Grooming sideburns at home takes practice.
The best maintenance tool is an electric razor with an edger, said Lori Schulte, head stylist at Total Beauty Salon and Supply in Dana Point, Calif. With an edger, you`re less likely to accidentally shave off your sideburns.
Heidi Taylor, national education director for Sebastian International, a manufacturer of hair and skin products, suggested placing an index card over the ear and the area of hair that you don`t want shaved, and even cutting the edge of the card to the desired shape of the sideburns. You can shave this way until the sideburns take definite form after two or three weeks.
Some men, though, may not grow enough hair for a well-defined pair of sideburns, Taylor said.
This is where cosmetic help comes in.
”A good thing to do is to take an eyebrow pencil that matches the color of your hair,” Taylor said, ”and use very quick, light strokes on the bare patches in the sideburn to create the illusion of hair.”
OK, this might make you feel goofy. But many women use this trick every day to enhance scanty eyebrows. And when it`s done right, no one can tell it`s not real hair-except when it washes off in the pool.
The key is to use a waterproof eyebrow pencil.
A more drastic measure is to use wax placements, Taylor said. Using a special glue, a hair expert can attach short stubs of hair to fill in bare spots in the sideburn area. This is best done by a professional, who must do a patch test on the inner side of the client`s forearm to check for allergic reactions.
