Eyebrows: by edge and by sign

Ask a hundred women which area of ​​the face the maintenance of which causes the most concern and almost all of them will answer eyebrows. A wrong action or intervention on these very delicate hairs, whose natural shape is so different from subject to subject and which – no one knows why – we try to standardize at all costs, can really change our features, our expressiveness . And create permanent damage, forcing us to resort to palliative measures that are almost always unsatisfactory. Finding hands to rely on is not very easy, especially after having made a series of important mistakes.

And this is said by those who, like me, are lucky enough to have been born with thick, well-designed eyebrows and who have therefore never had problems, especially in adolescence, when experience is necessary and mistakes are always lurking. However, I think of what happened to some friends, in search of a harmony that instead increasingly vanished, as they tried to redesign them, modify them and reduce them in a path with no return, reaching the point of developing an obsession, even just to fill a small “hole”. And instead it created holes (often permanent).

Foolish things that over the years have conditioned me to the point of not letting anyone touch my eyebrows. Meanwhile, around me, the fashions of the moment continued to claim victims: from the definitive eradication in favor of the pencil, up to the bleached brows of today (lightening), through microblading and dyeing. The only happy period was the unconventional, very thick and natural eyebrows, with a strong cultural impact, of the model Poppy Delevingne.

Like hers, mine also grow a lot, so I had to shorten and adjust them. Fate led me to a beautician near my house who inspired me with confidence. Then, recently, I had two unhappy experiences, tested for professional needs: waxing, never again, and microblanding, not bad, but my husband called me a Fire Eater for six months. Then, now resigned to simple tweezer operations, thanks to word of mouth from people very dear to me, I arrived at Leila. It was love at first sight: the voice, the manners, the look, everything convinced me and no fear made me the hair removal thread that he had around his neck. Oh yes, it's called empathy. I trusted myself without batting an eyelid, it's worth saying. I had no fears when I felt tingling around my eyebrows, even if the minimal intervention carried out is inversely proportional to the sensation felt. And after the eyebrow area I let it act on all the facial hair. Before showing me the result in the mirror, Leila massaged my area with an oil and before that her face with her rose water. Apart from the line of the arches, which I would say are perfect, more beautiful and alive, It looked like I had a facelift.

This is how Leila entered my life: because she loves naturalness, beauty and harmony, because she does not alter but systems, stimulates and does not destroy. And now I'll tell you who this woman is. Leila Pasar she is a talented visionary. Born in Northern Iran and raised in Tehran, she came to Italy for pleasure and fell in love with our culture to the point of moving to get a second degree. «Here, however, I immediately perceived a gap: the topic of eyebrows is dealt with superficially, there is a strange culture of hair which is treated in a very aggressive way. My passion for the female gaze has deep roots in Persian culture which is passed down from generation to generation. For us, the eyes are one of the few parts of the body visible due to the veil and for this reason we value them. Waxing, make-up, tattooing, on the other hand, are methods that stress – thanks to chemical agents – and modify the look in an unnatural, sometimes homogenizing way. This intuition pushed me to specialize in natural techniques such as hair removal and henna, and to import oils from my country. And finally deciding that this was my path. And today seeing all my clients lit up with smiles after each session confirms that I made the right choice.”

«I come from a tradition that values ​​the gaze. In Italy, hair culture focuses on very aggressive treatment”

Natural vision

Leila Pasar's is a new philosophy, which focuses on care as well as beauty, a concept that is often lost sight of when thinking only of the effect. In her studio in the historic Bagatti Valsecchi Museum Palace in Milan, Leila treats the damage and carries out aesthetic re-education with her oils that she imports from Iran. «I am proud to have been the first to create the Seven Nut Oil for eyelashes and eyebrows which hydrates, promotes growth and improves pigmentation. In addition to Myrtle Oil and Nigella Sativa Oil dedicated to the growth and regeneration of hair, its flagship is Golab Rose Water, with many properties: anti-redness, antioxidant, antimicrobial and soothing. Another “gem” is Pumpkin Oil for nail health.

Recommended cosmetic alternatives

1. Reformulated in a clean key, thickens and fixes: Professional Colored Eyebrow Gel by Collistar (€23). 2. Model: Tarte Eyebrow Fixing Frameworker (€28). 3. Waterproof, colors and defines: Aqua Resist Brow Fixer by Make Up For Ever (€32). 4. Modeling wax for super sculptures: Precisely, My Brow Wax by Benefit (€33). 5. High tolerability with pigments of natural origin: Couvrance Eye & Eyebrow Pencil by Avène (€17.50). 6. Vegan, manages avoiding the crunchy effect, Brow Freeze® Gel by Anastasia Beverly Hills (€30).

Photo Felicity Ingram