Best eyebrow tint: Top tint kits and dyes to perfect your brow game from home

Brooke Shields or Cara Delevingne? No matter which brow queen’s eyebrows you’re trying to emulate, if you’re done with the daily chore of feathering and flicking strokes with pencils and wands, it may be time to consider an eyebrow tint to get your best brows yet.

Eyebrow tinting involves applying semi-permanent or permanent colour to create darker, more defined looking brows. And the best bit? Since brow tints can last for weeks at a time, you can do away with the everyday pencilling in, eliminating a time-consuming task of your morning makeup routine, while adding in some extra snooze time. If you’re someone who has their brows done professionally at a salon already, you could save yourself time and money by switching to tinting at home.

So, which eyebrow tints are best? Whether your brows are thin, thick or non-existent, and whether you’re looking to achieve a natural or bold look to your brows, we’ve tested an array of brow tints to discover which products work best. Read on for some key information to consider before you make a purchase.

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Best eyebrow tints: At a glance

• Best all-round eyebrow tint: Eylure Brow-Pro Dybrow Eyebrow Tint | £8
• Best eyebrow tint for sensitive skin: Godefroy Instant Eyebrow Tint | £8.50
• Best semi-permanent eyebrow tint: Wunder2 Wunderbrow Eyebrow Gel | £14
• Best budget eyebrow tint: Schwarzkopf Brow Tint | £6.99

How to choose the best eyebrow tint for you

What different types of eyebrow tints are there?

There are a range of different at-home eyebrow tints available, including kits comprising a few components, to those that are ready to be applied immediately.

Note that you should only use a tint that’s made specifically for tinting your eyebrows – hair dyes often contain ingredients that make them unsafe for application on the skin around the eye area. For those same reasons, you should never use an eyebrow tint to tint your eyelashes either.

Should I opt for semi-permanent or permanent?

If you’re looking for results that last weeks instead of days, we recommend choosing a permanent eyebrow tint. This will mean you won’t need to top up the colour anywhere near as frequently as with a semi-permanent option. Some permanent eyebrow tints can last anywhere between six and 12 weeks, depending on the brand.

Those who are new to tinting their eyebrows at home are probably best plumping for a semi-permanent tint. Depending on the individual product, a semi-permanent tint can last anywhere between a few days to a few weeks, but can also be removed easily if you’re unhappy with the results.

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How do I know which colour to select?

In terms of colour, our eyebrows don’t always match the hair on our head exactly; you should consider how your natural brow colour compliments your hair. As such, tinting your brows may involve going with a hue that’s slightly darker or lighter than your hair colour. This is especially true if you’re looking to create an understated, more natural appearance to your brows.

What should I do to prepare for applying an eyebrow tint?

Like the process for using a hair dye, it’s crucial to start by conducting a patch test. Typically, this involves applying a small amount of product behind one of your ears, and leaving it in place for around a day to see whether you react.

If there’s no reaction within a few hours, it likely means that you should be completely safe to apply the tint to your brows. However, if the test area becomes red, itchy or irritated, it indicates that you might be allergic to one of its ingredients or are especially sensitive to that particular formula – in which case you shouldn’t use the product. Note that there are eyebrow tints designed with sensitive skin in mind, and we have included such products in our list below.

Once you know you’re fine to use a product, cleanse brows and dry them fully before applying the tint to your eyebrows. Any moisturiser, or other skincare product or excess oils present on your brows will prevent the colour from taking properly, so for the best results, this step is essential.

Another pro tip when tinting your eyebrows: outline your brows in a light layer of petroleum jelly or Vaseline. This will prevent any tint from escaping the brow area and dying the skin around your brows. Just be careful to keep the Vaseline from getting onto your actual brow hairs, since as mentioned, this could interfere with the tint working correctly.

How much should I spend?

As you’ll see from our list below, tinting your eyebrows at home can be far more cost-effective than having them done professionally at a salon.

There are many tints available below £10, and in our opinion we don’t think you need to spend any more than £20 or so for a great eyebrow tint. It’s also worth taking into consideration how many applications you’ll get from your product, for better value for money.

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The best eyebrow tint you can buy in 2023

1. Eylure Brow-Pro Dybrow Eyebrow Tint: Best all-round eyebrow tint

Price when reviewed: £8 | Check price at Lookfantastic Lasting up to six weeks, and with one kit providing up to 12 applications, you’ll be hard-pushed to find a product that beats the Eylure brow-tinting kit for value for money. Available in Light Brown, Dark Brown and Black, these shades cover a range of different hair colours and skin tones, with the lightest shade perfect for even blondes and redheads.

The two-step system comprises a colour cream and activator cream, applied one after the other using the accompanying spoolie. It takes just under 15 minutes for eyebrows to look fuller and darker, while still looking natural.

Key details – Vegan: Yes; Dermatologist tested: No; Number of applications: Up to 12

2. Schwarzkopf Brow Tint: Best budget eyebrow tint

Price when reviewed: £6.99 | Check price at Amazon Covering even grey brows or those flecked with grey hairs, Schwarzkopf’s affordable brow tint lasts around four weeks and is both smudge-proof and waterproof during that duration.

Available in supermarkets such as Asda and Sainsbury’s, you can throw it into your basket while doing the weekly food shop, where it can be picked up for just £5 – making it great value for money. When you consider the fact that each pack contains up to 10 applications, each time you tint your brows you’ll be paying around 50p to 70p to do so.

Key details – Vegan: No; Dermatologist tested: No; Number of applications: Up to 10

3. Godefroy Instant Eyebrow Tint: Best eyebrow tint for sensitive skin

Price when reviewed: £8.50 | Check price at Amazon The Godefroy Instant Eyebrow Tint is a great option for those with sensitive skin, or if you wish to avoid using chemical-based products. Available in the shades Medium Brown, Natural Black, Light Brown, Dark Brown and Graphite, this tint arrives in the form of powder capsules, which are opened and combined with the developer in the mixing bowl supplied. The resulting creamy formula is applied to your eyebrows using the wooden sticks that you’ll also find in the box.

The plant-based, fragrance-free formula only needs to be applied for a couple of minutes, depending on the colour, with the results gradually fading over the course of about four to six weeks. Godefroy advises that you outline the eyebrow in petroleum jelly or Vaseline to prevent colour bleeding and dying your skin.

Key details – Vegan: Unspecified; Dermatologist tested: No; Number of applications: 4

4. Wunder2 Wunderbrow Eyebrow Gel: Best semi-permanent eyebrow tint

Price when reviewed: £14 | Check price at Sephora This waterproof, smudge-proof and transfer-proof brush-on gel is our top pick of semi-permanent eyebrow tint. Whether you’re looking to tint your brows for only a couple of hours, a special occasion, or up to the recommended three days before reapplication is required, this eyebrow tint can be removed in a matter of seconds by applying an oil-based cleanser to brows and using gentle massage to breakdown the product.

Available in Blonde, Auburn, Brunette, Black Brown and Jet Black shades, this eyebrow gel’s dual-ended brush aids easy application: on one side is a precise angled brush for accurate application to brows; on the other is a spoolie that lets you evenly brush the product through brows, softening the overall look. Those with sparse areas of growth will appreciate the hair-like fibres of this tint that help brows to look fuller.

Key details – Vegan: Yes; Dermatologist tested: No; Number of applications: N/A

Check price at Sephora

5. Maybelline Tattoo Brow Long Lasting Gel Tint: Best peel-off eyebrow tint

Price when reviewed: £13 | Check price at Boots Those looking for a hassle-free colouring experience will love this mess-free brow tint. There’s no mixing of separate components with Maybelline’s brow gel tint; simply apply the tint to your eyebrows, let the product set for 20 minutes and then peel off – voila! Say hello to your newly tinted brows.

Available in six different shades that should cover most shades of hair colour, this semi-permanent tint can last up to three days before having to be reapplied. In addition, you can vary the depth of colour you achieve, increasing the suggested 20-minute developing time to a few hours to deepen the hue.

Key details – Vegan: No; Dermatologist tested: No; Number of applications: N/A

Check price at Boots