An eyebrow is an area of short hairs above each
eye that follows the shape of the lower margin of the
brow ridges
The brow ridge, or supraorbital ridge known as superciliary arch in medicine, is a bony ridge located above the eye sockets of all primates. In humans, the eyebrows are located on their lower margin.
Structure
The brow ridge is a nodule or crest ...
of some
mammals. In
humans
Humans (''Homo sapiens'') are the most abundant and widespread species of primate, characterized by bipedalism and exceptional cognitive skills due to a large and complex brain. This has enabled the development of advanced tools, culture, ...
, eyebrows serve two main functions: first,
communication
Communication (from la, communicare, meaning "to share" or "to be in relation with") is usually defined as the transmission of information. The term may also refer to the message communicated through such transmissions or the field of inqui ...
through
facial expression
A facial expression is one or more motions or positions of the muscles beneath the skin of the face. According to one set of controversial theories, these movements convey the emotional state of an individual to observers. Facial expressions are ...
, and second, prevention of sweat, water, and other debris from falling down into the eye socket. It is common for people to modify their eyebrows by means of hair removal and makeup.
Functions
A number of theories have been proposed to explain the function of the eyebrow in humans. One approach suggests its main function is to prevent moisture (mostly sweat and rain) from flowing into the eye. Another theory holds that clearly visible eyebrows provided safety from predators when early hominid groups started sleeping on the ground.
Recent research, however, suggests eyebrows in humans developed as a means of communication and that this is their primary function. Humans developed a smooth forehead with visible, hairy eyebrows capable of a wide range of movement. Such eyebrows can express a wide range of subtle emotions – including recognition and sympathy.
Cosmetic modification
Fashion in eyebrow shape has changed throughout the ages and eyebrows have always featured heavily in female fashion, often as part of cultural demands made on women about body hair.
Cosmetic methods over the centuries have been developed to alter the appearance of eyebrows, by adding or removing hair, changing the color, or changing the position to meet the aesthetic ideal of the time, for example, by tinting the eyebrow with permanent dye, similar to hair colour, often in order to darken them.
Eyebrow brushes, shaders, and pencils are often used to define the eyebrow or make it appear fuller. These can create an outline for the brows or mimic hairs where there are sparse areas. Brow gels are also used in creating a thicker brow; they allow for the hairs to be more textured, which gives the appearance of thicker, fuller brows. Lastly, brow powders or even eyeshadows are used for those who want a fuller and more natural look, by placing the brow powder or eyeshadow (closest to the natural hair colour) in areas where there is less hair.
Several options exist for removing hair to achieve a thinner or smaller eyebrow, or to "correct" a
unibrow
A unibrow (or jacco brow or monobrow; called synophrys in medicine) is a single eyebrow created when the two eyebrows meet in the middle above the bridge of the nose. The hair above the bridge of the nose is of the same color and thickness as t ...
, including manual and electronic tweezing, waxing, and threading. The most common method is to use
tweezers
Tweezers are small hand tools used for grasping objects too small to be easily handled with the human fingers. Tweezers are thumb-driven forceps most likely derived from tongs used to grab or hold hot objects since the dawn of recorded history. ...
to thin out and shape the eyebrow.
Waxing
Waxing is the process of hair removal from the root by using a covering of a sticky substance, such as wax, to adhere to body hair, and then removing this covering and pulling out the hair from the follicle. New hair will not grow back in the pr ...
is becoming more popular. Lastly, there is
threading eyebrows, where a cotton thread is rolled over hair to pull it out. Small scissors are sometimes used to trim the eyebrows, either with another method of
hair removal
Hair removal, also known as epilation or depilation, is the deliberate removal of body hair or head hair.
Hair typically grows all over the human body and can vary in thickness and length across human populations. Hair can become more visible ...
or alone. All of these methods can be painful for some seconds or minutes due to the sensitivity of the area around the eye but, often, this pain decreases over time as the individual becomes used to it. In time, hair that has been plucked will stop growing back. Some people wax or shave off their eyebrows and leave them bare, stencil or draw them in with
eye liner
Eye liner or eyeliner is a cosmetic used to define the eyes. It is applied around the contours of the eye(s). It is often used to create various aesthetic effects.
History
Eye liner was first used in ancient India, ancient Egypt and Mesopota ...
, or
tattoo
A tattoo is a form of body modification made by inserting tattoo ink, dyes, and/or pigments, either indelible or temporary, into the dermis layer of the skin to form a design. Tattoo artists create these designs using several tattooing ...
them on. In Western societies, it has become more common for men to pluck part of their eyebrows.
To create a fuller look, eyebrows can be cloned in an
eyebrow transplant
Eyebrow restoration is a surgical procedure to reposition the eyebrow. With advancing age, a common occurrence is descent of the eyebrow, or brow ptosis. A similar condition is eyelid ptosis. Eyebrow repositioning is a commonly performed proce ...
. Individual strands of the eyebrow are created to mimic a natural-looking eyebrow of the desired shape. The process of eyebrow transplant is quite similar to the process of hair transplant. In this process as well, follicles from an active area are transferred to the area where there are no hairs. Follicles are mostly taken from the back of the head because it is the best harvesting site when it comes to hairs. The follicles are then injected into the skin.
The healing process after an eyebrow transplant is similar to the process of tattoo. In this process, patients may experience light bruising and crusting of the skin. People who have genetically thin eyebrows or who have over-tweezed are considered ideal for the transplant.
An eyebrow lift is a
cosmetic surgery to raise the eyebrow, usually to create a more feminine or youthful appearance. It is not a new phenomenon, with the earliest description of brow lifting published in medical literature in 1919 by French surgeon Dr Raymond Passot. Brows can be affected during a
face lift
A facelift, technically known as a rhytidectomy (from the Ancient Greek () "wrinkle", and () "excision", the surgical removal of wrinkles), is a type of cosmetic surgery procedure used to give a more youthful facial appearance. There are mult ...
or an eye lift. In the 1970s, doctors started injecting patients' eyebrows with
botox
Botulinum toxin, or botulinum neurotoxin (BoNT), is a neurotoxic protein produced by the bacterium '' Clostridium botulinum'' and related species. It prevents the release of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine from axon endings at the neuromus ...
or similar toxins to paralyse the muscles temporarily to raise the eyebrow.
Japanese women and men from the 8th century practiced ''
hikimayu
was the practice of removing the natural eyebrows and painting smudge-like eyebrows on the forehead in pre-modern Japan, particularly in the Heian period (794–1185).
means "pull" and means "eyebrows". Aristocratic women used to pluck or s ...
'': that is, shaving or plucking the eyebrow hair and painting smudge-like ones higher on the forehead or pencilled in thin ones in a different place. This practice is comparable to that in the
Elizabethan era
The Elizabethan era is the epoch in the Tudor period of the history of England during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1558–1603). Historians often depict it as the golden age in English history. The symbol of Britannia (a female personific ...
when high-status women would remove eyebrows altogether.
Thin eyebrows, achieved by rigorous plucking, were again fashionable in the 1920s and 1930s.
In the 21st century, tattooing became popular as a way to achieve and maintain an eyebrow shape, using a coil machine, rotary machine and linear machine. This process, also called cosmetic tattooing,
microblading
Microblading is a tattooing technique and form of permanent makeup in which a small handheld tool made of several tiny needles is used to add semi-permanent pigment to the skin. Microblading differs from standard eyebrow tattooing, as each hairs ...
, or blade and shade brows, involves an eyebrow artist making small, precise cuts that mimic the look of hair. Shaving lines in eyebrows is another cosmetic alteration, popular among some younger people in the 1990s and 2000s.
Gallery
File:Joan Crawford holding mask of herself.png, Joan Crawford
Joan Crawford (born Lucille Fay LeSueur; March 23, ncertain year from 1904 to 1908was an American actress. She started her career as a dancer in traveling theatrical companies before debuting on Broadway theatre, Broadway. Crawford was si ...
sporting the pencil thin eyebrows that were typical of 1930s fashion
Year 193 ( CXCIII) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Sosius and Ericius (or, less frequently, year 946 ''Ab urbe condit ...
.
File:Black eyebrow.jpg, Eyebrows often thicken with puberty
Puberty is the process of physical changes through which a child's body matures into an adult body capable of sexual reproduction. It is initiated by hormonal signals from the brain to the gonads: the ovaries in a girl, the testes in a bo ...
.
File:Beauty Girl Surprise.jpg, Eyebrows can be used to convey emotion, such as surprise.
File:Audrey Hepburn in Charade 4.jpg, One of Audrey Hepburn's trademarks was her thick eyebrows.
File:Unibrow-2010-20-07.jpg, A young adult with hair between the eyebrows - a unibrow
A unibrow (or jacco brow or monobrow; called synophrys in medicine) is a single eyebrow created when the two eyebrows meet in the middle above the bridge of the nose. The hair above the bridge of the nose is of the same color and thickness as t ...
See also
*
Anti-eyebrow
An anti-eyebrow is a facial piercing that is placed above the cheek bone or below the eyebrow. Normally it is done with a small surface bar. This piercing can be vertical or horizontal, depending on the person's preference. Though it is a surface ...
, a body piercing placed below the eyebrow
*
Eyebrow piercing
An eyebrow piercing is a vertical surface piercing, wherein a twelve to eighteen gauge cannula needle is inserted through the bottom of the eyebrow and exits through the top of the eyebrow to permit insertion of jewellery. Those performing th ...
, a body piercing done through the eyebrow
*
Eyebrow restoration
Eyebrow restoration is a surgical procedure to reposition the eyebrow. With advancing age, a common occurrence is descent of the eyebrow, or brow ptosis. A similar condition is eyelid ptosis. Eyebrow repositioning is a commonly performed proce ...
, surgical procedure to change the look of one's eyebrows
References
External links
*
*
*
*
{{Use dmy dates, date=April 2017
Facial features