Our poor eyebrows have been subjected to some diabolical trends over the years, from being plucked into tadpoles to brushed up like Teen Wolf.
And let’s strike from memory that season of bleaching eyebrows so pale they looked bald.
So when I first heard the phrase ‘eyebrow lamination’, I assumed the worst.
Brows sheathed in plastic? Huh? What? And how would you even get them inside the machine?
However, it turns out laminating your eyebrows is actually a sensible-sounding proposition.
And no, it doesn’t literally involve giving them a wipe-clean coating.
Essentially ‘lamination’ involves fixing unruly brows into place, so they won’t droop or stray from their new, perfect position - for EIGHT WEEKS.
Acting like a supercharged clear brow gel, it promises groomed arches that look fuller naturally, even without make-up.
By making eyebrows feathery, full and defined, it's being talked about as an alternative to microblading without the expense or risk of being stuck with a bad result.
If you’re older, this magical fixative even claims to give a mini face-lift by elevating saggy brow hairs, opening up the eyes and creating a sharper frame for your entire face.
How does it work?
Having heard the sell, I reckoned I could be the perfect candidate for lamination.
In the list of first world beauty problems, ‘Eyebrow Droop’ must rank pretty highly, but it’s nevertheless niggled me for years.
Left to their own devices, my brows divide like Brexit Britain, their hairs parting halfway down into two directions.
I’ve tried brow gel, hair wax, even max-hold hairspray to coax them together, but by lunchtime the chasm has opened once more.
‘Well, lamination is going to solve all that,’ says Natalie Piper from Lash Perfect, who are offering the treatment in over 50 salons nationwide.
‘Basically it’s a way of restructuring your brow hairs so they sit in a perfect uniform direction,’ she explains.
‘First, we use an adhesive to brush your brows into the exact shape you want. Then we use two solutions to break down the bonds in your hair and set them in place.’
So it’s like a… perm then?
‘Well, er, yes,’ she concedes (obviously ‘perm’ doesn’t sound as Insta-cool as ‘lamination’).
The benefits of the treatment also bring to mind another untrendy term: comb-over.
‘Lamination is ideal if you’ve got any gaps in your eyebrows as you brush your own hair over to cover them,’ she says.
‘If you’ve got sparse brows, it’s a great way of maximising what you’ve got.’
Brows, beaten?
It only takes around 30 minutes to get myself laminated.
My brows are cleansed, then brushed and glued into place, at which point I’m invited to check their new positioning.
Once approved, there’s the unmistakable waft of perming solution as my brows are remodelled and left to set (my mind flashes back my frizzy 80s hair disasters but I’m assured lamination isn’t damaging).
Just to be on the safe side, though, the treatment ends with a keratin mask to condition my eyebrows before they’re combed through and presented for inspection.
Verdict
The droopy half of my eyebrows has perked up immensely.
Rather than being split in two, my brow hairs now flow in a lovely, uniform arch, cleverly disguising the threadbare patch left from an overzealous threading session years back.
They already look thicker on their own, but Natalie recommends I add a brow tint as the icing on the cake.
The next morning, I awake from my slumber – face-planted in the pillow as usual – and am delighted to see my brows are still beautifully upright.
Like any hair that’s been permed, they need a quick brush for neatness, but the basic shape is set.
Given the price and the lack of risk, I personally think this treatment is better than microblading, assuming you have enough of your own brow hairs to make it work.
Lamination might be a ludicrous name, but I reckon it’s here to stay – just like my new eyebrow shape.
Lamination need-to-know
*There’s no patch test involved
After the treatment, you need to keep your eyebrows dry for 24 hours, but there’s no other aftercare beyond brushing them into place.
*Lamination complements rather than replaces brow make-up
In the same way that clear brow gel does a different job to a coloured brow pencil.
*The result lasts 6-8 weeks, depending on how quickly you shed your hairs
It’s natural to lose hairs, and obviously the new ones won’t magically start growing in the same direction as the laminated ones.
*When your brows are being glued into place, you can choose the shape you prefer
You can go for a classic arch or a more fashion-y brushed-up look.
Lash Perfect Hi-Brow Lamination costs from £35, see Lashperfect.co.uk
