There are tons of new and expensive anti-aging products on the market that promise to give your face its most youthful and groomed appearance. However, experts agree that the fastest and cheapest way to achieve your best face is through perfectly groomed eyebrows. Yes, expertly groomed brows may be the best-kept secret when it comes to creating a youthful look.

Make Your Brows Work for You

Eyebrows are like the frames that protect precious works of art. Their job is to complement features, not stand out on their own. Your eyebrows are supposed to complement your bone structure, brighten and lift your eyes and face upward. Groomed brows can easily put your face into perfect proportion. A perfect brow arch will open your eyes and make a smoky eye shadow look even more stunning. In fact, with the properly groomed eyebrow arch, you can easily take years off your face. How’s that for saving money on a facelift?

Brow Faux Pas

Even if they don’t mean to, one of the first things people notice about you is your eyebrows. Thick and heavy brows bring immediate attention straight to the eyebrow.

On the other hand, a pencil thin brow will draw the attention to the lower part of your face. The place you want people to focus on should always be your eyes, right in the middle. Groomed brows will bring that attention to your eyes and frame your entire face.

Necessary Maintenance

Even if you are not big on makeup, eyebrow maintenance is essential. Having brows with stray hairs growing out of the natural arch can make it seem as if you don’t care how you look.

A thick and bushy brow can make even the most feminine facial features look masculine. Then you have the über-frightening uni-brow, which is always a dreadful mistake for any face. Poorly groomed brows can overshadow your fantastic facial features and hide your true beauty from the rest of the world.

The Perfectly Groomed Brow

To find your natural brow shape, hold an eyebrow brush against the side of your nose and let the tip rest on your forehead. Brows should begin where the edge of the eyebrow bristles land. The next step is to align the brush with the outside edge of the iris, or the colored part, of your eye. Where the brush meets your eyebrow is actually where your natural arch is supposed to be. Lastly, hold the brush diagonally from your nose to the outer corner of the eye, then up to your brow. Where the brush intersects with the eyebrow is exactly where your brow should end.

Expert Eyebrow Care from Azur West

Don’t be fooled by anyone. Tweezing or tinting your brows at home can be an extremely tricky process. One wrong move and you could have a set of eyebrows that look like tadpoles. Instead, you can let the eyebrow experts at Azur West wax, pluck and trim your brows into gorgeous shape. When you call Azur West to schedule an expert eyebrow grooming appointment, you will be asked a few short questions about the current appearance of your eyebrows and the type look you want to achieve. Using this information, you are scheduled with an Azur West expert and one step closer to achieving your perfect angle.

Sara Jessica Parker loves her beautiful Balayage highlights. Photo: dollhouseempire.com

If you want to add beautiful, naturally bright highlights to your hair, the increasingly popular balayage highlight technique is the perfect way to get that eye-catching, enviously sexy style. With celebrities like Drew Barrymore and Jessica Biel showing off their own balayage highlights, the technique quickly became a specialty service offered only to a select clientele…until now.

Balayage literally translates to mean “sweeping.” The balayage highlighting technique creates superior results because the colorist is able to sweep on each highlight and control placement of the color. The colorists at Azur West achieve balayage highlights by taking a small section of hair, sweeping color onto the top and then using a paddle to apply more color to the bottom of each section. The innovative balayage technique gives total control of the color placement to the colorist, while also allowing them to create the beautifully natural and unique highlights you always wanted.

The benefit of balayage highlights goes far beyond giving the colorist more control over color placement. Balayage highlights also create a more natural, multidimensional looking color. Azur West colorists are able to sweep more color onto areas where the sun naturally hits your hair the most, while sweeping less color in areas to make the growth appear more gradual and natural. When highlights are done using the foil technique, you only achieve one solid color from root to tip. Balayage highlights give rich and beautiful tones to your hair, resulting in a better color from root to tip.

Jessica Biel has beautiful and natural Balayage highlights. photo: meggywood.com

Balayage highlights also offer the added benefit of longer lasting results. Colorists at Azur West expertly utilize the balayage technique to apply highlights, so when your hair begins to grow out at the roots, it is much less obvious. This means you can wait longer before returning to have your balayage highlights touched up. The balayage technique is also perfect for gray hair, as it allows the colorist to single out only the gray strands of hair without having to apply overall color. Let one of the expert colorists at Azur West show you how balayage highlights can transform your hair.

While you might think that dryness and damage are just the inevitable effects of professional hair color, Azur West offers a new color innovation that changes everything. The professional stylists at Azur West proudly introduce their L’Oréal INOA Color Bar. The name INOA stands for Innovation No Ammonia. INOA gives you beautiful, rich color, without wreaking havoc on your precious locks. Here are the top five reasons you’ll fall in love with INOA.

• INOA is odorless: One of the most prominent disadvantages to other types of professional hair color is the strong chemical odor. If you are an experienced color client, you have no doubt experienced the strong fumes coming from hair color. Don’t forget that these fumes can affect more than your sense of smell. They have also been known to cause stinging, irritated and watery eyes. INOA color makes those chemical fumes a thing of the past, as it is odorless.

• INOA contains no ammonia: Ammonia is the ingredient found in hair color that causes major damage to your hair and scalp. The alkaline agent is added to hair color in order to lift your hair and distribute color. It also left your hair strands swollen, dry and breaking on the ends. Ammonia is responsible for causing your scalp to become red and itchy as well. INOA hair color is so innovative that it uses a totally different color delivery system, saving your hair from the terrible and frizzy results other color systems are known for.

• ODS Technology: INOA uses a new breakthrough technology known as the oil delivery system (ODS) to distribute color perfectly. If you want the best for your hair, INOA is your hair color. Compared to other permanent colors, INOA provides up to 2x more lipid protection to every strand of your hair. The result is a bold, shiny and lustrous texture that leaves your hair feeling like silk.

• Better results: The professionals at Azur West are able to offer you color that is better matched to the color swatches, avoiding any surprises with the final result. In addition to better color consistency, your hair will be improved with each application of INOA. In the past, your hair became more damaged with every coloring process. INOA takes your hair to new levels of health while providing superior scalp comfort.

• Celebrity stylists use INOA: Hollywood’s leading ladies have to look good at all times, but especially in front of the camera. Celebrity stylists must bring the newest and most innovative color to their clients in order to make sure their hair is looks flawless. Ted Gibson, stylist to the stars and owner of Ted Gibson Salons and Jason Backe, Master Colorist, Ted Gibson Salon, New York and Washington switched to INOA and fell in love. “I’m really excited about being part of the latest revolutionary hair color technology in the world,” says Gibson. “My clients have been thrilled with INOA – the color process and the amazing results!”

Ted Gibson demonstrates INOA, the new hair color line from L'Oreal Professionnel.(Photo: ModernSalon.com)

INOA by L’Oréal has taken hair color to a completely new level. Finally, you can have amazingly beautiful color without being forced to sacrifice the health and bounce of your hair. Let one of the professional stylists at Azur West show you how good your hair can be with the INOA Color Bar.

Are you having one of those days where you just need to get away? If things like fighting traffic or taking care of a family seem to be adding too much stress, it’s time to let Azur West introduce you to the Shu Uemura Art of Hair Sanctuary Salon. Azur West is one of only three salons in the nation offering the ultimate Shu Uemura pampering experience. Styled after the elegance of Japanese tea ceremonies, each treatment performed within The Sanctuary is specifically designed to meet the needs of your hair, while also transporting your worries far away.

Ask for the “Sanctuary Experience” when scheduling any hair or color service and you are immediately transported to a private treatment room like no other. The soundproof room is filled with music specially designed by Shu Uemura to gently puts your mind and body at ease. There is a plush chair and washbowl for hair and scalp treatments, plus a stylist’s chair for haircuts and styling. Instead of serving tea in The Sanctuary, you can sip on a glass of champagne or try the salon’s signature cucumber-infused vodka. Azur West uses precious Absolu oils during each ceremony, giving you more volume or moisture when you need it, along with utilizing an invigorating Shiatsu massage to relieve pressure points on your scalp. When you enter The Sanctuary, you’ll leave your stress behind.

Your Choice of Ceremonies

• Purifying Ceremony: This unique clarifying 15-minute treatment cleanses and purifies your scalp, while also moisturizing and revitalizing your hair. In addition, you can choose from two different scalp oils for your ceremony. FUYU is infused with eucalyptus for an invigorating effect, while NATSU contains pure essence of jasmine for a soothing and calming effect. You get to pick the sensation based on your mood.

• Hair Care Ceremony: This heavenly 30-minute treatment for hair combines a special moisturizing Depsea base with a prescribe combination of precious Absolu oils. Your professional Azur West stylist will recommend the perfect Depsea base for your hair type, using Light for fine hair types and Enriched for thicker hair, along with the best essential Absolu oils for your hair type. Your stylist will help you choose from one of six unique blends including Full Shimmer to boost shine and radiance, Moisture Velvet to nourish dry hair, Silk Bloom to restore damaged hair, Muroto Volume to volumize fine hair, Prime Plenish to revitalize hair that has weakened over time or Shusu Sleek to provide a modern, sleek look with excellent humidity defense..

• Complete Ceremony: This 45-minute service combines both the Purifying and Hair Care Ceremonies, plus gives you an extended scalp, neck, shoulder, arms and hand massage, creating the ultimate experience within The Sanctuary.

We just launched a sweepstakes where one lucky person will win a Free full Makeover along with 10 prize baskets for their friends, family and colleagues. Some of the prizes may include Shu Uemura goodness. Click Here to Enter

ABC’s Mirror Mirror and celebrity stylist Jason Backe filmed an episode at Azur West. Along with Backe, several of the Azur West staff was also there to help these ladies with their makeovers. Keep a look out for us in an upcoming episode! The new episode airs this Sunday, March 27 at 10pm on KTRK Channel 13. Check out the last episode here.