The Eyebrow Specialist | Olha Belova

Ouch! One by one, promptly and sharply, tweezers held by petite hands in medical gloves are removing the hairs of a woman in her forties. As her disturbed skin is reddening, her smile is only getting wider. Done with the 15-minute procedure, the woman readily holds out money to the hands in medical gloves and spends the next minute looking in the mirror posing and smiling. Her eyebrows are now done.

Tweezers are the main instrument to create the shape of the future eyebrows. Photo taken by Anastasiya Pantsialei

“When people ask me, ‘What do you do?’ I usually say, ‘I hurt people, and they pay me for that,’ ” laughs Olha Belova, 21, with her hands now ungloved. An eyebrow specialist, Olha has spent the last one and a half years drawing on women’s faces in “BrowBar by AlexGan” in Sofia, Bulgaria. Before that, she used paper for her creative pursuits in the Art Academy in Sofia. “When I started doing eyebrows, I recovered from my depression after the university failure,” says Olha.

Olha preparing paint for her client in “BrowBar by AlexGan” in Sofia, Bulgaria. Photo taken by Anastasiya Pantsialei

For the new job, Olha’s art skills were useful but not required. “Here, you need to see symmetry. If you don’t see it, you will not draw eyebrows well,” says Olha.

In this Brow Bar, specialists do not measure the proportions of the future eyebrows and use accurate eye and a simple brush for their work. Photo taken by Anastasiya Pantsialei

The next client comes, and Olha directs all her attention to her. “When I see [the client], I already know what her eyebrows will look like after the procedure. I already know how light or dark they will be, how long I should keep the paint on, etc.,” says Olha. Despite this, the client’s will is considered the law. “I explain to them, ‘This will not suit you, it will make your face more robust, masculine, etc.’ But if they insist, we do such eyebrows. However, it relieves all the responsibility for the result from us, because I warned them,” says Olha. With such attitude, her latest dissatisfied customer was eight months ago.

Olha negotiating on the size of the future eyebrows of her client. Photo taken by Anastasiya Pantsialei

The artist and the client finally agree on the shape of the future eyebrows, and the process begins. Olha is moving with confidence and speed, but she is not in a rush. “I’m experienced, and I’m trying to make the [painful part of the] process faster. You can’t really make it smoother. However, if I see that the girl is in much pain, I pull hairs out one by one so abruptly that she cannot even have time to feel [it],” explains Olha.

She is going back and forth from the client, checking her artwork from the distance and making tiny adjustments. “When it comes to eyebrows, a millimeter is a lot,” says Olha.

Olha making adjustments of a millimeter size to the eyebrows of her client. Photo taken by Anastasiya Pantsialei

However similar this activity may look to regular drawing process of any artist, it is not. Instead of paper or textile, Olha is drawing on the live human being. When the procedure is over, Olha’s face stays concentrated and reveals no sign of satisfaction. She lets the client look at the mirror and waits for the approval. Only hearing it she smiles. For this artist, her satisfaction matters much less than the canvas’. “When you see a happy person leaving after the procedure, it gives you more energy to continue your craft,” says Olha.

Instruments waiting for disinfection before the next client. Photo taken by Anastasiya Pantsialei