I Tried Brow Lamination Using A DIY Home Kit & I Was Pleasantly Surprised

From threading to microblading to using actual soap to style, we spend a lot of time obsessing about our eyebrows.

And for good reason! Eyebrows frame your whole face. Anyone who thinks eyebrows don’t matter, clearly hasn’t seen The Princess Diaries. Good brows are transformative.

The latest brow trend everyone seems to be trying on Instagram is laminating. So what the hell is it? Eyebrow lamination works by pulling and straightening your eyebrow hairs upwards using perm solutions to create fuller, feathery and more defined brows. The treatment claims to keep your eyebrows in the desired shape for up to eight weeks.

Basically, if you want to save yourself the daily effort of styling your brows, this could be a godsend.

While salons have been offering brow lamination for about a year, at-home treatments have only recently become available. I hate sitting in salons, so when I heard about Brows By Ryan’s DIY kit, I had to give it a trial.

What I used:

Brows By Ryan, At-Home Brow Lamination Kit, $69.95

This brand is even repped by the queen of (swearing on her) eyebrows, The Bachelor’s Charley Bond.

 

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Let’s do this!

I Tried Eyebrow Lamination Using A DIY Home Kit:

OK, first things first! What am I working with?

This is what my eyebrows looked like before lamination:

Very sad, indeed. Sure, the left eyebrow looks OK, but the right is an unruly mess.

The kit is really cute, with all these tiny bottles of solutions and oils. The pack includes an eyebrow comb and disposable brushes — and the brushes are very handy!

First of all, it’s important to begin with clean brows, so I made sure I had no dirt, oil, or makeup residue in the area. Then I applied a thin coat of the glue to straighten the hair and set it in the right direction. I combed the beginning of my brows in an upward motion, while curving the ends down so that I didn’t end up looking like The Grinch with curly ends.

Next, I combed in the ‘Perm’ solution from the roots to the tips. Then I cut a strip of cling wrap and covered my eyebrows, leaving for around 10-12 minutes. I then repeated this step with the ‘Fix’ solution.

Afterwards, I removed the residue with the ‘Cleanser’ formula, before using the ‘Nutrition’ oil to add nourishment back into the hairs. That was it! The whole process took under 30 minutes. That’s right, new brows in the length of a New Girl episode. That’s my kind of self-care.

The Results

HELLO VOLUME.

My brows looked BIG. I was shook with how much fuller they appeared, after being combed out and straightened. I think the trick is by flattening all the hairs, you brows look even thicker than normal — as all the hair is stuck down rather than springing in different directions.

If you’re thinking, ‘woah, too spiky!’, don’t worry, they calmed down after a few hours. Tbh, I rather like the bushy look. All in all, I was in love with my new brows which were a vast improvement.

Look at the difference:

The instructions for the kit said to avoid getting your brows wet for 24-48 hours, so I was wary that after I showered, they might not look the same.

These were my brows after a shower:

Not quite as spiky, but still straight and styled. But would the lamination stand the test of time?

Here’s what they looked like after a week:

Not bad!

The Verdict

I’m a fan. While the kit was on the expensive side at around $70, there’s enough product to do the treatment at least three times, so it is still cheaper than going to a salon. Do I think the results will last eight weeks? Probably not. I’d say closer to four weeks. I don’t know if this is a super longterm solution, but the treatment is definitely a time-saver in the morning. All I had to do is give them a comb, and that’s it.

It should be noted that if you don’t have a lot of eyebrow hair, I don’t think this treatment would miraculously make your brows look heaps bigger. I rarely pluck my brows (I have a fringe and forget I have eyebrows at all), so I have a lot of hair to work with. That being said, thinner brows would definitely become fluffier and look more natural using lamination.

I’ll definitely use this product again, as it’s especially handy if you have a few events close together and want to cut a step out of your makeup routine.