A brow shape or brow line can be lost when the brow hair grows long and curls too much," Azi Sacks, a New York City-based brow expert previously told Allure. Often the oldest beauty practices are actually some of the best and that applies to threading; it’s precise, cost-effective and painless for many. Glamour may earn a portion of sales from products that are purchased through our site as part of our Affiliate Partnerships with retailers.

Tired of clumsily plucking your eyebrows with tweezers or damaging the fragile skin around your eyes with wax? You should eventually have a twisted section in the middle of the loop with the loop taunt between your thumb and forefinger on each hand. Once you finish one stroke and remove a section of hair, place the twisted center back to the starting position and do another stroke, removing another section of hair. The first time I tried eyebrow threading, it was only because there weren’t any other options available. The looped end of the thread is rapidly rotated to pull each hair from the hair follicle, removing hair from under the skin’s surface.

We talked to dermatologist Chey Ranasinghe, MD — whose eyebrows are also on point, thanks to threading — to learn more about the benefits and drawbacks of this popular eyebrow-shaping technique. As with any professional working on your body, you should feel free to ask questions of the threading specialist you see.

If you can find one in your area, you’ll probably find the experience less painful — and the results more impressive — than what you’d get from waxing or plucking, especially if you have sensitive skin. A bad practitioner can cut or pull on the sensitive skin around your eye, remove hair from the wrong spot or — and this is really not fun — accidentally pluck out an eyelash. Threading is a more precise hair removal technique than waxing or sugaring and slightly less precise than tweezing. Especially concerning your eyebrows, which are the most important feature of your presentation—professionally and personally.Shari Marchbein, a dermatologist and clinical assistant professor of dermatology at New York University School of Medicine in New York City, considers threading to be one of the safest options as she's witnessed burns from waxing, particularly in patients who use retinoids for acne or have sensitive skin. Threading is a safe and effective eyebrow-shaping technique in the hands of a well-trained specialist. That's why we turned to Umbreen Sheikh, founder of Wink Brow Bar to clear the confusion on how eyebrow threading works, what to expect during a threading appointment, and if it's less painful than waxing.