I just got a 'brow stain' for fuller-looking brows—here's what you need to know before trying it yourself

People are usually surprised when I mention having sparse brows. Because my actual brow hairs are pretty long, by filling them in with a little brow pencil and brushing up for a slightly laminated look, I’m pretty good at faking the appearance of fuller eyebrows. But, in truth, they are in fact on the sparse side (and probably still suffering from being over-plucked years ago).

While I’ve dabbled with brow lamination, I’ve never been keen to fill my arches in on a more permanent basis with treatments like microblading or semi-permanent make-up. But the launch of Blink Brow Bar’s Longwear Tint treatment, a long-lasting “stain” to fill in sparser brows like mine, did intrigue me. As such, I went to see how well this treatment lasted on my own brows.

What is a brow stain treatment?

Also known as “hybrid brows”, the Longwear Brow Tint is a more durable tinting treatment that promises to last 50% longer than a classic brow tint. As well as tinting the brow hairs, it also stains the skin for more of a “filled in” effect that gives sparser brows more definition.

After discussing your desired results and colour, the treatment begins with your therapist thoroughly cleansing and scrubbing your brows. Then, the area to be filled in is marked with a lighter pencil so that you can confirm you're happy with the overall shape and area. There are nine shades available, which may be combined for the best results; I opted for medium brown which compliments the depth of my hair. The tint is then carefully applied to your brows and left to develop before the excess is removed—the whole thing takes 30–40 minutes, max. You can also combine it with another service, such as eyebrow threading, if you wish.

What aftercare is required with a brow stain?

You can’t get your brows wet for the first 24 hours after treatment and must avoid things like saunas and steam rooms for 48 hours. You also shouldn’t scrub at your brows to avoid lifting the tint prematurely, as well as avoiding exfoliants and retinoids around your brows. If you have oily skin, you should also avoid any oil-based products to help your results last for as long as possible.

As your brows temporarily look quite full on post-treatment, it’s worth bearing in mind when you book that you’ll likely want to schedule it for a time when you don’t have any big plans for the first day or so afterwards. Because you can’t wash your brows during that time, they look rather intense while the stain works its magic—think peak 2015 sharpie-style brows. Once the initial 24 hours has passed, you can then gently wash them.

How long does a brow stain last?

This will vary a little from person to person, but the brand notes that the stain element should last 6–10 days, while the tinted brows can last for 5–6 weeks. The former will depend largely on your skin type; as with treatments like microblading, results won’t last as long on very oily skin. I did manage to get this to last longer than a couple of days the second time I tried the treatment and took a more cautious approach—I avoided getting my brows wet for almost 48 hours, not 24, which seemed to make the stain element hang around. Below are my brows just over a week after my second Longwear Brow Tint; it's a bit dimly lit, but I'm only wearing clear gel in the picture, no pencil. It's hard to tell, but though the tint has faded quite a bit, particularly at the top end of my brows, they still definitely look fuller than usual.

I would say it's important to manage expectations if your skin is similarly oily, as well as note that the stain will lift if you wipe your brows with too much force. But though the stain isn't the longest-lasting aspect of the service, I think the Longwear Brow Tint is still worth it for an eyebrow tint that lasts for over a month. It's ideal if you hate frequently having to tint yours to match your hair colour (like, erm, yours truly).