Eyebrows are everything these days. For the past decade, most of us have been trying to grow them out after years of torturing them and over-plucking in the 90s. But even those who were lucky enough to avoid that mistake back in the day or were just simply too young to live through that still obsess over the fullness of our eyebrows. We buy serums for brows to make them grow fuller and bushier We use brow pencils, eyeshadows, pomades to fill them in. We use brow gels, brow wax and any other brow product to brush them into place and keep them looking perfect all day long. And those who’ve lost faith in growing theirs out will even go and microblade them onto their face. And all for what? Because we want our brows to be on fleek.
But why are eyebrows the most important facial feature for many women? Well here’s a few reasons we came up with and one that’s actually scientifically proven.
1. It’s A Trend
You can blame Cara Delevingne for starting this
obsession all you want but we’re all slaves to trends. And this
isn’t the first time in history that bushy brows are fashionable
all of a sudden. In fact, if you google photos from different decades
you’ll see that eyebrow thickness and shape is something that’s
been changing all the time. The 1930s where all about thin and
rounded brows that drooped down at the end, the ’60s saw a comeback
of more natural eyebrows, in the ’70s the brows were plucked in an
orderly fashion, so they weren’t too thin, but they also weren’t
allowed to run wild. The 80s were all about all-natural bushy brows
and then suddenly the 90s and 2000s were the age of super-thin brows.
And here we are, starting from the 2010’s we’ve all been aiming
to grow out our brows and keep them big and bold. Let’s just keep
our fingers crossed nothing super drastic happens to our brows in the
2020s.
2. They Serve A Purpose
Apart from being a stylistic choice and an element of beauty our brows do serve a purpose. We tend to forget about that since we spend most of our time indoors. But you know they are generally meant to keep all sorts of dirt, debris and sweat from getting into our eyes. Another purpose they serve is helping us emote. Think about it – when you’re surprised you raise your eyebrows, when you’re sad or angry you frown, you can raise one eyebrow to show contempt, etc. They’re pretty crucial when it comes to expressing your mood.
3. They Frame Your Face
Eyebrows
really do frame your face. Depending on their shape and thickness you
can visually alter how your face shape is perceived. For example, if
you have a very pointy face, you can soften its appearance by having
more rounded brows. And if your face is very round, by adding an arch
you can make it seem less round and more angular.
4. They Make You Look Younger
Having full and bushy brows can make you look
younger. That’s because generally when we’re young we don’t do
anything to our brows and leave them be, and when we get older we
tend to pluck them or they just start thinning due to our age. That’s
why people with thick brows are generally perceived to be youthful.
5. You Can Save Time On Makeup
These days it’s more important to have your eyebrows looking good than putting on foundation, mascara, eyeshadow, bronzer, blush, lipstick and any other kind of makeup you would usually reach for. So if you want to look put together and don’t have the time to put on a full face of makeup – just make sure to brush your eyebrows into place and you’re good to go.
6. They’re Crucial For Facial Recognition
And finally, the scientific reason that justifies the importance of eyebrows. A study conducted in Canada in 2003 at the University of Lethbridge proved the importance of eyebrows. The participants of the study were shown two kinds of photos of celebrities. One set of photos were without eyes, and the other without eyebrows. Almost 60% of people who took part in the study were able to correctly identify the celebrities in photos without eyes. But only over 40% were able to do so in photos without eyebrows. Thus it was concluded that eyebrows are a more important facial feature for facial recognition.
