What Are Ombr Brows?

Posted by Reinaldo Massengill on Tuesday, May 7, 2024

There’s no denying the benefits of well-groomed brows. From framing the face to accentuating the eyes, our brows are a coveted attribute that we take pride in maintaining. For a while that meant tweezing, waxing, threading, and shading techniques. 

But there's a new brow style quietly gaining traction within the beauty community – and I’m about ombré brows. Semi-permanent and shape-perfecting, ombré brows are the latest method to achieve a soft yet flawless look. To learn more about this growing trend, we tapped celebrity brow artist and founder of KIMIKO, Dani Kimiko Vincent for her expertise.

What are ombré brows?

More than just a style, ombré brows are an approach to shaping that can offer semi-permanent results. “Utilizing a tattoo technique, ombré brows add pigment to the skin below the follicles to achieve an overall fill that is lightest at the beginning of the brow and deepest towards the tails,” Vincent says. 

She explains that the finished effect is meant to emulate the look of a shaded eyebrow created with makeup — similar to brows filled in with a powder or pencil. However, unlike makeup, these brows are meant to last. “Ombré styles can maintain for two to three years or longer,” she says. But the application of ink is more surface than a traditional tattoo so they will begin to fade over time. 

Ombré  Brows vs. Microblading

Although these two techniques both offer semi-permanent results, there are a few things that set them apart. According to Vincent, microblading creates hair-like strokes among the existing hair follicles, while the ombré style is an overall fill behind the entire brow. "Unlike microblading, which uses a fine blade to deliver slim strokes, ombré brows are created with a tattoo machine and offer a heavier look,” Vincent explains says. 

What to expect after your procedure

Just like a tattoo, you will need to give your skin time to heal after your session. “Complete healing can take up to six weeks,” Vincent says. During that time you’ll need to take extra care of the area to ensure the best results. 

She suggests keeping the freshly-inked brow skin as hydrated as possible and skipping makeup use, sun exposure, and excessive sweating or hot showers. Once the area has fully healed you can safely return to your regular brow routine with a few precautions. “I recommend avoiding the brow area when using exfoliating acids like retinoids or AHAs and BHAs because they can actually cause the pigment to fade faster,” she notes

How to get the look with makeup

If you’re not ready to go the tattoo route just yet, you can test-run this look using makeup. “Using products is a nice alternative because it gives you total freedom with the intensity of the brows as well as the ability to play and change up your look,” Vincent says.

To recreate the ombré effect Vincent suggests using a fine pencil such as KIMIKO’s Super Fine Eyebrow Pencil Automatique to fill in brows from the upper arch to the tails. Next, work toward the front of the brows, lightening your touch as you go. Then use a spool to soften and blend ensuring everything progresses from lightest to darkest, head to tail. “The idea is to build intensity with the ombré effect by incorporating two shades, keeping the darker tone towards the tail, and blending it into the lighter shade towards the front of the brows,” the expert explains.

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