Is eyebrow tinting the right choice for you?

If you have sparse brows, eyebrow tinting is a great way to accentuate your eyes. This semi-permanent treatment is ideal for those tired of using eyebrow pencils or dealing with graying brows. It works well for most women and is a perfect solution for simplifying your beauty routine.

Once you find a salon that offers this semi-permanent hair coloring service, the process is quite similar everywhere. The esthetician will start by covering your eyes with an eye patch or mask, applying petroleum jelly or another protective lotion around your brows. Using a cotton applicator, she’ll carefully apply a vegetable-based dye to your eyebrows and lashes if needed. After the dye dries, she will rinse off the excess with soap and water.

Eyebrow tinting typically costs around $20 per eye and lasts for about four to six weeks.

Sounds appealing, right? But hold on! If you're in Massachusetts, eyebrow tinting is prohibited. In 1999, a woman had her eyelashes tinted at a salon, only to suffer severe consequences. The salon used a coal-tar dye with a clear warning not to apply it to the eyebrows or eyelashes due to the risk of blindness, leading to chemical burns and permanent eye irritation [source: Truth in Aging].

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has not approved any dyes for tinting eyebrows or eyelashes. In fact, the agency issued a warning back in 1982 after reports surfaced about cosmetic dyes imported from Austria, Germany, and England containing harmful coal-tar dyes [source: FDA]. This warning remains in effect.

There are many at-home eyebrow tinting kits available online, but it's crucial to research carefully before buying to ensure the kit doesn’t contain harmful ingredients that could irritate your eyes, damage your mucous membranes, or stain your skin. Alternatively, you could visit a trusted salon. Either way, remember the saying: caveat emptor (let the buyer beware) before committing to eyebrow tinting.