How to Trim Bushy Men’s Eyebrows

Learn how to cut and pluck bushy eyebrows with this simple guide

Co-authored by Erica Coates and Hunter Rising

Last Updated: February 15, 2023 References

Trimming with Scissors

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Thinning with an Electric Trimmer

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Shaping with Tweezers

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Video

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Expert Q&A

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Tips

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Things You'll Need

ARTICLE

VIDEO

Have you noticed that your eyebrows are starting to look a little bushy or scraggly? Even though most men forget about it, trimming your eyebrows is a really easy thing to include in your regular grooming routine. Whether you just need to cut long stray hairs or thin your eyebrows out, we’re here to help. Keep reading to learn all of the best tools and tricks to tame your eyebrows and keep them under control.

Things You Should Know

To trim with eyebrow scissors, brush your hair straight up with an eyebrow comb. Clip any hair extending past the top of your brow.
To use an electric eyebrow trimmer, put a comb attachment on it. Run the trimmer across your eyebrow from your temple to your nose.
To pluck your eyebrows, look for hairs outside the main shape of your brows. Grip the hair with tweezers at the root to pull it out.

Method 1

Method 1 of 3:

Trimming with Scissors

1
Comb the hair straight up with an eyebrow comb or toothbrush. An eyebrow comb has fine teeth so it’s perfect for helping you shape your eyebrows.^{[1]
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Expert Source

Erica Coates
Professional Makeup Artist
Expert Interview. 25 February 2022.} Start from the bridge of your nose and move outward until you reach the end of your eyebrow.^{[2]
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Research source} Any long, scraggly eyebrows will extend past the top of the normal shape of your brows.^{[3]
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Expert Source

Erica Coates
Professional Makeup Artist
Expert Interview. 25 February 2022.}
- If your eyebrow hairs don’t stick straight up on their own, hold them in position with your comb while you trim.
2
Cut hairs that stick out with a pair of eyebrow trimming scissors. Hold your scissors parallel to the top edge of your brow and slowly trim any hairs that extend past the top. Use the natural shape and the top line of your brow as a guide for how short to trim the hair. Avoid cutting into the middle of your brows so you don’t accidentally overtrim them or ruin their natural shape.^{[4]
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- Start at the outside end of the brow and work towards your nose.
- Eyebrow or nail scissors are sharper and narrower than standard all-purpose scissors.^{[5]
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  Expert Source
  
  Erica Coates
  Professional Makeup Artist
  Expert Interview. 25 February 2022.} Avoid using kitchen scissors, craft scissors, or nail clippers to cut your eyebrows since they won’t be as sharp or accurate.
- It’s okay if your eyebrows don’t look exactly the same as one another since they may just naturally grow in that way. As long as you trim your brows so they look somewhat similar, you’ll look great.
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3
Rinse and comb your eyebrows back into place. Splash your face with some water to clean off any cut hairs that got stuck in your brows. After wetting your brows, use your comb to brush the hair in the direction they naturally grow.^{[6]
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Method 2

Method 2 of 3:

Thinning with an Electric Trimmer

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Brush your eyebrows toward your temples with a fine-tooth comb. Use a small eyebrow comb or a standard fine-toothed comb for your brows. Move the comb straight across your brows from your nose to your temple so all of the hair is going in the direction that it naturally grows.^{[7]
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- Some electric trimmers come with a small comb you can use for your eyebrows.
2
Secure a long comb attachment onto an electric eyebrow trimmer. Eyebrow trimmers usually come with a few comb attachments so you don’t risk cutting the hair too short. Start with the longer attachment so you don’t overtrim.^{[8]
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- Electric eyebrow trimmers are smaller, so it’s easier to see exactly how much hair you’re cutting off. They work best if you want to trim bushy eyebrows.
- Remember you can always switch to the shorter attachment later on if your brows still look too long.
- Alternatively, if you only have a beard trimmer, attach a ¹⁄₄ in (0.64 cm) guard to the blade.^{[9]
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- Avoid using large hair trimmers since they’re difficult to maneuver and you could accidentally trim more off your eyebrow than you want to.
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Move the trimmer from the end of your eyebrow toward your nose. Hold your trimmer against the end of your eyebrow closest to your temple and turn it on. Apply light pressure and guide the trimmer across your eyebrow to thin out the longer hair growing in the middle. Lightly go over your brows 1 or 2 times to ensure you trim all of the hair evenly.^{[10]
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- If you’re using a beard trimmer, then move it from the outside of your brow toward your nose to clip the hair.^{[11]
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- Only trim a little bit off the length of your eyebrow hairs at a time. Once you finish the first pass, you can use a comb attachment or guard that's a different length to trim more if you need to.

Method 3

Method 3 of 3:

Shaping with Tweezers

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Comb your eyebrows in the natural direction they grow. Run a fine-toothed eyebrow comb through your brows starting from your nose and moving it toward your temples. That way, all of your eyebrow hair is tamed and you can see any that are outside of your brow’s normal shape.^{[12]
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Use tweezers to remove hairs past the ends of your eyebrows. Look for eyebrow hairs where the root is outside of the brow shape near your temple. Pinch the base of the hair between your tweezers and gently pull the hair out. Only pluck hairs that grow alone, separate from the rest of the eyebrow so you don’t accidentally thin your brows out too much.^{[13]
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Expert Source

Erica Coates
Professional Makeup Artist
Expert Interview. 25 February 2022.}
- Less is more when it comes to tweezing for men. Just remove the stray hairs that really stand out from the rest.
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Pluck hairs that grow between the two brows. If you want to get rid of a unibrow, start plucking at the center and work outward toward your brows. It's your personal preference how much you want to pluck, but your brows will look best if the ends line up with the centers of your nostrils.^{[14]
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- As a quick reference, use your thumb as a guide for how far apart your eyebrows should be. Place your thumb directly centered between your eyebrows and pluck the hairs that are underneath it.
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Remove hairs that grow above and below your eyebrow’s natural shape.^{[15]
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Expert Source

Erica Coates
Professional Makeup Artist
Expert Interview. 25 February 2022.} With your tweezers still in hand, look for hairs that are growing significantly above the main eyebrow and pluck them. Then, check for any other hairs that start under the bottom of your brow and remove them.^{[16]
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- Avoid plucking any hairs that are part of the main shape of your eyebrow since you may thin them out too much.

Expert Q&A

Question

Should guys do their eyebrows?

Laura Martin
Licensed Cosmetologist
Laura Martin is a Licensed Cosmetologist in Georgia. She has been a hair stylist since 2007 and a cosmetology teacher since 2013.

Laura Martin

Licensed Cosmetologist

Expert Answer

You can, or you can ask a hair dresser for help. In fact, many hair dressers will trim a man's eyebrows for him as part of a haircut. If you'd like your stylist or barber to do this, just ask.
Question

How do you trim your eyebrows?

Laura Martin
Licensed Cosmetologist
Laura Martin is a Licensed Cosmetologist in Georgia. She has been a hair stylist since 2007 and a cosmetology teacher since 2013.

Laura Martin

Licensed Cosmetologist

Expert Answer

Use a Spoolie brush (or a clean mascara wand) to brush them gently up. Then, trim away any long strays staying about 1/8" above the the length of the other hairs. Then brush the hairs straight down and repeat.
Question

Do guys get their eyebrows done?

Laura Martin
Licensed Cosmetologist
Laura Martin is a Licensed Cosmetologist in Georgia. She has been a hair stylist since 2007 and a cosmetology teacher since 2013.

Laura Martin

Licensed Cosmetologist

Expert Answer

Some guys do, but they get less hair removed, usually just the hairs between the brows and any strays on the forehead are tweezed or waxed. Trimming however is a must for most men; I include it with every man's haircut.