brows to ensure they were perfectly neat. She then rubbed some Rose water on some cotton pads over my eyes a few times to sooth them, and then she filled in my brows lightly with a pencil.

At this point, my brows were hurting a little and I could also feel half the redundant brows stuck to my face (definitely don't wear foundation to your appointment like I did!) I guess this happens because you are lying almost flat, and unlike with waxing, the hairs are not trapped within a strip. This is a little annoying, but thankfully short lived.

Overall, I was really pleased with the finished look (minus the redness of course). I also want to say how lovely the therapist was. Sometimes it can be a little hit and miss in beauty environments. Although the majority of those in the industry are lovely, sometimes it can be intimidating and you can come across people who act as if they are a cut above, because they work in the beauty industry, that ultimately ruins the experience. Given I had never met this lady before, I think I was really lucky because she genuinely seemed nice and confident in her abilities, which definitely puts you at ease when having a treatment done. She also explained to me throughout the treatment, that threading is a much more effective way of removing hairs from the brows because it is more accurate. There may have been more to that explanation, only I was trying not to wince with the pain...

My treatment cost £13.50, which I found reasonable considering how happy I was with the results... my brows are no longer pin straight! I am not sure how this compares with other salons who offer threading, however I do believe this is more than what I have ever paid for my eyebrows to be waxed. It is certainly worth trying, and try not to be put off by the pain because it's short lived and if it's really that bad, you don't have to do it again afterall. I was advised the results should last around 4 weeks so I shall be keen to see if this is true or not.

I have already received complements off family members who said my brows look really nice with their new shape, and so with comments like that it makes the pain and money spent well worthwhile. After all, brows frame the face and can really open up your eye area so getting them maintained can have a surprising impact on your overall look.

If you'd like to find out more about Biju and see it's list of UK locations, you can do so here.