Have you noticed a sharp uptick in the number of videos of people with cling wrap on their foreheads?
Over the past couple of years, eyebrow lamination has emerged as a popular way to make your brows look big and bushy. There are countless DIY tutorials on YouTube and TikTok. But, like much beauty content online, the people giving the advice often aren't professionals.
We went to the experts to explain what you need to know about the brow lamination process and how to do it safely.
"Eyebrow lamination is basically like an eyebrow perm," explains Lana Tarek, an eyebrow specialist and trainer who owns a salon in Sydney.
Like the '80s hairstyle of the same name, a perm is a chemical treatment that changes the texture of your hair. It's usually used to produce curls or waves, but as is the case here it can make the hair straight too.
"If clients have really thin brows, they can achieve [thicker looking] brows by having their brows laminated upwards," Ms Tarek says.
Despite the name, you won't leave the salon with plastic-coated brows. The plastic wrap, for which the procedure gets its name, is only used to cover and compress the area during the process.
Dr Katherine Armour, a Melbourne-based cosmetic and general dermatologist, says there are generally three products applied to your eyebrows as part of the treatment.
Ms Tarek says it takes about 45 minutes and, in a salon, usually costs between $100 and $150.
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Ms Tarek says the lamination usually lasts about six weeks , and she recommends leaving an extra week or two before giving it another go.
"This lets the hair re-bond and go back to its original state. [If you don't do this] it can impact the integrity of the hair."
Dr Shyamalar Gunatheesan, a dermatologist with a practice in Melbourne, agrees that your hair needs time to repair.
"The treatment is breaking up disulfide bonds, which is what links your hair to cystine amino acids. Your eyebrows will regenerate, but [if you do back-to-back treatments or don't appropriately nourish the hair] your hair will be more brittle and friable."
Ms Tarek says that, for those seeking thick looking brows, lamination is generally considered a good semi-permanent solution: a midle ground between daily styling methods using brow gels and long-term treatments like microblading.
But time shouldn't be the only consideration when weighing up the alternatives, she says.Microblading and brow lamination produce different looks too.
"If you're looking at filling in gaps in your brows, microblading would be best," Ms Tarek says."But if you want that sort of effortless, unstructured, fluffy look that's where lamination would be a better consideration."
"Overall, lamination is probably a safer technique," Dr Armour adds. "There may be a greater risk for side effects [with microblading] due to the tattoo needles penetrating deeper layers of skin."
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"If you have very fine and soft hair, you need to be very careful about where you go," Ms Tarek says. "The product could over-process if the technician isn't very experienced."
Overprocessing causes temporary damage to the hair follicles, Dr Armour says. "'Overcooking' the procedure makes the ends of the eyebrows look singed."
There are also risks to the eyes and skin. The perming and neutralising chemicals would have "very detrimental effects" if they ran into your eyes, Dr Armour notes. And they can cause problems (redness, swelling, stinging, peeling and itching) for the surrounding skin too.
"Remember that the eyelid skin is the thinnest skin on the body, and is just below your brow. It is particularly susceptible to irritancy or allergy to chemicals."
She says you can lessen the risk of irritation by using gentle cleansers and moisturisers, and no products with strong cosmeceutical ingredients, like retinoids or vitamin C, in the area in the five days prior and 10 days following the procedure.
If you have a skin condition which affects your face such as eczema, psoriasis or rosacea Dr Armour says you should avoid lamination entirely.
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There are a number of brow lamination kits on the market in Australia and internationally, but Ms Tarek advises people against using them unless they have appropriate training.
In fact, some of these products have their own disclaimers saying they are intended for professional use only.
"I'm finding that women are becoming more adventurous now that they can buy professional products online," Ms Tarek says. "They want to give it a crack [But] this is professional treatment, and it should be done by a professional.
"It's not as simple as putting on a lotion and brushing up hair."
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She says her salon frequently gets people coming in with DIY jobs gone wrong: "People try to laminate their own brows and their hairs end up looking like barbed wire. Sometimes their skin can go really flaky and irritated too."
Dr Armour agrees "it's ideal to go to an experienced technician".
Ms Tarek says you should look for a qualified eyebrow artist who has a background in beauty therapy.
"You should also pay attention to whether they have experience doing brow lamination before," she says. "Check out their before-and-after treatments, their reviews and testimonials."
Dr Gunatheesan agrees, and suggests asking a few questions:
"I think it's the number of treatments they've done that is [most] important."
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Read more from the original source:
Everything you need to know about brow lamination - ABC Life