Lighten Eyebrows Color

Q: Yesterday I had my eyebrows tinted (permanent hair dye) along with waxing at the salon. I requested just a shade darker than my natural very light brown color that was barely noticeable. I was horrified when I looked in the mirror, they are almost jet black. I used a stain remover to get the excess dye off my skin which helped some with the Halloween-ish appearance.

I cannot believe I allowed myself to be talked into this procedure by the salon owner and vow never to return. Please help, what can I do to lighten them? I understand now after researching on the internet it was dangerous and if accidentally spilled into the eye could cause blindness. I also read color removers can do the same but I will be very careful. I am embarrassed by my attempt to make an improvement, please suggest something!

A: Well, the first thing I can tell you (and you likely as not have already discovered this) is that if you wash your face regularly, you will see the color of your eyebrows fade somewhat.

If this is still not enough, I would like to suggest a couple of things to try before you go and get a color remover and use something so obviously dangerous near your sensitive eye tissues.

The first thing I would suggest is to use a clarifying shampoo mixed with equal parts of water on a soft bristled toothbrush to "shampoo" your brows. The shampoo is designed to strip the hair of residues and oils in preparation of a chemical service such as perming but it can help to remove some of the excess color from the brows, and leave you with a more natural looking set of eyebrows. Be sure to tilt your face forward over the sink so that the shampoo mixture doesn't run off into your eyes. You should see results in a few applications.

If this doesn't help, you can take first aid strength hydrogen peroxide on a cotton pad and apply it to your eyebrows the way you would use an astringent. The peroxide will not be so strong as to endanger your eyes too greatly if you accidentally get it into your eyes, but will be strong enough to create some lightening effect on the eyebrows.

I do not advise using a color removal product for this purpose, no matter how careful you intend to be. The risks are too great that a mishap could cause serious damage to your eyesight.

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See also:

Is it dangerous to bleach your eyebrows?

Eyelash and eyebrow tinting services

Should your hair color match your eyebrows?