Got Grey Hair? Here’s How to Make Your Eyebrows Look Their Best
Inside: How gray-haired women can tame and enhance their eyebrows
Women who’ve embraced their natural gray hair often struggle with the question of what to do about their eyebrows.
As a former brunette, I’m used to dark eyebrows that provide a natural frame to my pale face. But my eyebrows are now speckled with gray hair which (unlike the hair on my head) is coarse and wiry.
My eyebrows have also grown sparser due to years of overplucking and (let’s face it), the natural aging process.
To make matters worse, every so often, a “wild hair” grows so long that it threatens to give me “crazy Mad Scientist” eyebrows! That was something I never expected.
It’s all a tad disheartening! But the good news is that there are a myriad of ways to keep your eyebrows looking their best. And all of them can be done at home!
As you might imagine, eyebrows are a hot topic in the gray hair Facebook groups!
And the most frequently asked question is:
Please note that this article may contain affiliate links. You can read my full disclosure at the bottom of the page.
WHAT COLOR SHOULD YOUR EYEBROWS BE WITH GRAY HAIR?
A lot of women wonder if they should let their eyebrows gray naturally or if they should tint them darker.
Women with auburn or blonde eyebrows wonder if they should color their eyebrows gray to match their hair.
And some women with naturally dark eyebrows worry that their dark eyebrows present too harsh a contrast against their silver hair.
There’s no one size fits all answer to all the questions of what color eyebrows will look best with your gray hair.
However, many beauty experts agree that slightly darker eyebrows will give your face more of a youthful appearance, as the eyebrows provide a frame for your face and bring out your eye color.
My role model for great eyebrows is Nikol Johnson. I love how her dark eyebrows pick up the dark undertones of her gorgeous silver hair:
For a lighter brow inspiration, check out Stevie’s eyebrow style. Stevie’s natural hair color was auburn/brown, and now that it’s all silver, she sports pretty pewter brows:
WHAT SHADE OF EYEBROW LOOKS BEST ON YOU?
To find out what shade of eyebrow looks best on you, it’s best to experiment with different colors until you find one that suits your skin tone.
A good rule of thumb? Try two shades darker than your natural hair color and go from there!
Katie Goes Platinum
When trying out different eyebrow shades, be aware that your gray/silver hair may be cooler in tone than your natural hair color, so the eyebrow pencil you’ve been using all these years might be too warm.
So, it’s a good idea to experiment with cooler shades in ashy tones.
If you are older, and your skin has lost some color, sometimes a too-dark eyebrow can be harsh and aging. Going lighter will help in that case.
BEST EYEBROW PENCILS FOR GRAY HAIR
A good brow pencil can really enhance your brows, but not everyone likes the more defined look given by a pencil. Brow powders and brow gels are great alternatives for a softer effect, so I’ve included them here
If you prefer darker brows, consider trying dark brown, black-brown, taupe, or dark gray shades.
If you prefer lighter brows, consider trying light brown, dark blonde, or light gray shades.
GREY EYEBROW PENCILS
I used to use a dark brown eyebrow pencil, but it now looks too harsh on me so I switched to a gray pencil.
Gray pencils and powders used to be surprisingly difficult to find, but a relatively new company called Eye Embrace makes them, and their products are affordable and well-made!
The best part? Their pencils and powders come in a variety of cool and warm gray shades to suit every skin tone:
If you’re interested in trying them out, use coupon code KGPBROWS for 5% off!
BLACK, BROWN & TAUPE PENCILS
These are the best non-gray eyebrow pencils recommended to me by other silver sisters:
Fresh Beauty Studio Skinny Brow Pencil in Medium or Dark Brown
Anastasia Brow Wiz in Ebony
Anastasia Brow Wiz in Granite
Benefit Gimme Brow Gel in Cool Black Brown
Hourglass Arch Brow Sculpting Pencil in Soft Brunette
Benefit Foolproof Brow Powder in 05 Deep
Ulta Brow Powder Duo in Espresso
Anastasia Brow Powder in Taupe
Clinique Brow Shaper in Taupe
Fresh Beauty Studio Skinny Brow Pencil in Taupe
BEST LIGHT BROWN & BLONDE PENCILS
Need something lighter? These are fantastic:
Benefit Gimme Brow Gel in Neutral Light Brown
Benefit Foolproof Brow Powder in light platinum/blonde
Essence Eyebrow Pencil in Blonde
HOW TO FILL IN SPARSE EYEBROWS
Many of us find that, as we get older, our once-bushy eyebrows start to fade away.
Why does this happen? The most common causes are hormone imbalances, over-plucking or over-waxing, thyroid conditions, and (simply put) the aging process.
If your eyebrows have grown sparser, consider trying an eyebrow growth serum such as City Beauty’s Brow Boost (** temporarily off the market ** )
I started using it several months ago and have been very pleased with the results! Not only are my eyebrows thicker, but they seem a little darker as well.
I hope this comes back on the market soon because it’s a fantastic product!
In the meantime, you can try this alternative or, if you just need your eyebrows to appear thicker, check out Maryam Remias’ awesome YouTube video that addresses how to fill in sparse eyebrows.
She makes it look so easy!
I love how Maryam points out that you don’t need to make your eyebrows perfectly symmetrical – they should be “sisters, not twins.”
HOW TO COLOR GRAY EYEBROWS
If you prefer a longer-lasting solution to color your eyebrows, tinting your eyebrows is the way to go.
Nikol Johnson, the founder of Fresh Beauty Studio created this helpful video all about how to dye your gray eyebrows:
Products mentioned in Nikol’s Video:
Brow Fixx
Skinny Brow Pencil
Brow Serum
Another product that women in the gray hair community swear by for coloring gray eyebrows is Just for Men.
The verbiage on the box tells you NOT to use this on your eyebrows (so please keep that in mind) but if you’re still interested, check out the tips in this video below:
Hot Tip: If you decide to tint your eyebrows at home and need to figure out what colors to try, remember to look at the dark undertones of your hair (such as the underside of your hair or the tips of your hair) for color inspiration.
TRIMMING GRAY EYEBROWS
If your eyebrows are turning gray, you might notice that they are becoming more unruly.
Gray hairs on your eyebrows tend to be coarser than the gray hairs that grow out of your head, which makes them stick up.
Luckily, even though some experts recommend against it, it’s surprisingly easy to trim your own eyebrows at home.
And if I, a notoriously uncoordinated person can do it, anyone can do it!
All you need is a good pair of eyebrow scissors and an eyebrow brush. I bought this Tweezerman eyebrow trimmer kit and love it!
HOW TO TRIM YOUR EYEBROWS
Brush your eyebrows upward – you can brush your entire brow upward, but if your eyebrows are thinning, you may want to avoid the tail end of your brows and just concentrate on the front part.
Trim the excess hairs that stick out above your brow line. Use caution and don’t over-trim!
Check out this video for trimming techniques:
HOW TO SHAPE YOUR EYEBROWS
Not happy with your natural eyebrow shape?
There are two ways to create a nice arch by removing unwanted hairs from underneath your browline: tweezing or waxing.
But, as noted above, if you overdo it in your younger days you could end up with sparse eyebrows as you get older. So, proceed with caution!
Tweezing has many advantages: it’s accurate, it’s cheap, and (if done properly) shouldn’t harm your skin.
These Tweezerman tweezers are consistently rated top-notch by beauty gurus:
Waxing requires more equipment, can interfere with certain medications, can be harmful to delicate skin, and, if done improperly can remove too much hair at once – leaving you with uneven brows.
The big advantage of waxing, of course, is that it’s much faster than tweezing once you get the hang of it. And it leaves a smoother surface.
If you prefer waxing, get a home waxing kit to start you off on the right track:
FINAL THOUGHTS
As you can see, there are many great and easy ways to groom your eyebrows at home.
If you prefer salon solutions, some women swear by microblading for filling in their sparse brows. And a lot of women think eyebrow threading is superior to waxing and tweezing.
I’m a DIY gal, myself, but those are definite options if you prefer to leave things to the professionals!
Have any more questions about gray hair and eyebrows? Let me know in the comments below!
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When you dye your eyebrows is it common for some dye to get on your skin or how do you prevent that? I’d like a natural look where just the hairs are dyed. Thank you!
I would recommend using Vaseline on your skin to keep the dye from adhering to it – this article gives some tips: https://jazzpampling.com/the-experts-guide-to-tinting-your-brows/#:~:text=As%20mentioned%2C%20you%20should%20apply,you've%20applied%20the%20dye.
A lot of women use “Just for Men” and apply it with a little brush (like a mascara spoolie) to mitigate the chance of getting it on their skin. But Vaseline is a must, I think.
I have a problem you did not address. One of my eyebrows looks normal has a slight Arch neither one goes all the way to the end of my eye and never has. However one of my eyebrows is gone completely halfway and that’s difficult to make it look even similar to the one that’s good. I don’t know what to do I’m not supposed to powder past the natural hair.
My hair at age 79 is grey, almost white. I have hazel eyes and a fair, Irish type of complexion. I just ordered based on your recommendation, Refection graphite 1.1. I’ve been having my eyebrows professionally tinted but they seem to always do them too dark so I thought I would try doing it myself. What do you think?
I think it’s a good idea! I have a similar complexion to you (and hazel eyes) and I don’t like my eyebrows super dark. Let me know how it works!
Clinique Brow Powder in 05 Charcoaled is a great color…I just prefer a pencil and use the Benefit ones. Suggest you go to Ulta and test them out. If you’re unhappy with the color, you can exchange for a different one. Just keep your receipt…
Like you I have decided to embrace my grey hai. My eye brows are still dark brown and they just don’t look right. Help?
Hi, Joann! Good news – my favorite eyebrow pencil company just announced recently that they now offer brown-gray pencils! You should check them out and see if you can find a shade that works for you. Or maybe you’d prefer to just go gray in your eyebrows? They have lots of different shades. Hope that helps!
Katie, thanks so much for this discussion. I have had great success dyeing my brows with a product I found on Amazon. It is called Refectocil. The kit comes with a 10% creme developer, a small tube of dye and an angled brush with which to apply it. I use the color Graphite 1.1. It is a taupe color, a gray brown, but there are lots of other shades.
I also found a make-up brand called Julep on Amazon. They have a skinny brow pencil in taupe. the other end has a tinted brow gel but I rarely use it. This company also offers cream-to-powder eyeshadow stick very similar to a popular Caviar product.
Thanks for letting me know, Alicia – I’ll check those products out!
I use the same product and have had great results. I, too, love the Nikol Johnson look!
Thank you! I’ve tried every product to help with sparse eyebrows with no success. The aging process has taken its toll. Filling the bare spots with an eyebrow pencil seems to work best, but requires a steady hand to ensure the shape doesn’t get too wonky. I appreciate ALL of your suggestions for eyebrow pencils.
My dark black eyebrows have always looked harsh. When I colored my hair blonde I would lighten them with Jolene crème bleach and fill them in with taupe pencil . Now that I’m mostly white they look too harsh . I hate to lighten them as they can pull a little brassy . I was hoping for silver hair to go with my dark brows but I got white hair – green eyes- not cool tones at all. So I’m going to lighten again
love this post
Thank you!
Nice post for everyone who wants to enhance his beauty with makeup products
I love all the info on transitioning to grey hair. My hair was originally dark brown/black and has transitioned to “white”. I have fair complexion with cool undertones and blue eyes. I do still have some eyebrows although sparse in a couple of places and some are more coarse. At 75years what can you expect???? My question is “What color should my brows be?”
Hi, Donna: It’s such a personal choice, but I think if you have a fair complexion with cool undertones, a darker gray or dark brown pencil would be best on you. I think it’s something you’ll have to experiment with. I have a similar complexion to you, but with green/hazel eyes, and I like my eyebrows to be darker than my hair.
My hair is salt and pepper mostly, but my natural color is very dark brown. So two shades darker for me would be black – which looks terrible on me because I have super dark eyes and pasty white skin. Any tips on the brow color that would compliment me the most?
Hi, Raina: It’s so hard to say! If black is too dark for you, maybe just try dark brown or even light brown? And just see what looks best to you and forget these “rules.” Everyone is so different. Good luck!
Thanks Katie! Very helpful! I’ve been struggling with how to do my brows so this really helped! Appreciate all your great information!
Really helpful! Thanks a Lot!
For years had blonde hair with highlight and lowlights.Naturally black brows. Used a great kit from Soap and Glory in taupe. Has a spoolie brush, angled application brush with brow pomade and a highlighter. Has A light and dark taupe powder. Now gray hair grown out so I sketch in with Benefit grey pencil and use the taupe powder to soften the dark grey.
Very helpful!
Thank you!