How to Thread Eyebrow & Facial Hair at Home: Tips, Tricks, & More

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Fabulous eyebrows are only a few twists away with our expert guide to threading at home

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Gathering Your Supplies

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Mapping & Trimming Your Eyebrows

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Threading Your Brows

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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

If you want to master threading, also known as "tying" or "khite" in Arabic, you’re in the right place! This ancient temporary hair removal method is a popular way to rid yourself of any peach fuzz on your lips, cheeks, and chin, not to mention perfect a pair of bushy brows. In this article, we’ll teach you all about what tools you’ll need and how to use them so you’ll be threading with ease in no time. Read on for fabulous brows!

Things You Should Know

Make a loop by folding 11 inches (28cm) worth of thread in half and tying the ends together.
Put one hand inside each end of the looped thread, with your palms up, before rotating your hands 6-7 times to create a circle of twisted thread in the middle of your loop.
Twist one hand clockwise and one counterclockwise to create a rolling and twisting thread motion in the middle. Align the twists of thread under the hair you want to remove.
Open the fingers of your right hand to move the thread down or the fingers of your left hand to move the thread up. Twist the center of the loop to pluck out the hair.

Part 1

Part 1 of 3:

Gathering Your Supplies

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1
Use threading to remove facial and body hair. Threading is a temporary hair removal technique primarily used for excess hair removal on the eyebrows, lips, cheeks, chin, and legs. Although it may seem complicated, learning to remove unwanted hair at home is easy with a bit of patience and practice. Threading your eyebrows has several advantages over other methods, such as the following:^{[1]XResearch source}
- Threading eyebrow hair is faster and less painful and irritating than tweezing or waxing, not to mention it’s more effective at removing the tiny, almost invisible hairs you might miss with tweezers.
- Threading your eyebrows is faster and cheaper than at-home wax kits. If you learn how to thread yourself, you’ll save a lot of money, as an inexpensive thread will cost around $1.
- See a professional if you’re not confident in your ability to thread your eyebrows yourself. Improper threading technique could result in injury or total damage to your eyebrow shape and unwanted hair loss.
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Get a lash comb and grooming scissors. You will need a lash comb, and a pair of small grooming scissors to aid you in threading your eyebrows at home. Use the lash comb to brush the eyebrow hair in place and the scissors to trim any lengthy hairs. The best part is, these items are inexpensive and easily accessible, as you likely already have most of them at home.^{[2]XResearch source}
- Dusting your brows with baby powder or loose setting powder before threading can be beneficial, as it makes hair easier to pull out.
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Use cotton thread. Thread is the most important tool you will be using to shape your eyebrows properly. The key is to only use 100% cotton thread, as it’s less likely to snap, making the threading process much easier.^{[3]XResearch source}
- Use a piece of thread around 11 inches (28 cm), or the length of your forearm plus 3 extra inches (2.6 cm). The less string you use, the more control you will have.^{[4]XResearch source}

Part 2

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Mapping & Trimming Your Eyebrows

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1
Choose your brow shape carefully. Using an eyebrow pencil to outline and fill in your eyebrows exactly how you want them will help you to ‘stay in the lines’ when you’re threading and prevent you from removing too much hair. Map your desired brow shape by marking the following 3 measurements to use as a guide for where not to thread:^{[5]XResearch source}
- Find the inside limit of the brow by measuring a straight line from the corner of the nose to the inside corner of your eye.
- Determine the outside limit of the brow by measuring the edge of the nose to the outside edge of the eye.
- Find the highest arch of the brow by measuring the outside edge of the nose through the pupil.
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Sweep your eyebrow hair upward using a lash comb. Work on your eyebrows one section at a time by combing the front of the brow, then the arch, and finally, the tail with your lash comb.^{[6]XResearch source}
- Use your grooming scissors to carefully trim the hairs that extend over the line you’ve mapped. Then, sweep your eyebrows downward, and snip any particularly long hairs that stand out.
- Don’t overdo it. When in doubt, cut less hair than you think is necessary.
- Finish by combing your eyebrow hair back into place.
Tie a large, loose loop with your 11-inch (28 cm) thread to prepare for the threading process. Fold the thread in half, then tie the ends of the thread together. The 100% cotton thread is what you’ll be using to pull out and shape your eyebrow hairs.^{[7]XResearch source}

Part 3

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Threading Your Brows

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1
Twist the thread loop in the middle. Start by stretching the loop between your hands. Stretch the thread between your thumb and index fingers and do the following:^{[8]XResearch source}
- Put one hand inside each end of the looped thread, with your palms up, before rotating your hands several times. It might be enough to rotate them twice, although some experts suggest as much as 15 times.
- Twist one hand clockwise and one counterclockwise to twist the thread 6 or 7 times until you have about 1 inch (2.5 cm) of intertwined thread between your hands.
- When you open up your palm and fingers with the thread around them, you will create a circle of thread at each end with twisted thread in the middle.
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Test the thread. Hold the string with your thumbs and index fingers inside the loops on each side, then pull your right thumb and index finger apart. This threading motion traps hairs in the twisted thread and pulls them out.^{[9]XResearch source}
- Open and close your hands to move the thread. Place your hand inside the thread loop when you open it so that part of the thread is on top and the other part of the thread is on the bottom of your hand.
- Close the space between your right thumb and index finger and open the space between your left thumb and index finger. The twists of the thread will move toward your left hand.
3
Position the thread under the hair you want to remove. After practicing your threading technique, you’re ready to shape and remove your brow hairs. Open up the loop and hand in the opposite direction that you want to thread (left hand to thread to the right; right hand to thread to the left). Place the twisted section of the thread under the hair that needs removing. Make sure to thread the eyebrows in the opposite direction from which your hair grows.^{[10]XResearch source}
- When you open and close the loops, the twisted portion of the thread will tug out the hair.
- Applying a light dusting of baby powder across your eyebrows might make it easier for the thread to pull out your hair.
4
Grab the unwanted hairs with your thread. As you twist the center of the loop, the twisted threads will pluck out the hair. Some experienced practitioners will hold the thread in their mouth while manipulating the other ends of it with both hands. Others hold each end of the thread in a different hand.^{[11]XResearch source}
- Starting at the highest hairs you want to remove, align the twists of thread to that hair. Open your right fingers smoothly, moving the thread down, and then open your left fingers to move the thread back.
- Continue these motions, working from top to bottom, aligning the coil of thread carefully before rolling it up and down the removal area until all the unwanted hair is gone.
- This same threading technique can remove unwanted facial and body hair, such as above the lip or on the legs. Areas other than your eyebrows don’t need mapping—simply roll the thread from top to bottom over the entire area to remove the unwanted hair.
- Thread at whatever pace works best for you. Experienced practitioners can do this process very quickly, but when you’re first starting out, it’s best to take your time and go slow.
- The results of threading can last about 2-3 weeks.^{[12]XTrustworthy SourcePubMed CentralJournal archive from the U.S. National Institutes of HealthGo to source}

Expert Q&A

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Question
What are the disadvantages of threading?
Melissa Jannes
Licensed Esthetician
Melissa Jannes is a Licensed Esthetician and the owner of Maebee's Beauty Studio in Philadelphia, a single practitioner space providing quality services with individualized attention. Melissa is also a National Educator for Universal Companies. She received her esthetics degree at The Beauty School of Middletown in 2008 and is licensed in both New York and Pennsylvania. Melissa won the "Best of Beauty" award from Allure magazine in 2012 for the quality of her bikini waxing.
Melissa Jannes
Licensed Esthetician
Expert Answer
Well, some people think that it hurts and it can be kind of difficult to do it on your own.
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Question
Is threading better than waxing?
Melissa Jannes
Licensed Esthetician
Melissa Jannes is a Licensed Esthetician and the owner of Maebee's Beauty Studio in Philadelphia, a single practitioner space providing quality services with individualized attention. Melissa is also a National Educator for Universal Companies. She received her esthetics degree at The Beauty School of Middletown in 2008 and is licensed in both New York and Pennsylvania. Melissa won the "Best of Beauty" award from Allure magazine in 2012 for the quality of her bikini waxing.
Melissa Jannes
Licensed Esthetician
Expert Answer
I don't know if I'd say it's better or worse. This comes down a lot of the times to personal preference. In my opinion, threading, waxing, and tweezing will all have fairly identical results.
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Can I get a clean, professional look if I thread at home?
Melissa Jannes
Licensed Esthetician
Melissa Jannes is a Licensed Esthetician and the owner of Maebee's Beauty Studio in Philadelphia, a single practitioner space providing quality services with individualized attention. Melissa is also a National Educator for Universal Companies. She received her esthetics degree at The Beauty School of Middletown in 2008 and is licensed in both New York and Pennsylvania. Melissa won the "Best of Beauty" award from Allure magazine in 2012 for the quality of her bikini waxing.
Melissa Jannes
Licensed Esthetician
Expert Answer
It's going to be pretty challenging. I generally recommend that people go see a professional if they want a clean threading job.
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Tips

Wait 2 hours before applying makeup or lotion to the threaded area. Threading can disturb your skin’s barrier, making it more susceptible to contracting viruses or bacteria.^{[13]XResearch source}
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Some people use the threading to remove splinters (although not from a hand, as you need both hands to do the threading).
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Experiment with different thread lengths or brands if you find the thread difficult to use.
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