Brows and Nails
Eyebrows may be one of the most important as well as trickiest areas to look presentable both trying to look like a girl or when in guy mode. Since you can’t have completely wild eyebrows you have to do something, just not so much that it is obvious between dressing sessions. Start by plucking any stray hairs above, below and between the main bodies of the brows. Then gradually pluck the ones on the bottom side of the eye brow to thin it out as much as you dare. When I have a wig on I use a brow-lift technique that helps raise and arch the brow emphasizing the thinner look. Conversely, the brow lays more flat in guy mode and somewhat hides the lack of hairs on the underside. Don’t shape them too much but be sure they start at about directly above the inside corner of each eye and that they gradually thin as they travel to the sides of the face.
For the brow-lift I used to use the leg of an old pair of panty hose and tie it around my forehead fairly snuggly. I pull it down to the eyebrows and then slide it up to the hair line pulling the forehead skin and eyebrows up with it. It has to be pretty tight to work well and after an hour or two I need to take it off and give my scalp a rest so it might take some accommodating if out and about for an extended period of time.
Most often I will use a wig cap and 3M Dermablend tape to pull the brows up. The tape adheres to the cap. It is more comfortable than the panty-hose method but can be trickier to do just right. The tape has to be low enough on the forehead to pull the brows up but high enough to be hidden by the wig.
If I know ahead of time when the next chance I’ll get to dress will be I like to grow my nails out for about 6 weeks so that I can paint them. If I don’t have time for that I prefer to use the Kiss press on nails that don’t need any glue. They hold very well and can even be worn for a few of days straight. I’ve been able to remove them and reuse them again but find they lose quite a bit of their stickiness. I’ve heard different suggestions for cleaning them so they can be reused more often but I’ve not had much success at getting more than a few uses out of each set and they are inexpensive enough that I’d prefer a fresh set. Often I will sort of do half of each of the above techniques. I’ll just keep my thumb nails long and use press on nails for the fingers. I then polish them to match. That way I can use my thumbs for anything that requires some effort without worrying about losing a nail. And when in guy mode, long thumb nails aren’t that noticeable.
