Brow Pencil or Gel, Which Should You Buy First?

Choose by what still bothers you after brushing

Brush your bare brows into place with a clean spoolie, the small spiral brow brush. This reveals the shape and areas needing definition, as Charlotte Tilbury’s guide explains.

• A gap or unfinished tail remains. Start with a pencil for targeted drawn detail.
• The shape looks right, but hairs stray. Start with clear gel.
• The hairs are there but you want more color. Consider tinted gel.

Well People distinguishes these jobs: pencils fill sparse spots, while gels groom, with tinted versions adding color and fullness. Our first-buy rule is to address the change you care about most. Sparse brows can still benefit from tint; the deciding question is whether you want to draw particular missing details.

Check the shade and the formula, not just the format

For a natural fill, begin with a pencil close to your brow color, following Anastasia Beverly Hills’ guidance. Don’t automatically buy two shades lighter. Compare the brand’s shade descriptions and swatches against the hairs you want the strokes to blend with.

For gel, decide separately whether you need pigment and how much hold you want. Clear means no added color, not weaker hold. Check the specific formula’s claims rather than assuming every gel resists sweat; Maybelline’s resistance claims concern its named Tattoo Studio formula.

Nor is “gel only colors hair” a universal rule. ABH’s Volumizing Tinted Brow Gel includes instructions for depositing color on skin with the short bristles. If you want that coverage, look for explicit directions rather than expecting it from any tinted tube.

Try a small amount before adding more

With pencil: draw short strokes only where you want detail, following hair growth, then blend with a clean spoolie. ABH’s Brow Wiz tutorials use this approach. Check whether your pencil already includes a brush before buying another.

With gel: remove excess from the wand first. For a softer front, Maybelline suggests starting at the middle, brushing toward the tail, then using what remains at the inner brow. This describes where to apply the product, not a direction to brush the whole brow backward. Follow the formula’s application instructions.

The illustration shows filling followed by brushing. Blend pencil before adding gel; don’t rely on gel to erase heavy lines. Pencil followed by gel is a useful starting sequence, but strong-hold styling routines can use a different order, as ABH’s guide demonstrates.

Add a second product only for an unfinished job

After pencil, ask whether you still need the hairs held in place. After gel, ask whether a specific gap still needs drawing. If the result already suits you, stop there; owning both is optional.

Before choosing a long-wear formula, check its removal directions too. If you don’t yet have a remover that suits your makeup, compare micellar water and cleansing balm as the next decision.