My first waxing. %^&$)*&(^$#.

[Carolynn]

Make up and modification of things like eyebrows are seen by anthropologists and ethologists as ways of making a woman more attractive in the mating game than might be otherwise.

Wide eyes are typical of a woman who is interested in a man, and by making the brows smaller the eye is widened and made more apparent. The used of eye shadows and mascara call attention to the eyes, and using the eye makeup properly can add the the wide open eye effect. Blush on the cheeks and lipstick give the appearance of health, and sexual interest, and youth. Clear skin denotes health, and we have foundations and coverup creams to give that appearance. Generally speaking males are attracted to youthful appearance as it suggest readiness for mating and reproduction. What do males mostly have on their minds other than sex? So a woman's make up help attract the necessary attention from suitable males who might give strong kids and be good providers..

Other parts of the body, large breasts and ample hips for instance, are also attractions to a male, as whether they actually think it or not, these are other signals as to suitablily for mating.

Perfumes can enhance or replace pheremones, and that can hide some evidences of age and possilby less than ideal health. Toothpaste makes teeth whiter and healthier looking, and mouthwashes and peppermint tabs make the breath smell better and hide the odor of bad teeth or other evidence of bad health (like ulcers).

Think about it in those terms and the use of makeup and modifications of hair on the face makes sense.

All cultures have ways to enhance the appearance of the individual, from coloring nippiles among people who do not wear much clothing to complete face painting with flowers and other things, to tattooing with rank symbols that relate to the individuals power in warfare or heritage. However, nearly all females no matter the culture color their lips, cheeks, and do what they can to be seen as sexually ready, especially if not married.

[Kimberly Kael]

A better question might be how did hairless get equated with beautiful?

There's no one answer. You've already seen a few answers from others. One influencing factor I didn't see mentioned is that a lot of beauty products tend to accentuate already present biological differences. Women have less hair than men, so clearly having even less hair is more feminine - or so the theory goes.

[Davita]

Beauty is a fleeting moment of whim. That is to say, what is pretty today could be ugly tomorrow. Curve women and flat chest women of beauty have come and gone. Eyebrows are in then out. Bellybuttons showing and not showing have come and gone.

Ssssooooooo, for all the hair thinning and touching up and shaving and makeup, I guess I'm already not in fashion. darn *sigh*

[Ralitsa]

The used of eye shadows and mascara call attention to the eyes, and using the eye makeup properly can add the the wide open eye effect. Blush on the cheeks and lipstick give the appearance of health, and sexual interest, and youth. Clear skin denotes health, and we have foundations and coverup creams to give that appearance. Generally speaking males are attracted to youthful appearance as it suggest readiness for mating and reproduction. What do males mostly have on their minds other than sex?

Considering the trouble they go to, it seems like women might have sex on their minds even more than men.
The only thing men use to attract a mate is their platinum card (or possibly a corvette).
Did you ever notice that women always buy clothes that are sexy, make them look good, or show off their figure, but there is no man alive who will buy "sexy jeans" or any clothes that would be called sexy. Why is it that women will relate their clothes to sex, but men will not?
Even if I buy a dress, I do not buy one that is sexy, I buy one that feels good, is comfortable, and looks nice. Now "looking nice" might actually be the same thing as "sexy", but I don't say "sexy" I say "look nice". Maybe I just don't feel like I am qualified to be sexy (really I don't feel like I am) but I think there is more than that. I think women very much associate how they look with their chances of having sex, and men don't very much. But I don't know what significance that has to the universe in general.

[Absaroka]

Women may associate how they look with their chances of finding a mate, which is different from having sex. Men go to pretty big lengths to look attractive, which is not to be confused with sexy.

Both genders spend a lot of their efforts on attractiveness not so much directed towards the target of their attraction, but towards outdoing the competition. Not just to attract someone but to enhance their standing among their peers.

[Kimberly Kael]

Women may associate how they look with their chances of finding a mate, which is different from having sex.

Bingo! Of course a lot of this has its roots in traditional gender roles which aren't as strict these days, but I think it's fair to say that historically women tried to appeal to what men were looking for in a mate: someone attractive and disciplined, who would therefore make a good mother. Also someone who walks that fine line of being flirty enough to be fun to be around, but not so wild as to create concerns about extramarital scandals or the perception thereof.

Men, on the other hand, were trying to appeal to what women were looking for in a mate. Someone who had solid career prospects in order to provide for their family, a trustworthy man capable of offering protection from physical and emotional threats. Sexy would be a complete luxury, the sort of thing a women might find superficially attractive but about which cautionary tales were told: a woman who focuses on attractive men wouldn't have security and would always have to worry about him catching the eye of another woman.

I think the remnants of these patterns are still pretty obvious in society, but sometimes we don't understand where they come from because the world we live in is quite different.

[Anthony Simon]

A better question might be how did hairless get equated with beautiful?

There's no one answer. You've already seen a few answers from others. One influencing factor I didn't see mentioned is that a lot of beauty products tend to accentuate already present biological differences. Women have less hair than men, so clearly having even less hair is more feminine - or so the theory goes.

I found this http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Gua ... -L-009.jpg picture of Danny La Rue from the 60s. He was someone who covered his eyebrows (a very professional job) and redrew quite new ones (much thinner, black, and higher up). I think, if you cover the eyebrows with your finger in the picture, it does noticeably reduce how feminine he looks.

So, to me, this looks like the theory atually works.

[Paula G]

I have been advised that to cover up my eyebrows to use soap smeered across them before applying any makeup then on top of the primer, foundation etc. draw in new ones in the size shape and position wanted, I have tried this once and it seemed to work.

[Anthony Simon]

I read somewhere that if you use soap in an ongoing way it's not too good for the skin, but I've never tried it. I have a feeling that's what Danny La Rue was using (maybe).

The two ways that come up on the internet are to use "glue-stick" (a cheap, water-soluble, non-toxic glue available in stationers) and eyebrow plastic or wax (same thing - a specially designed product for this). Both of these are supposed to cover the brows - with the eyebrow plastic you need a "sealant" (the same sort of stuff that is applied to lipstick to make it last longer). This method also gets recommended in a makeup book for GGs I've got (though there is says it's only going to last a few hours - and the example shown is of brows that are much less intense than mine).

I seem not to be able to get either method to work terribly well. The glue-stick glues down my brows and holds them in place, but leaves kind of ridges. That is to say you can still see the texture of the eybrows even when you apply makeup. Also the makeup itself (i.e. the foundation) seems to dissolve the glue...not very satisfactory. The eyebrow plastic doesn't do a good job of holding my brows down (somewhat full and springy as they are). So I just get a mess when I apply it - even before applying makeup.

What does kind of work (for me) is using the gluestick to stick the brows down, waiting maybe 10 minutes and then applying the eyebrow wax plus the sealant. The trouble is this still leaves some of the texture of the evebrows in place. There was a makup tutorial on the net which involved melting the eyebrow plastic to produce a smooth finish, but this has proved beyond me. That tutorial also seems to use endless layers of powder (presumably including powder foundation) over the top to make the brows disappear entirely. It was very impressive, though I'm not quite sure how that was managed (just using powder foundation doesn't produce good enough coverage for me).

I find that, even with the sealant, I have trouble avoiding the (non-powder) foundation dissolving the stuff covering the eyebrows. This might be related to my face getting hot (see the "Uncertain Foundation" thread for endless stuff about that). In general I end up with a result which would be blindingly obvious if I ever wore it to go out - it's just too noticeable the brows are being covered. BUT, if I draw new eyebrows round the top of the outine of the old ones it kids the eye enough to produce a (IMHO) noticeably more feminine face. And that's quite satisfying.

[Caith]

It's been several months since I went for my first full Brazilian wax, and it honestly wasn't bad. I've been having my eyebrows waxed for over two years, so that's never a bother. I really expected the Brazilian to hurt a lot more, and it just didn't bother me in the least. Having had laser to remove most of my body hair several years ago, and currently receiving electrolysis to remove my beard, I can say that waxing just isn't that bothersome to me.

FYI, the nicest thing about the Brazilian wax is how much cleaner it feels, and no itching or prickly spots. The more you have it done, the easier/faster it gets.

[Jen]

the first time I got wax in stink has bad as a snuck but after I found place that all they do waxing it not has bad they told me if I took better care of my skin it will be lot easier to come off and less painful

[Alisa]

I've never had my brows waxed... just plucking the long wild hairs seems to do the trick for me. Helps that the hair is light. I have had pretty much every other area waxed... well every other area except underarms... and did not find it extraordinarily painful just too darn expensive.

Little off topic but thinking about electrolysis cause I think my hair is too light for laser. Giggle... at least waxing is soothing when the wax goes on and it is one quick motion when it comes off. Electrolysis sounds like death from a thousand cuts. Yikes!

[Michelle Diane]

Cindy Louise, all I can say is more power to you. You're braver than me, although if I got my brows waxed there'd be nothing left as they're so fine and sparse anyway. My wife likes to get her brows done and regales me with how it's done in all the gory detail.....Guess I'm a wimp where hair and wax are concerned.