If you were a teenager or a fully blown adult during the nineties, chances are, your eyebrows didn’t make it through the era unscathed. Because while the eighties saw the boom of the power brow, by the following decade, razor-thin stripes became the de-facto norm for face framers.
Bold brows might have made a resurgence in the noughties (thanks for that, Cara Delevingne) but the trend also left a significant bunch of us who had been taken in by the plucking craze wondering ‘how do you grow your eyebrows?’
Well, you’ve come to the right place. Here’s the expert guide on how to stimulate eyebrow growth.
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How can I grow my eyebrows naturally?
The best way to kickstart your brows into growing naturally is to leave them, put down the tweezers and really focus on stimulating the hair growth through these nifty hacks.
Did you know? Every hair is connected to a tiny blood vessel, ‘stimulating blood flow to the brow area can help encourage healthy hair growth explains Laurretta Power–Benefit UK national brow artist–explains. For a homeopathic fix, try giving your brow bone a micro-massage with your fingertips when going through your skincare routine by gently tapping over each brow for about 30 seconds.
Is it possible to grow your eyebrows?
In short, yes! Brow hair is just like the hair on your head, Power explains; it grows in a cycle.
Can I regrow overplucked eyebrows?
Usually, it disrupts the hair growth cycle but that doesn’t mean it stops altogether. Ultimately, this depends on how healthy your brow hair follicles are, it can take a full 12 to 16 weeks to see the fullest potential in your hair growth,’ she says.
How to grow your eyebrows according to the experts
1. Make eyebrow serum a part of your routine
While olive oil and Vaseline might be the cheaper options, nothing beats a great eyebrow serum that’s specifically formulated to help stimulate brow growth.
Make it a part of your nightly skin routine, applying it before bed so it works its magic while you sleep. A good eyebrow serum should do two things: revitalise your follicles and condition your hair. This will minimise breakage, repair each strand and protect your eyebrows from environmental damage, like pollution, which can dehydrate your skin.
Do eyebrow serums really work?
‘Our eyelashes and brows go through a cycle of around three months (12 weeks). This includes a growth phase (Anagen), a transition phase (Catagen) and a resting phase (Telogen), reveals Nima Pourian, UKLASH Founder, who also make UKBROW.
‘During the growth stage, our cells divide quickly to create new hair growth, in the transition phase the hair stops growing and detaches itself from the body’s blood supply… to finally enter the final resting stage where the fully formed hairs stay rooted, whilst new hairs begin to grow underneath them. Then the whole process starts again.’
‘Eyebrow serums work to reduce the fallout and encourage new growth during the growth phase, whilst strengthening and nourishing existing hairs during the resting phase. This is why eyebrow serums are advised to be used once per day for 8-12 weeks to achieve best results – the same amount of time as a full growth cycle,’ she adds.
2. Quit plucking
Well, yeah. Brows grow in a three to four month cycle, so you should avoid plucking any hairs until at least 12 weeks have passed. After then, you can pluck the ones that aren’t anywhere near your brow line, but leave any that are close to that area alone. Try to groom your brows daily with a brush, too.
This helps to promote growth in the right direction. At around the four month mark, your brow hairs will start to come in strong, which is when you should book in with a professional to get the perfect shaped eyebrows for your face, or do the job yourself if you feel confident. But, before you get tweezer happy, consider the strength of light you use when you’re grooming your brows.
According to experts, when you have too much light, you tend to overpluck, so brows are best tended to in soft dull lighting. Aim for the afternoon, not the morning.
3. Use olive oil
There’s been a lot of chat about ‘castor oil eyebrows’ and whether using the liquid on your brows can help growth.
While the jury is still out on that specific oil (a lot of people have found they’re allergic to castor oil when trying out the trend), olive oil is a good substitute in the growing eyebrows category.
It’s rich in vitamin E, known for its hydrating properties and essential fatty acids that act like food for your follicles.
So, how do you use it? Gently massage a small amount into your eyebrows before bed each night to keep them conditioned. PSA: it goes without saying, be extra careful around the eye area.
4. Eat your walnuts
Serums aren’t the only products that can help your eyebrows grow thicker; particular foods rich in vitamins and minerals can also help promote hair growth.
Add walnuts, mangoes, dark leafy greens and sweet potatoes to your daily diet to help with hydration and blood circulation – both big factors in hair growth – and work things like marine proteins, biotin and vitamin B into your morning ritual to support your amino acids and boost your keratin production.
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5. Try some trickery
If you want your brows to look instantly thicker, invest in a good brow kit.
For a bold-looking brow, fill in any sparse areas with a brow pencil (focussing on the arch), then dust over your whole brow lightly with brow powder, before finishing off with a clear gel to set in place.
Annoyed with the in-between stage? Power suggests using the ‘hide and enhance’ method.
‘First, we hide by using a full-coverage concealer like Boi-ing Cakeless. Gently pat it over the brow hairs that are still growing in to conceal them for the time being.’
‘Next, enhance your brow shape with a microlining pencil like, Precisely, My Brow Pencil. Choose a shade that’s a true match to your natural hair colour and tone and make tiny flicks in areas that need more support during this grow out phase.’
6. Avoid excessive sun exposure
‘Ensuring your eyebrows are shielded from the sun is crucial to avoid premature ageing. While it’s common knowledge that UV rays can lighten hair, making brows less visible, what’s less known is that these rays can also harm the proteins in brow hair, leading to brittle, dry, and thinner eyebrows. Any sunscreen applied directly on brows will help prevent this,’ says Kintija Belska, International Brow Expert and Co-Founder of Everlasting Brows.
7. Try Vaseline
Moisturising your brows isn’t exactly high up on the skincare routine, but, hydrated skin is the perfect environment for hair to grow faster and more resilient.
‘Condition your brows on a daily basis for healthy skin and brow hair growth. Brow dandruff and flaky skin are becoming increasingly common. However, this can easily be avoided with a good daily brow care regime. Moisturise your brow area just like you would rest of your face with a nourishing brow treatment,’ says Belska.
Does Vaseline work in speeding up eyebrow growth?
Well, Vaseline is an occlusive balm, meaning it locks in moisture to help speed up your skin’s natural recovery process… so it might help. Simply clean and dry your brow area. Then, apply Vaseline over them three to four times a day.
All set? Go forth and get those eyebrows to the place they were born to be.
This article written by Chloe Burcham and Perdita Nouril, first appeared on Women’s Health UK.
