Photo: Tacar (Shutterstock)

I’m not one of those people who use their cast iron pan for anything. I understand it is possible, and I understand that a properly seasoned cast iron pan is a slippery beauty, but I’m a little lazy and will always have a non-stick pan in my arsenal, mostly for egg-making purposes.

Non-stick pans, whether Teflon-coated or PFOA-free, are simple (a mood I know all too well). They are easy to cook and easy to clean; they can be seasoned (similar to cast iron) but most likely not necessary, especially if you are economical with washing.

Why you shouldn’t wash your nonstick pan so often

There are some non-stick pans (like the GreenPan) that seem to work perfectly well in the dishwasher, but some non-stick coatings – Teflon in particular – react poorly to these hot, aggressive conditions. The combination of detergent, water pressure, and salts can cause the coating to break off, resulting in sticky or flaky pans.

I rarely use soap and water on my pan unless I’m dealing with something really stubborn (like this one) Cream fried eggwho have a strong affinity for Teflon for some reason). Instead of washing after each use, I wipe the pan with a paper towel or sponge while it’s still hot. If that doesn’t help, I put the pan back on the stove, heat it up a bit, and then wipe it out with a damp paper towel or sponge – a little “steam cleaning” if you want. This is how my mother used to clean her non-stick pans, which I thought was “weird” when I was younger because I thought that everything my mother did between the ages of 13 and 22 was “weird”.

If steam isn’t enough, gently scrub it with a nonabrasive sponge and something cold soapy water, but the steam works about 94% of the time. This friendlier, gentler approach will extend the life of your nonstick pan and keep that coating happy.

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In case you somehow missed the memo, big, bushy brows are in and have been for several years. There are all kinds of makeup products and procedures out there that can help achieve full, luxurious brows – or the illusion of them – even with the sparse facial hair, but how do you even know where to start? Let’s start small and work our way up to the big things – just like the eyebrow trends have done for the past 20 years.

How to fill in your eyebrows with makeup

There is no shortage of eyebrow products in the modern makeup market, but some are better than others. Certain brands like Anastasia Beverly Hills and To use, are known for their brow enhancers, so that’s where you can begin your search for the perfect brow pencil, powder, pomade or stamp.

I come to you today in the first person and live my truth as a natural blonde with very little body hair. It rules – mostly. When it comes to my legs, I’m thrilled, but my brows are a different story. I tried everything. My favorite brow pencil is from Gucci. My favorite powder is from NYX. Expensive doesn’t always mean better (although sometimes it definitely does), so don’t be afraid to play around with brands from the lower to the upper end of your budget.

My problem is a complete lack of hair on my forehead, but if you only have light or sparse hair you might find an eyebrow gel like Services Give me a forehead or Glossiers Boy Brow works well enough to define and puff your hair. Many salons also offer eyebrow tinting, which will temporarily tint your brows for about three weeks. Check out Groupon.

Some brands like Germany and Etude houseto sell tints at home. These are applied in a thick, almost sticky layer, develop and deposit long-lasting pigments as they dry, and leave a soft color after they are peeled off. Sleep in it for extra pizzazz, but don’t forget to peel off the dark, crusty layer before leaving the house.

No matter what make-up you choose, apply it in up and down strokes. Blocky “Instagram browbones” are no longer in vogue, so don’t treat your brows like a coloring book by filling them in with a solid line and cutting underneath with concealer – luckily we left that behind in 2016 for most of yours Focusing Pigments on the outer tail and keeping it lighter towards your nose by mimicking strokes of hair with a small pencil in that area.

Consider semi-permanent makeup

Don’t let the prospect of microblading put you off. The process of tattooing semi-permanent pigments on your face has really advanced in recent years. Maybe you have an aunt or old teacher who used to contract unnatural looking microblading and they looked constantly surprised and noticeably tattered, and it put you off the process for a lifetime. Reconsider that fear.

Open Instagram and look for the microblading hashtag. The final look has dimension. Depending on what you’re paying for and how experienced your technician is, you can get a “3-D” (or even “6-D” or “7-D”) effect with hair strokes or lines that don’t look like a block fill in, but real hair. It is important that you spend a lot of time here finding a budding doctor, reviewing their before and after photos, and understanding that you will look crusty, puffy, and questionable for a few days to a week after the procedure. But I’ve been doing this for years and have noticed a huge difference in technical skills and process outcome since my inception.

The process hurts a little, although you usually need to marinate in a topical numbing cream for a while before starting. Your doctor will map your face and draw a suggested outline, show it to you for approval, and get down to business. Depending on which procedure you choose, the ink deposition can be based solely on a tattoo gun or involve real shaving cuts. (Slicing doesn’t hurt much when you’re numb, but you will hear it and it can turn your stomach. Buck up, kid!) You are given a gel to rub the marks as they heal and after your first Visit may be a catch-up appointment required.

Or you could actually go under the knife

It may seem extreme, but if you really don’t have any eyebrow hair, don’t like applying makeup every morning, don’t have microblading touch-ups every year or two, and have $ 8,000 to $ 15,000 left, you can get an eyebrow transplant.

DR. Marc duration, a Los Angeles-based specialist who has performed eyebrow transplants for 15 years and performed more than 2,000 of the procedures, explained what happens: “You come in in the morning and we develop the shape, and then I mark the shape. I remove the hair from the back of your scalp using a technique called FUE, which stands for Follicular Unit Extraction. I pull out one at a time so there are no stitches and no cutting … I numb you in the back and do my extractions and when I finish my harvest I make small incisions in the eyebrow and we place the grafts one at a time. “

Anyone can be a good candidate for an eyebrow transplant that simply relocates real hair that actually grows right there on your face. People with previous scars from microblading or other facial trauma may retain less hair but still see results, the doctor said. Be warned, however, that after the procedure, hair will gradually fall out, then grow back and the full result will be visible after around nine or 10 months.

Duration pointed out that here you get what you pay for. He said there are “thousands upon thousands of clinics, not even doctors, who do hair transplants.” As with microblading, you need to take plenty of time to research your doctor, look at before and after photos, attend a consultation, and prepare to spend more for better results.

It will take you some time figuring out what works for you, your budget, face shape, and schedule, but anyone can have beautiful brows – even if you start with very little.