Getting my eyebrows done = 修眉 (xiū méi); how do I use this?

Question

Getting your eyebrows done is different in China than in the West. In China, it involves shaving (rather than waxing or threading), trimming, and plucking. Consequently, I have been asking for 刮眉毛 (guā méi mao, or "shave eyebrows"), and since I ended up with my eyebrows done, I thought it was correct.

I have recently learned that I instead should ask for 修眉 (xiū méi) or 修眉毛 (xiū méi mao). However, it's unclear to me how I should use this in a sentence, e.g., what is a grammatically correct way to ask for 修眉.

Question: How should I ask for 修眉? How should I use 修眉 in a sentence?

Answer 1

刮眉毛 is grammatically identical to 修眉毛. They are both an action. The only difference is in the meaning. Therefore, you can use 修眉毛 in the same way as 刮眉毛. Here is some examples:

1. 你好，我想修眉毛。 (Hello, I want to 修眉毛)
2. 你好，你们这里可以修眉毛吗？ (Hello, do you offer 修眉毛 service?)

The following also make sense grammatically:

1. 你好，我想刮眉毛。 (Hello, I want to 刮眉毛)
2. 你好，你们这里可以刮眉毛吗？ (Hello, do you offer 刮眉毛 service?)

Answer 2

修 means "modify"; 刮 means "shave", which is some kind of "modify". "修眉" usually means "modify the style of eyebrows, including shave the rim of it", since merely nobody shave her eyebrows completely. However, when saying "刮眉毛", in people's common sense, she will be of no eyebrows. "描眉" is used more frequently than "修眉", and they're usually used together. Beautiful women 描眉 everyday, but hardly 刮眉; they prefer to say 描眉 or 修眉