A Haunting History of Skinny Brows Over the Years

One might feel that fuller brows have been ruling the trendscape for a long time, but it really isn’t so. Beauty history boasts enough photographic evidence to verify that thin eyebrows have been around for over a century, if not more. 

And recent runway and celebrity sightings are signalling a departure, if you will, from filled-in, bushy eyebrows. So does that mean it is time for your trusted brow-enhancing products to hang their boots? Not quite! As you scroll through these photographs, you’ll notice that while the brows are consistently slender, they are well-defined, and the shapes range from round to curvy, and arched, among others. 

The backstage make-up pros followed a similar approach season when framing the models’ faces. And we are happy to report that the rulebook has been thrown out the window—you can choose to keep them au naturel, tweak the shape using your favourite pencil, or use a gel to achieve a frayed look. 

A word of caution: observe the runway images closely and you’ll understand that the eyebrows have not been over-plucked to get the desired shape—so save yourself that painful experience, which might make it hard to grow your brows should you wish for a fuller look. The backstage pros have simply used a base product to conceal brow hairs and then used a brow pencil to draw out the shape. 

The right attitude is all you need to break away from the ‘Instagram face’ that no longer appeals to the masses. 

Here’s a quick recap of skinny brows through the decades, as seen on some of the most iconic women in history.