Eyebrow grooming

The ideal eyebrow has often changed: moved higher on the forehead, almost erased, very thin or on the contrary thick and joined in the center. These fashions have never affected everyone in the same way. The best documented historical examples often focus on female beauty, the court or celebrities; Above all, they show how much the desired form depends on its context.

In Japan, redesigned eyebrows from the Heian era

During the Heian period, from 794 to 1185, the cosmetic uses of the Japanese court gradually moved away from Chinese models. Women remove their natural eyebrows to paint new ones higher on the forehead, on a powdered face. The eyebrow thus becomes an element that can be moved and recomposed, rather than a line whose layout we necessarily follow.

In medieval Europe and Persia, opposing preferences

In depictions of aristocratic women from late medieval and early modern Europe, eyebrows often appear plucked and arched, with a hairline drawn back to reveal a very high forehead. Historian John Block Friedman connects these images to practices described in cosmetic texts. The desired effect then favors a face with little hair growth.

Other traditions, on the contrary, value the continuity of the eyebrows. The Encyclopaedia Iranica describes, in traditional Persian nuptial preparation, the maintenance of hairs between the two eyebrows, considered beautiful when they meet. The expression abrū-peyvasta, which designates joined eyebrows, can even describe a beautiful person. The same detail that some today choose to remove hair could therefore be kept as an asset.

1920s–1950s: cinema and drawn eyebrows

In the 1920s, Clara Bow's very thin eyebrows contributed to the image of silent cinema. The 1930s put more emphasis on fine, dark and rounded lines, of which Marlene Dietrich remains a well-known example. The line is sufficiently drawn to strongly modify the expression. In the 1950s, Marilyn Monroe's eyebrows offered another model: more present, dark and structured by a marked arch.

However, these Hollywood models are not unanimous. Frida Kahlo keeps her eyebrows full and joined, which she accentuates with makeup. The Victoria and Albert Museum highlights this contrast with the fine arches appreciated by some of its contemporaries. His self-portraits have made this line a personal signature, showing that a trait can be asserted even when it deviates from a dominant fashion.

1980s–2000s: from thick eyebrows to very fine eyebrows

In the 1980s, Brooke Shields became a reference for thick eyebrows, which retained their natural shape more. Conversely, images of Kate Moss and other celebrities from the 1990s highlight very fine lines. This aesthetic remains visible in the early 2000s, with heavily shaved edges and a narrow tail. Not all women adopt it: several styles continue to coexist.

Since the 2010s: several modes coexist

Cara Delevingne's full eyebrows are becoming one of the references of the 2010s. However, the thin eyebrow is not disappearing: Rihanna wears a very designed version on the cover of British Vogue in September 2018. On the catwalks and in fashion images, thick, thin or bleached eyebrows can follow one another without a single shape lastingly replacing all the others.

For a male interview, this story especially invites us to distinguish a personal preference from a universal rule. Keeping the thickness and following its implantation is the choice proposed in this sheet to obtain a natural result. There is no need to remove a lot of material to follow a current image, especially if you like your current shape and suit the rest of the face.