We’ve been threading brows since 1993, so you can probably guess where we stand. But tweezers and wax both have their uses, and the right answer depends on what you’re trying to do.
Threading
A twisted cotton thread rolled along the skin, catching hairs and lifting them out from the root. It can take a single hair or a whole row of fine ones in one pass, so we can shape a brow almost hair by hair. Nothing touches your skin but cotton: no heat, no product and very little irritation.
That control is why it’s our house technique for brows. It’s also the better choice if you use retinoids or other active skincare, or if your skin is sensitive, reactive or prone to breakouts.
Plucking
Fine for the odd stray between appointments, and that’s about it. Tweezers take one hair at a time, so shaping a whole brow with them is slow, and it’s very easy to keep going and take too much. A lot of the over-plucked brows we see started with a pair of tweezers and a magnifying mirror.
Tweezers can also snap a hair at the surface instead of pulling it from the root, which is why some strays seem to be back within days.
If you pluck between visits, do it in daylight, in an ordinary mirror, and only take hairs that are clearly outside your shape.
Waxing
Good for bigger areas and thicker growth, because it clears a lot of hair in one go. On the sides of the face or a full face it’s a perfectly good option, and some people just prefer it.
On brows it’s less precise, since the strip takes everything underneath it. And because wax grips the skin as well as the hair, it isn’t a good idea if you’re using retinoids or strong acids.
Does one last longer?
Not really. You’ll see it claimed that waxing lasts longer, but all three pull the hair from the root, and regrowth comes through in around two to three weeks whichever you choose, depending on how quickly your hair grows. What changes is how neat the result is.
What we’d do
Thread your brows, and thread small areas like the upper lip and chin. Think about wax for large areas if you prefer it. Keep the tweezers for emergencies.