It’s Not Just About Hair Color
While designers may come and go with the seasons, a pair of perfectly framed arches never goes out of style. Semi-permanent tattoo services like microblading and micro shading are expensive semi-permanent procedures that can yield natural-looking results, the operative word being "can". A brow pen in the perfectly natural shade is much easier to commit to. When it comes to selecting the right brow color, a rule of thumb that I've seen tossed around is to shoot for a shade that is just one or two shades lighter than natural hair color, lest they look drawn on.
While this methodology may work for some, it is one that we cannot always rely on. As we age, our hair thins and loses pigment. According to the American Hair Loss Association, nearly 40 percent of women experience visible hair loss by the age of 50.
Fortunately, there is a much more precise and technical way to select the right brow color for light/dark hair.
How to Use the Fitzpatrick Scale for Brows
The Fitzpatrick scale is a classification system for human skin color and undertone. It was developed in 1975 by Dr. Alan Fitzpatrick, a dermatologist from Harvard Medical School, to classify the various shades of skin found on people around the world.
The scale runs from Type I (very fair) to Type VI (very dark). The six types are broken down into ten subtypes; for example, Type IV includes light brown and dark brown.
How to Choose Brow Color with Undertones
Skin undertone is the color of your skin underneath the surface. It falls into three categories: 1) cool, 2) warm, and 3) neutral. Knowing your undertone is about as important to building a personalized makeup routine as knowing whether you have dry skin or oily skin. It is key to finding not only the right shade of eyebrow makeup that will look best on your skin tone but also the right shade of foundation. Read on for a quick description of each and a primer on determining what skin undertone you have.
- Warm: golden, peachy, or yellow. Light skin tans more peach. Light to medium skin tones tan more golden. Deeper skin with warm undertones tan more caramel. If the veins under your arm appear more brown or purple, then it’s more likely that you’re warm-toned.
- Neutral: a mixture of both warm and cool. With no predominant shade, skin can burn or tan.
- Cool: bluish, red, or pink. Light and deep skin color with cool undertones tan more reddish pink than golden. Light to medium skin tones tan more of a deep brown. If the veins under your arm appear more blue- or green-toned, you’re more likely to be cool-toned.
As an Asian-American male with dark brown hair, I actually benefit from using a Light Brunette shade of Amaze Brow Trio, our 2-in-1 brow growth pen with enhancing serum as it adds depth and dimension. If you are unsure about which color to use, it never hurts to try two shades, as this only adds depth and dimension to your overall brow appearance.
Read our full tutorial on how to shape brows properly with this amazing new brow tool.