Carol’s colorful question: Why can’t I use regular hair color on my eyebrows? I’ve sprouted so many white eyebrow hairs that using brow products alone doesn’t cover them anymore. I see warnings against this. Why? If I’m careful, would it be ok?
The Left Brain’s eye opening response:
Carol, using permanent hair color on your eyebrows is very dangerous because it may cause an allergic reaction that could blind you. Here are some key facts from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) website:
Hair Dye Reactions
- “…some consumers have reported hair loss, burning, redness, and irritation from hair dyes. Allergic reactions to dyes include itching, swelling of the face, and even difficulty breathing.”
- “The patch test involves putting a dab of hair dye behind the ear or inside the elbow, leaving it there for two days, and looking for itching, burning, redness, or other reactions.”
- “The problem is that people can become sensitized–that is, develop an allergy–to these ingredients, they may do the patch test once, and then use the product for 10 years before having an allergic reaction… you’re supposed to do the patch test every time, even in salons.”
The Beauty Brains bottom line
Considering what could go wrong, I don’t think dying your eyebrows is really worth the risk. And using organic hair color is no solution either. Maybe you could find a temporary brow colors that doesn’t have the same potential for allergic reaction.
What do YOU think? Have you ever dyed your eyebrows? Leave a comment and share your experiences with the rest of the Beauty Brains community.
{ 29 comments… read them below or add one }
I die my eyebrows all the time. I use a maskara brush to brush the hairs with the color. Making sure not to get it on my skin at the eye area. This is not hard and have never had a problem. when rincing it off I use a old towle that is damp to remove the color then soap and water to make sure there is no residue left.
It has been my experiance that most people are not allergic to hair dye. You can use a none amonia formula that is safer. If you dye your hair chances are this will work.
Bleach for facial hair works well too. I leave it on for about a minute and it lightens my dark brows a few shades. It is important not to leave it too long or you will end up with orange brows.
My hairdresser does the same thing with her older customers–she uses a mascara wand dipped in their haircolor to color their eyebrows. She puts it on a few minutes before their haircolor processing time is over, and it comes out looking well. My aunt uses the tint that is specifically for eyebrows and she always comes out looking like Groucho Marx.
Just use a brow powder and an angled brush. The Powder will color the hairs and you don’t have to worry about blinding yourself. If you wet the brush it will deposit more pigment. The only downside is that you have to reapply everyday. Subtle, natural color and you don’t have to worry about looking weird with too dark brows. Facial Bleach works well for lightening brows.
I have indeed colored my eyebrows. But I used the “Just for Men” dye. I have also had them done at a salon before. It was fine but the color faded so fast on me (my brows are fine) So after a few days I had to fill them in with pencil anyway so I stopped dyeing them. I had no problem with the dye, but yes it can be a potentially dangerous situation, and nowadays there are so many products that can be used without the risk of harm.
I have never dyed my brows with hair dye, but I do offer in my salon brow coloring with a product that is made specifically for the brows and lashes. (I will NOT do lashes–too much of a potential burn risk there)
I did mine and they look great. It is three weeks now and the color is still there.
I have a client that has her hair colored a reddish color and her hairdresser does her brows. I looked at her brows last week and let me tell you, it does NOT look good. It was such an unnatural color!!! lol…
There are many good brow powders out there, you should try them!!!
buenos dias,
Lynnette
I would never dye my brows. To me, its not worth the risk. (Vanity is not worth the skin reaction or vision problems that could occur.)
There are so many wonderful eyebrow powders and even gels that come in a mascara wand you use daily and they wash off. I love the ones in the mascara wand.
I have not tried it yet, but what about using Tarte’s lash stain – it’s supposed to last 4 days. I have tried mascara on my brows , it looked ok but it smeered.
What about henna on your brows?
Sharpie fine point, super permanent ink. Works like a charm! Also great to use on your grey roots between touch ups. Will wash out, does the trick for the day.
I have natural brown hair with blonde highlights. I lighten my eyebrows just a little to match the colour of my hair. I use creme hair bleach (Sally Hansen) and I leave the product on for ONLY 5 MINUTES! The result is very subtle and last for 2 weeks.
I dye my eyebrows with men’s beard and moustache dye. Because it’s meant to be used on the coarser facial hair, it covers better than regular hair dye. I use an angled eyebrow brush and CAREFULLY apply only to the hair, wipe off with damp cotton balls after five minutes until no dye remains on the cotton, then use facial wash and a washcloth to remove any residu. Works like a charm, lasts for about a month.
I am a professional beautician qualified to CIBTAC and a member of BABTAC. In my salon http://www.thebeautican-ni.co.uk we only use the correct products for tinting eyebrows made by Professional Beauty Systems. The Dye’s come in various colours , Blue-Black, Black, Brown & Anthracite and all with with a tint developer designed specifically for use on the face. The colours can be mixed together to create lighter or darker shades, for example anthracite (grey) with a little brown for blondes or black with blue-black for a really dark brow. Red heds are better kept to a brown as any thing else looks very unnatrural. The brows shape & frame the face and if done well look can look amazing. The cost of having them professionally tinted is between £8-£10 the same price if not cheaper than buying a whole pack of hair dye. So is it worth having a go yourself and having your face swell up? For this amount of money I think not. I wouldn’t recommend anyone letting their hairdresser stick on some of the same dye while having their hair done. Not many hairdressers are qualified to do this. In the Salon we would always recomend a patch test each time espically if you change salon or a least test twice a year if you visit regularly just to be on the safe side.
Your just stupid to dye your eyebrows with hair dye tbh HAHAH loser
I have been dying my eyebrows as long as I’ve been dying my hair – about 30 years, and never had any reaction at all. I think this is all exaggerated – if someone is that sensitive to dyes they shouldn’t even be dying their hair.
I dye my eyebrows with hair dye. The problem is it doesn’t last, so I’m continually touching them up. Also I have tried the dyes for men’s mustaches and beards (for coarser hair) doesn’t last anytime at all and men I have talked to say for their beards 3 days at best. Come on with today’s technology no one can come up with a lasting eyebrow dye? And not all those horrid dark , dark, colors. Let’s get real.
I had a big problem with acne and breakouts under the hairs on my eyebrows due to makeup clogging my pores. Since I already had been using permanent powders (Bigen, Water Works, Paon) for my scalp hair, I decided to try it on my eyebrows. After about 5 years, I never had a major problem. My method:
Before mixing the color to full dilution, I stop halfway. This keeps the color thick enough not to drip into my eyes and stay put.
I then apply it to the brows using an angled, fairly stiff
synthetic-bristle brush, making sure all hairs are covered thoroughly.
I mix the color to full dilution & apply it to my hair. When the time is up, I rinse my eyebrows off with a damp
washcloth, handiwipe or microfiber
until all the color is off my skin, rinsing and wringing it well frequently.
Since eyebrows can also grow out and roots can appear, I do them every time I touch up my scalp roots.
I’ve been dying my eyebrows every month for several years now. I use the new dyes they sell in drugstores that take only ten minutes, and use disposable mascara brushes (about l.99 for l2).
I have been dying my brows for years now. I use touch-up hair dye & don’t understand how dying your brows can make you go blind any quicker than dying your hair. You don’t put it ON OR IN YOUR EYES!!!! There are a multitude of things that are perfectly legal that will hurt or kill you if used according to the directions. You just need a little common sense.
Permanent makeup is the easy answer. Brows are easily done, and its -SO- convenient! (Which for me is a big seller.)
Does this all apply to people who want lighter eyebrows? Because i just dyed my hair blonde…and im thinking if they make a mascara in that color, would just be Perfect
because i cant find a place anywhere to do it and i’ve never really been much for box dye.
And sadly, using make-up (or any powder pigment of the such) doesnt really work with dark brows.
You should be ever so cautious if you are planning to use tint on your eyebrows. I am going to dismiss the first response to allergies because if you were allergic to tint you would not be able to color your hair without suffering from the side effects. With that said, the chemical if it gets into your eyes can cause permanent damage to your vision. Please read that last sentence again.
Also, your eyebrows shed and grow back in such a rapid cycle that effects of tints are short lived. If you are going to be darkening or attempting to lighten your brows apply the product during the last 5-10 minutes. It really does not take that long, and besides no one wants their eyebrow to look that fake. However, you really should not do it.
I thought: what the hell, if it works on one area, it should work on another as well. Why should you buy a separate product to colour your eyebrows? That’s the same marketing ploy they use selling eyecreams. (What’s next? chincream, nosecream…?) I think that as long as you’re careful (took the allergy test, use caution when applying, etc.) all should be well.
Anyway, I took the plunge with L’oreal casting creme (dark brown) and I used a mascara brush to apply it. I let it sit for 10 minutes, washed it off (well, I used a wipe. Wouldn’t want any of that stuff ending up in my eyes). Anyway, it works. My eyebrows are much darker and after 3 weeks I can say the colour is holding up quite nicely. I’ll definitely do it again when I need to dye my hair.
This is an example of what I call going a little overboard and causing paranoi. It will not cause blindness unless, you poke yourself deliberatly in the eye with the product. And I highly doubt anyone is going to do that.
Dangerous
i dyed my eyebrows and hair using regular bleach blonde hair dye, had no problems what so ever, the only thing is, hair dye is very strong. itl make you tear a bit, but not after a while. and fair warning, this was my mistake. i had cover up on, and it bleached the cover up on my skin so above my eyebrows were white, and im a tan color, didnt look so good haha. so i learned my lesson for that. just be tough for the scent, because that is wicked strong.
A few years back I started dying my eyebrows with the same product I use to do my hair. (gotta match) I use my finger and coat it on pretty thick only on my brows (don’t want the skin colored). I wash it off abt 10 min after I put it on, with a washcloth or wipe. Works well for me.
Hair dryers come w that tag that says “do not remove… Danger of electrical shock”. But that doesn’t happen. So use common sense and don’t let it get near ur eyes, keep it on the brows.
Megan: the real danger is not getting the product in your eye (all though, that’s not good either!!). The concern is that the higher levels of PPD in the hair dye could cause a skin reaction called contact dermatitis. If this happens on your scalp or the back of your neck it’s bad. If it happens on your eyebrows and the skin around your eye, it’s REALLY REALLY bad. As in could cause blindness bad. I’m glad to hear you’ve had good luck with the product but I wouldn’t be so quick to poo-poo warning statements. That’s the same reason you have to be careful when learning how to color pubic hair.
i simply used root touchup from loreal for my eyebrows and it lightened them pretty good and i had no burning or itching.. i got a couple shades lighter than what i needed and it came out perfect just make sure not to use too much. one drop in your eye makes u go blind.
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