When most of us hear the phrase “skinny eyebrows”, our minds immediately jump back to the trauma of the ’90s and early noughties when overplucking and redrawing our brows so they were toothpick-thin was the thing to do — and boy, do we regret it.
And now #SkinnyBrows has become TikTok’s most dividing beauty trend of the year so far, with Gen Z’s bringing back the ’90s staple, much to the dismay of millennials and Gen X-ers everywhere. There’s even a thin eyebrow filter doing the rounds for those who want to test out the trend (or give themselves a rude shock) before opting in for good.
But the skinny brows of today aren’t as bad as they sound. In fact, the trend is more about embracing your natural brow shape, colour, and texture rather than plucking half your hair out.
“We’re welcoming it back, and we have been for a while!” Fay Rezaei, senior brow artist at Royals Clinic Australia, says. “It’s minimal, playful and fun. We aren’t restricted to just one style of brows… It’s all about having your “thick” or “skinny” brows shaped correctly and having them nice and full.”
Unlike the skinny brows of decades past, the modern skinny brow doesn’t involve any thinning out. Beauty lovers, brow technicians and makeup artists alike are simply using better shaping techniques and brow products to offer a more streamlined brow line.
As Samantha Tonkin, Benefit’s National Brow Artist and Beauty Expert notes, our understanding of brow technology and shaping for the face has come a long way since the 1990s.
And for this, we can thank the art of brow mapping, a facial mapping technique that helps create the right brow shape for your face.
“Brow mapping is the most important step in any brow treatment, it creates harmony to the face,” Rezaei says. “Having them measured correctly to your facial features can make a big difference in a positive way. Having them measured incorrectly can also make a huge impact but in a negative way.”
As Tonkin notes, this technique has become an essential step for every brow treatment, showing technicians exactly where the brow should start, where the arches should sit and how long they should be. The end result is a beautifully-lifted brow that sculpts the face and frames the eyes.
To channel the skinny brow trend without thinning your brows, Rezaei recommends brow lightening or Royals Clinic Australia’s brow layout treatment.
But you can also achieve the look at home with a few essential products. Start with a strong hold brow gel, fluffing the front part of your brow (closest to your nose) upwards and sleeking the ends of the brow down and out.
For an extra-slim look, draw a thin line on the inside of the brow and then go in with the gel to create an illusion of skinny brows.
Here, our go-to products to create the perfect #SkinnyBrow.
Benefit 24 Hour Brow Setter, $45 at Adore Beauty
Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Freeze Styling Wax, $39 at Sephora
NYX Professional Micro Brow Pencil, $17.99 at NYX Cosmetics
Kosas Air Brow Clear Lifting Treatment Gel, $33 at MECCA
Benefit Precisely, My Brow Eyebrow Pencil, $45 at Sephora
Main image credit: Getty, @kendalljenner, @parishilton
What are your thoughts on the trend? Will you be putting skinny brows to the test?
I’m always plucking stray ones
I like them thicker now