Have you heard people talking about brow lamination or envied those big, feathery, brushed up brows that have been all over social media? I’ve spoken to an expert to get answers to all your ‘need to know’ brow lamination questions, plus i’m sharing my guide from lockdown that shows you how I now do mine myself at home. It saves a fortune!

I had a chat with Tabitha Coker, a London brow artist and owner of Lush Brow Bar, to get all your brow lamination FAQs answered. Here’s the lowdown –

What is brow lamination and how does it work?
Brow Lamination is when a chemical is used to straighten the brow hair temporarily. Although known as a perm for the brows it’s actually the opposite as it straightens the hair to create a sleeker, feathered look. Brow Lamination is a process of restructuring the brow hairs to keep them in a desired shape – the hairs are manipulated to create the illusion of a fuller brow. It sets the brows for up to 8 weeks. Lamination kits usually come in a 3 step process depending on the kit used. First you apply the lifting cream which breaks down the hair bonds and allows the hair to move freely. Cling film is put over the brows to laminate them like this and will sit on top of them for 8 to 10mins. Step 2 – you apply the neutraliser which reforms the hair to its new shape. Then you apply step 3 to hydrate the brows following the treatment and avoid them drying out.

How did the trend for big feathery brows come about?
In 2012 Kristie Streicher introduced the feather brow technique with the concept that you don’t need to take a lot away to tidy or shape brows. The feather brow trend really took its place in history when Cara Delevingne hit the scene. She pioneered the bold unkempt brow which led to the trend of feather brows as we now know it . She hit the scene at a time when brows were still uniform and structured and she changed how we see brows today. This resulted in women trying to achieve a fuller, more natural brow. Over the years we have really seen the trend explode. Women no longer want every hair in place – they now want brows to be big, bold and unstructured.Is brow lamination bad for your brows? Are there any downsides?
Brow Lamination, although amazing, if the brow perm is left on for too long while the treatment is carried out, you can dry out the ends of the brow hairs. Also, if lamination is done too frequently i.e. less than 8 weeks between each session, this can result in the brow hair becoming over processed. Always use a certified artist.

How do you look after your brows immediately after your treatment & going forward?
Once laminated, I would advise keeping them dry for 24 hours after treatment to avoid water on the brow area. Moving forward, apply a brow gel or brow soap to keep them in place. To keep up your lamination, get them redone every 8 weeks.

Do you need quite full brows to start with to be able to get this done and get a good result?
That’s always the misconception. You don’t need full brows, but you need some brow hair for the lamination process.

Also check out my post on 5 Ways to Boost Your Brows

Although not advised by expert Tabitha Coker, I do do my own brow lamination at home and I know quite a few of the popular beauty community on Instagram who do also. You do need to be aware of the risks, but it is quite easy so long as you only do it every couple of months and that you are strict with your timings of each step. It is done at home using a lash lift kit – I’m currently using the ICONSIGN Lash Lift Kit* but i’ve also used the Maycreate Lash Lift Kit. Brow Lamination can cost around £50 a time. So far i’ve got three applications from this £19.99 kit and it’s not finished yet. Please watch my IGTV tutorial video on DIY Brow Lamination here.

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