Rx for overplucked eyebrows

Dear Lucy,

A friend of mine volunteered to pluck my eyebrows back when I was so naive about shaping eyebrows and all I knew was that it no longer looked hip to have bushy eyebrows. Unfortunately, three or four years ago, I realized it wasn’t the kind of shape that flattered my face. More, I ended up having uneven eyebrows. I heard that applying castor oil and brushing will help grow eyebrows. What is the safest, cheapest way to grow back my eyebrows? – Maricar

I asked a makeup artist friend of mine and he said that as far as he knows, there’s no added benefit to using castor oil to make overplucked eyebrows grow back faster (I’m assuming that is your main concern). With or without castor oil, your eyebrows will grow back. Unless, of course, you had them removed permanently with laser. Allow me to share my own eyebrow story. I walked around with mismatched eyebrows until I met this eyebrow specialist. Her name is Novi and she works at Hairworks Salon. I had to make my brows grow back fully (yes, it took lots of patience and time). After which, she shaped them. I also rely on her solely for maintenance. Hairworks is located at Legaspi St., Makati City with telephone number 888-4819. – Lucy

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Lice And Shine

Hi Mary!

I have two kids, both girls – aged seven and six years old. Both of them are active in outdoor activities. The problem is they have a lot of lice in their hair and one time, I also had lice because we share a comb and clips. Can you suggest a good shampoo that can remove these lice and how we can keep our hair lice-free? – LF

You can remove the lice by using Kwell Reformulated shampoo, available most anywhere. You can keep your kids’ hair (and yours’, too) lice-free through personal hygiene. Examine your kids’s heads regularly and shampoo often. – Mary

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Puberty Problems

Dear Tingting,

A lot of moms in my daughter’s school say that their daughters started menstruating at age nine. Although nine is quite young, I’m not really worried because I have started telling my eight-year-old daughter about having periods and she understood it. But my concern is more about how to address the changes my daughter will be facing, like when she starts growing hair in her underarms and having body odor. Is it advisable for let her use deodorants at an early age? Or is it safer to use plain tawas? If her underarm hair starts getting longer and noticeable, should I teach her how to shave or pluck, or just let it be? – Concerned Mom

Yes, let your daughter use deodorants. Look for the mildest deodorant and work yourself up to a stronger one if she’s into sports. Find a deodorant with a whitening ingredient (like Rexona Pro-Balance with Sunflower Oil). Tawas is very good, too. Yes, teach her how to pluck or shave her underarm hair. – Tingting

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