Border brush question

I would really appreciate some input into the use of border brushes. Since most of them have a white center, and typically they're applied last, I find they change the overall color of my icon even when I put them on "overlay" (in PS). If I reduce the opacity, then I reduce the effect of the brush. I try to compensate for this by erasing the white center, but then I typically distort the brush. I have also tried putting the border under my exclusion layers right atop my picture. Anyway... I'm sure I'm doing something really wrong to have this problem. I would love to hear what people do to use the brushes as borders without changing the underlying photo. Thanks a lot.