The search for a perfect eyebrow

It’s an Indian thing. No matter how tired, unkempt or unruly I am, I must always have perfectly groomed eyebrows.  Now, this is no easy matter because, for Indian women, there is only one proper way to have one’s eyebrows groomed – threading.  Here’s the explanation from Wikipedia.

"Threading is an ancient method of hair removal that is still used in parts of the Middle and Far East. Thin, twisted cotton threads are rolled over untidy hairlines, mustaches and so on, plucking the offending hair. Due to growing popularity in Western countries, threading is now found being performed in beauty salons. Like other methods of hair removal such as plucking or waxing, threading can result in skin irritation and ingrown hairs.

Practitioners use a pure cotton thread. They generally twist the hair and threading pulls out a whole row of hair, as opposed to tweezing where only one single hair is pulled out. Threading is often preferred to tweezing because of the naturally straight lines of hair removed by the thread. It is pulled out from the follicle. Some women focus particularly on the area between the eyebrows [1], thus interrupting so-called "unibrows". Threading is known as khite in Arabic, but in Egypt is referred to as fatlah. It is also found to be a popular choice in India."

Threading is preferred over waxing largely because it is thought that the repeated waxing process pulls and stretches the delicate skin over the eye, thereby causing one’s face to prematurely age and lose its youthful tautness.

My quest for the Ultimate Threader in Toronto has finally come to an end.  Unlike India, where in any city you can find master threaders on literally any street corner, Toronto is another story. Sure, I’ve found aestheticians who do a fine job – but no wow factor….that is, until now.

Recently, a buzz started in East York ( my ‘hood and home to many Indian expats especially in the enclave of Thorncliffe Park not far from my home) about a newly transplanted Mumbaite who did fantastic eyebrows from salon in the East York Town Centre. My sis-in-law and I went to check her out and see what all the fuss was about.  With a stern look on her pretty face, Lailah asked me to sit down so she could do a "shape assessment". It was so official, and I was loving it – finally someone who took my brows as seriously as I did. 

"Did you notice that your right arch is significantly more pointed than your left?"

"Ummm, no, sorry, I didn’t notice that." 

"Lie down and don’t move."

Twenty minutes later, after thread, tweezers and mini-scissors had all contributed to the focused efforts of Lailah, she flashed a mirror in front of my face and asked "So, what do you think?" 

I was awe-stricken – everything about my face looked sharper, more aligned and brighter…seriously, I’m not exaggerating.  I exclaimed with joy and then hugged her like a lost child reunite with his mom at the mall.  "I’ve been waiting for you for so long".