The 1940s. Our experts say that in the 1940s, a more natural, thicker brow with a defined shape came into vogue thanks to icons like Rita Hayworth. According to Amin, the trend was “throwing the tweezers out and embracing a more natural brow, softening the features while still maintaining the soft, surreal look.”
Inspired by Marilyn Monroe and Audrey Hepburn, among other Hollywood icons, a full brow with a prominent arch and point at the end was a staple of the decade. ?️ At this time people were beginning to experiment more with makeup and would use eyeshadow to fill in their eyebrows for a full yet natural look.
Full, dramatic brows can provide shape and symmetry to the face. Thick brows appear more youthful than sparse brows, and they frame the eyes naturally and beautifully.
Eyebrow thickness is heritable and widely believed to be subject to sexual selection. Nevertheless, few genomic studies have explored its genetic basis.
Bushy eyebrows have come into style, gone out of style, and come back in for 2023. These days, we're no longer looking at thin, barely there brows or overly drawn ones (thank heavens that look is out of style!), but it's a more natural look with minimal effort – or so they look that way.
Thin brows
“It's a thin brow with a full look,” she explains. “Unlike the over-tweezed '90s brows which were super skinny and then filled in with pencil, thin brows in 2023 will just be more tailored and lifted with higher arches.”
Big fluffy brows
The most popular brow trend that will dominate 2023 is here to stay. This aesthetic look has been trending for months now on social media sites such as Tik Tok and Instagram, even though it gained popularity in the '90s. People are still all about it.
Full Brows
In the 1960s, dark and bold eyebrows stole the show! Audrey Hepburn and Elizabeth Taylor are the ones who actually paved the way for this look. These brows had a more natural arch but some women also shaded in their brows to get a fuller look.
As the follicles grow more sensitive to androgens, the hormones keep them in the anagen phase longer, leading to more hair growth with age in places such as the eyebrows, nose and ears.
Fuller = More Youthful
At some point in the aging process, our hair begins to thin out and become more sparse, which is why thin brows can be associated with aging. Over-plucking and drastically thinning your eyebrows can make you appear older than you are.
A study has shown that men prefer women with thicker eyebrows, especially those who want a long-term partner. The shock result emerged from a study into how facial features are ranked for attractiveness. Researchers at Oakland University in Michigan asked almost 1000 men and women to rate a series of images.
They're also great for women with rounder face shapes. Moreover, thick eyebrows are perfect for women (and men) with more prominent facial features such as solid jaws and fuller cheekbones.
Consider eyebrow standards throughout the past century: in the 1920s and 1930s, thin eyebrows were all the rage. They thickened back out throughout the '40s and until the '90s, when society reverted to the thin, rounded shape and stuck with that until the 2010s.
2000s Eyebrows - Needle Thin, Drawn-in
Millennials were not letting the skinny brow craze of the 90s die down any time soon in the dot com era.
Most of us will remember that in the '90s, brows were plucked and trimmed religiously to emulate the shape commonly seen on supermodels like Kate Moss and Naomi Campbell, a look that was virtually synonymous with '90s glamour.
It's generally due to living for millennias in a hot environment. Eyebrows help reduce the amount of sweat and dust that gets into your eyes. Skin color is also effected by where your ancestors lived for millennia. Skin color is generally darker in the southern regions where it's lighter in the northern regions.
Despite the exciting trends that come and go, a well-groomed brow will never go out of style, says Thomas. Natural beauty has been big since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, with heavy make-up and thick, dark brows replaced by a low-maintenance, fresh-faced look.
Also, as the hair loses its color, it can also lose its lubricating oils, making it coarser. “Naturally, as you age, your brows generally get a little patchier.
The Trend. Blame it on Pamela Anderson, the godmother of the '90s skinny brow—a look the writer and activist still wears today, regardless of trend cycles.
Thin eyebrows were a mainstay of 90s fashion. Supermodels, musicians, and actors alike fed the skinny brow trend. Like all trends, thin eyebrows are coming around again. Lots of celebrities have been spotted on social media (and even on the red carpet) with much thinner eyebrows than we've seen in recent years.
We might have spent the last decade trying to grow out our brows after they were decimated by the trend for super skinny eyebrows during the Nineties and Noughties, but it looks like celebrities and beauty buffs on TikTok and Instagram are keen to try something new.
Fluffy Brows
Streicher claims that fluffed-up brows are another 2023 brow trend you'll see everywhere. This basically means just leveling up your natural arches for something less done-up but voluminous.
Ignoring thinning brows
Just like your hair, brows can thin with age, making you look older than you are. To disguise this, use a brow powder to fill patchy spots, focusing on bringing the fullness back to your brows.
"Softer, fuller brows tend to look younger and give the face a more relaxed vibe. Thinner brows can throw off the facial balance and look pinched," he explains.
Brow Lamination—One of our FAVORITE trends that we think is here to stay is brow lamination. In contrast to the thin brows of the 90s and 2000s (and making a resurgence in 2023), we're seeing brow lamination used to get a thicker and feathery brow look.