The Best At-Home Eyebrow Tint Kits for Darker, Bolder Brows

Easy to use options, only.

Two female models with full and defined tinted eyebrows
(Image credit: Getty Images)

If a professional eyebrow tinting session feels out of reach, you should by no means give up on your dream of getting darker, fuller-looking eyebrows. The best eyebrow pencils and eyebrow pens can give you a daily fix, but if you’re looking for a semi-permanent, more low-maintenance solution, say hi, hello, and welcome to your new favorite product: The best at-home eyebrow tint kits.

“Eyebrow tinting is a non-invasive way to enhance and define existing brow hairs using semi-permanent dye to darken the finer and lighter brow hairs that normally aren’t as visible,” explains brow expert and founder of Kimiko, Dani Kimiko Vincent. “This increased hair visibility creates a fuller, more defined brow that can last from four to six weeks.”

Yes, tinting your own brows feels intimidating, but with some expert tips and the best at-home eyebrow tint kits in the game, you’ll be set up for success. Ahead, we’re sharing our favorite at-home brow tints along with expert-approved tips for getting a natural-looking, albeit slightly enhanced, finish.

The Best At-Home Eyebrow Tints

The products on this list have been vetted by Marie Claire's Beauty Editor, Samantha Holender (aka yours truly) and Marie Claire's Beauty Director, Deena Campbell; or have been hand-selected by an eyebrow tinting pro. Each and every one is safe to use and is highly rated by reviewers. While the *best* at-home eyebrow tinting kit for you will vary based on personal preference, you truly can't go wrong with one of the items on this list.

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What to Look For in an Eyebrow Tint

  • Type of Tint

We’re all for a DIY situation, but it’s important to set some ground rules ahead of your shopping spree. Picking the best at-home eyebrow tint for you is largely dependent on your skill level.

“At-home kits are meant to be safe and easy to use, but they do require trial and error to get right,” warns Vincent. “The different types include encapsulated powders with activators, cream with developer, and silver nitrate versions.” The latter is going to be the hardest to work with, as the color latches onto the skin and leaves a tint fairly quickly.

If you’re new to the at-home brow tinting process, we recommend sticking to a powder or cream kit. And by no means should you attempt to tint your brows with hair dye. “All tints made for brows are semi-permanent,” notes Vincent. "You should never use hair dye on eyebrows, as they are much stronger and not deemed safe for use around the eyes."

  • Shade

Finding the right product is half the battle with at-home brow tints. “The primary challenge is getting the intensity and color right,” explains Vincent. As a rule of thumb, pick a shade that’s roughly two shades darker than the hair on your head. “Brow tinting is not just for the fair-haired, even dark brunettes have finer, lighter hairs that can be amped up to add natural-looking definition to brows.”

A side-by-side image of a woman before and after an eyebrow tint.

"If you’re unsure which shade to choose, pick the lighter option," explains advanced practice aesthetician Maritza Ramirez. And if you're too nervous to mess up, it's never a bad idea to visit a professional—which is exactly what beauty freelance writer Sophia Vilensky did. On the left is before her brow tint. On the right, is after.

(Image credit: Sophia Vilensky)

If you're new to the at-home brow tinting game, you should start out light. "Typically, the longer the pigment sits, the deeper it will stain and the longer it will last. If you are blonde, you will need something as light as possible without being too warm/auburn," explains brow expert Pilar DeMann. "Once you have some experience under your belt, you can start mixing pigments, adding a darker brown to a light brown to give it more depth."

While a brown tint might also work if you have gray hair, DeMann is more into a smoke-gray shade that provides a more neutral tone to gray or salt-and-pepper brows. "Some people with gray look good with brown brows (Jamie Lee Curtis), some don’t," she explains. "For auburn hair, I mix a light brown with auburn so it’s neither too red nor too brown."

Is It Safe to Tint Your Eyebrows at Home?

DeMann is less opposed to at-home tinting than you might think. "I taught my mom how to do hers and have suggested to clients who travel a lot to do theirs. My number one piece of advice: take your time," she explains. "With anything new, it takes practice. The calmer you are and the more time you allow yourself, the better it will be. Good lighting and a magnifying mirror (even for young eyes) will help with precision."

How to Tint Eyebrows at Home

Let me preface this by saying instructions differ with every kit. Please read all the instructions, no matter how many pages there may be. Generally speaking, you'll start with clean, dry brows. You may also want to outline your eyebrows with petroleum jelly (over-the-counter Vaseline is perfect) to prevent dye from running into your eyes.

Then, it's time to mix up your tint. You'll need a small glass dish and an angled brush. Put the product over your entire brow, not just sparse sections, for the most even-looking application. Set your timer and let the magic happen.

If you're a beginner, Vincent suggests scaling down the time the solution actually sits on your skin. Working with these products has a learning curve, so I recommend first starting with a short tinting session to ensure that you don't over-darken the hairs, which is the main risk of at-home tinting, she says. You can always build the intensity with another tint application, but once brows are too dark, the only option is to wait for them to fade with time.

Meet the Experts

dani kimiko vincent
Dani Kimiko Vincent

Dani is recognized for her makeup artistry (as seen in InStyle, Vanity Fair, Marie Claire, Vogue, and Elle), her skincare expertise, her less-is-more approach towards makeup and helping clients achieve their best brows. Her method involves teaching and empowering clients to "master their brows," to the effect that she’s been called the Brow Sensei. Equipped with an expansive and discerning product knowledge, it is no wonder Dani further established her place as an industry authority when she developed her Japanese beauty brand Kimiko, known for their precision brow products from Tokyo and their intelligent skin-improving makeup.

A woman wearing a purple dress and pearl necklaces from the shoulders up.
Pilar DeMann

LA born Pilar DeMann is no stranger to the Hollywood life. Deemed the Eyebrow Queen of Litchfield County, Pilar knows that if the eyes are the windows to the soul, then the eyebrows are the frame. It was this notion that led Pilar to conceive a simple routine anchored in brows done right, for her clients. Coined as BLLaC, an easy to remember acronym so women know to focus on their Brows, Lashes, Lips and Cheeks. Whether she is teaching a client how to apply makeup, glamming them up for a party or a walk down the aisle, Pilar always starts with these key features, which has become a simple routine that takes less than five minutes.

A woman with dark hair and red lipstick against a pale background.
Maritza Ramirez

Maritza Ramirez has always been obsessed with beauty, so a career as an esthetician was the obvious choice for her. She specializes in skincare and facials, and waxing services, and tailors every service and recommendation to her guests’ unique needs, whether that’s an everyday moisturizer, the perfect strong brow, or a glow-getting series of facials.

A native Minnesotan, Maritza received a degree in apparel design from St. Kate’s in St. Paul. She completed her esthetician education at the Aveda Institute. When she’s not at work, you can find her hanging out with friends, working on her new house, or playing with her two cats, Pretty Ricky and Iman.

Beauty Editor

Samantha Holender is the Beauty Editor at Marie Claire, where she reports on the best new launches, dives into the science behind skincare, and shares the breakdown on the latest and greatest trends in the beauty space. She's studied up on every ingredient you'll find on INCI list and is constantly in search of the world's glowiest makeup products. Prior to joining the team, she worked as Us Weekly’s Beauty and Style Editor, where she stayed on the pulse of pop culture and broke down celebrity beauty routines, hair transformations, and red carpet looks. Her words have also appeared on Popsugar, Makeup.com, Skincare.com, Delish.com, and Philadelphia Wedding. Samantha also serves as a board member for the American Society of Magazine Editors (ASME). She first joined the organization in 2018, when she worked as an editorial intern at Food Network Magazine and Pioneer Woman Magazine. Samantha has a degree in Journalism and Mass Communications from The George Washington University’s School of Media and Public Affairs. While at GWU, she was a founding member of the school’s HerCampus chapter and served as its President for four years. When she’s not deep in the beauty closet or swatching eyeshadows, you can find her obsessing over Real Housewives and all things Bravo. Keep up with her on Instagram @samholender.

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