Threading vs. Tweezing - In terms of threading vs. tweezing, you will get much cleaner and more precise results with threading. By using the thread as a guide, the Specialist is able to more accurately shape your brows, whereas with tweezing you run the chance of removing critical hairs that will destroy your brow shape. Also tweezing tends to be more time consuming as you must remove each hair individually; whereas with threading you can remove individual hairs or a group of hairs at one time.
Threading vs. Waxing While threading targets the hair with minimal skin contact, waxing is the opposite. When wax is applied, it not only sticks to the hairs, but also the delicate facial skin. When the wax is pulled off, it does remove the hair, but is also removes the upper layers of skin. This removal can result in pinkness/redness where the wax was applied.
Although the waxing process tends to be quicker, often you will have to go back and tweeze shorter hairs that were not long enough to be waxed. Some other drawbacks include too thin eyebrows and brows that are too short – often times the waxing will results in the removal of the brow’s tail end, and a sloppy wax will result in removing more than intended since it is difficult to target specific hairs with wax.
The common-practice of double-dipping is another reason to opt not to wax. This method uses the same spatula for the entire treatment, re-dipping the used applicator back into the vat of wax. This contaminated wax is then reused for treatments on other individuals. Unfortunately, this technique can increase the chances of potentially-harmful bacteria spreading from one client to another, which is particularly disturbing when the client before you just got a bikini wax and now you are getting your eyebrows done with the same wax! (By the way, we have a strict No Double-Dip (sm) Policy for all of our waxing and sugaring body treatments.)
What areas of the body can't be threaded, and why? You can thread pretty much thread anywhere on the body that you have hair. However, because threading is more time consuming than waxing, we recommend waxing or sugaring for the body and threading for the face. At our Shobha salons, we thread stray hairs that might remain after any body hair removal treatment (we don’t even have tweezers on the premises!).
What should we look for in a salon that offers threading?
When looking for a salon that offers threading, you should have the following on your radar:
- The salon is clean and the supplies are sanitary.
- The salon displays the individual, valid licenses of its Specialists.
- Specialists wash their hands between each client.
- Specialists take their time with each client. You can always ask your Specialist to go slowly, especially if you have sensitive skin and/or if it is your first time.
- When being threaded, your Specialist should apply the right amount of pressure to prevent irritating and/or cutting delicate skin.
- For eyebrow threading, a Specialist needs to not only be able to thread hairs, but also to know which ones to thread. Although, each eyebrow is made up of more than 200 individual hairs, it only takes the removal of one or two to tell the difference between a great brow shape and a botched one with ‘bald’ spots. Ideally your Specialist should not only have the technical skill to ensure that the eyebrow hairs are removed properly from the root, but he or she also needs to have an artistic eye for shaping and understanding which brow shape best compliments your other facial features.
- If it is your first time with a Specialist, it is always a good idea to discuss what type of brow shape you are looking for (manicured vs. more natural) as well as what might work best for you.
Shobha Tummala's final thoughts: A great way to give yourself an instant face-lift, open up your eyes and create a more polished look sans the makeup is to have your brows threaded. It’s amazing how much a pretty pair of symmetrical brows can enhance the rest of your features!
You can check out ShobhaThreading.com for a list of our Shobha locations and Shobha-certified Specialists as well as www.beautysurvival.com for a list of various salons that offer threading in cities across the US and other international locations.
