Recent years have brought about an eyebrow boom. From microblading and micro feathering to brow lamination, neurotoxin injections, and fillers, attention to eyebrows has quite literally reached new heights. With the global brow market generating $264.9 million in 2021 and estimated to reach $431.7 million by 2031, brows have become big business, raising a lot of eyebrows in the process.
With a new eyebrow trend seemingly cropping up on social media every week, it’s easy to forget that we’ve been tampering with our brows for years. In ancient Egypt, both men and women darkened their brows with powdered minerals, achieving a strong look that offset their heavily-lined eyes.
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The transition from plucking the life out of our brows to letting them grow as full as humanly possible has been interesting, with ebbs and flows changing with the times. Whether plucked and pencil-thin, bold and bushy, arched and dramatic, or au naturel, there’s a distinctive brow for every decade.
Brows Through the Years
1920s Hollywood Glam
As the film industry was beginning to flourish in Hollywood, the 1920s was an era of sophisticated thin, yet rounded brows that emoted a whimsical and childlike awe to the face. Harnessing a look that would come to define the decade, Clara Bow, the original “it girl,” with her cupid’s bow lips, dark eye makeup, and thin, downward-arching brows, was the quintessential flapper, brows and all.
1930s Decade of the Arch
As makeup became more affordable, the pencilled-on look remained in vogue, as women were shaving and plucking their natural brows into near or total extinction—then drawing them back on again. Hollywood icon Marlene Dietrich reportedly shaved off her eyebrows and drew them back on – in a perfectly rounded arch.
1940s Natural Beauty
Fuller and more natural brows reigned during this wartime era with thin brows being a thing of the past. Joan Crawford, one of the stars who sported the original power brow, left thin and over-plucked brows in the past, opting for a big, bold, and more dramatic look.
1950s Bombshell Brows
Marilyn’s red lips and blonde curls weren’t the only things that helped to create the star’s iconic bombshell style, as her dramatic brows typified 50s femininity. Perfectly groomed with a high arch, the squared-out shape of Marilyn’s eyebrows added to her sultry look. Darker eyebrows were the look of the era, with women pencilling over their natural brows. With Elizabeth Taylor, Audrey Hepburn, and Marilyn Monroe all leading the way with full, strong, dramatic brows, women everywhere started experimenting with makeup using eyeshadow on their brows to achieve full, striking brows like their Hollywood idols.
1960s Taking a Backseat
A decade later, during the mod ’60s, it was all about bold eye makeup, and neat and understated brows took a backseat. Twiggy’s rounded arches worked to offset (and not compete with) her graphic eye makeup. With the focus being more on bold eyes, thick eyeliner, and spiky lashes, the eyebrows were seen as a frame to the face instead of the focal point.
When it came to her brows, actress Sophia Loren forged her own path. As one of the most in-demand stars of the decade, her look was distinctly different from the Twiggy mod. Her unique approach to brow grooming involved shaving them off completely and drawing them back on. She would apply short, thread-thin strokes to make her eyebrows appear more natural. (Think brow pens of today — the woman was ahead of her time!)
1970s Hippies vs. Disco
When it came to brows in the 70s, there were two camps; ultra-thin or naturally full. The former came with the birth of disco fever; preened and plucked into a high arch. Donna Summer’s groomed brows matched the spirit of the disco decade.
At the same time, however, the rise of the hippie movement led some women to forego brow grooming altogether. The sub-culture tended towards a freer aesthetic, so there were just as many women putting down their tweezers as there were fans of disco taking theirs up a notch.
1980s Brooke Brows
By the 80s, everything had gotten bigger and bolder, with hairstyles and shoulder pads being just the start. With her full, natural-looking caterpillar brows, actress Brooke Shields became the brow icon of the decade. This decade saw women step away from the tweezers and overplucking, opting for a more natural look.
While Brooke’s brows were “endlessly loved,” Whitney Houston and Madonna each rocked bushy ‘brushed up’ brows of their own. The less-preened-is-more trend of the 80s sent the au natural look into the stratosphere.
1990s Thin Was Back In
And just like that, the bushy brow trend was over. In the 90s, thin, low-arched eyebrows graced the pages of Vogue once again, as Kate Moss made waves across magazine covers. This led to a generation of women plucking their brows with abandon once again.
2000’s Return of the Skinny
Just when we thought the 90s brows were the thinnest we could go, brows in the aught era got even thinner! With Y2K, we saw women plucking their brows down to almost nothing with women drawing a line for their brows to create looks like music icons Christina Aguilera and Gwen Stefan.
Brows stayed ultra-thin well into the first decade of the 21st century, though the arch had raised to become almost angular in shape. Towards the end of the decade, however, a more natural shape began surfacing once again, as brows started filling out—a sign of things to come.
2010 Bold Reemergence
As Cara Delevingne’s modelling career took off around 2012, so too did the bold brow trend. Showcasing her ample, though groomed, arches, Delevingne inspired women and girls everywhere to let their brows grow back (or learn how to use brow pencils, powders, and pomades on YouTube with precision.)
With megastars like Kim Kardashian and Natalie Portman sporting full bold brows, women now have the opportunity to create perfect brows just like their favourite celebrities at home. With endless online tutorials being all the rage, women of all ages are becoming eyebrow stylist experts in their own right, learning to create definition and shape at home.
2020s Moed-Revolution
We’ve come quite a long way since the Sophia Loren shaving-it-off and drawing-it-back-on method. Any scroll through Insta or Tik Tok will show a growing group of influencers and models embracing a wide-eyed, surprised look.
Supermodels like Bella Hadid, sporting heightened, exaggerated brows, are setting the stage for this new brow-raising aesthetic.
Today, face shape plays an integral part when deciding the shape of the brow. And whether it’s salon-based techniques like threading, waxing, or laminating, using brow-specific products at home, or turning to revolutionary cosmetic procedures, today’s women have thousands of options, and the one that’s gaining the greatest traction has nothing to do with makeup at all.
Whereas the makeup counter and salon were once the only venues for creative beauty products and techniques, today’s women are turning to the medical profession to reimagine their looks, turn back the years, and inject beauty into their lives on a regular basis. The latest trend of brow injectables is here— and it’s certainly raising quite a few eyebrows.
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Brow Lift Techniques
As with everything in aesthetic medicine, there is no such thing as one size fits all. In the case of brow lifts, there are several techniques for patients to consider depending on their needs and desired results. The three most common techniques are muscle relaxant injections, thread lifts, and surgical lifts.
Muscle Relaxant injections
The latest trend in cosmetic injectables is raising more than a few eyebrows. Brow lifts are used to tighten the skin of your forehead, removing “frown lines” and wrinkles, and restoring vibrancy to the face. Natural-looking results can virtually reverse the unwanted effects of ageing.
Muscle relaxants injected into the muscles that pull the tail of the eyebrow down are a simple, safe, and highly effective way to add lift to the brow. Neurotoxin injections work best for a patient who experiences brow drooping and crow’s feet around the eyes when they smile.
Like most muscle relaxant treatments, the results take about five to seven days to kick in and last three to four months. Though they do require maintenance, injections are the most budget-friendly brow lift option available today. And the best news is—they can be performed in an office setting during a patient’s lunch hour.
Thread Brow Lifts
Given the recent rise of minimally invasive thread lifts for the face, it should come as no surprise that the technique is being considered for eyebrows, too. A dissolvable thread is used to elevate the tail of the brow to achieve an exaggerated brow look.
While the procedure delivers a more pronounced lift than can be achieved with muscle relaxant injections alone, threading does not last very long and can yield an unnatural result. The results last about a month.
Because the tissue in the area is quite thin, threads are very thin and can be painful. The price of a thread lift depends on the provider, but can cost anywhere from a few hundred to a few thousand dollars.
Surgical Brow Lifts
For those seeking longer-lasting results, a surgical brow lift represents the most permanent option.
Pretrichial Brow Lift
A pretrichial brow lift is a surgical procedure to correct the loss of soft tissue elasticity in the upper third of the face. The pretrichial brow lift is performed by a plastic surgeon. Excess sagging skin around the forehead causing drooping of the brows and wrinkling of the forehead is removed. Underlying muscle and tissue are repositioned, creating a more refreshed, youthful appearance in the upper third of the face. A pretrichial brow lift can also be combined with a facelift.
The Procedure
- Performed under general anaesthesia
- The incision follows 2 mm behind the hairline, helping induce hair growth through the incision.
- The entire flap is advanced toward the back of the head and the excess is trimmed to close without tension.
- The incision in the scalp skin is closed with sutures and staples
- A light pressure dressing is applied.
Risk Factors of Pretrichial Brow Lift Surgery
- Blood clot (haematoma) formation
- Swelling
- Infection
- Facial nerve impairment
- Sensory nerve impairment
- Numbness
- Loss of hair
- Inability to close the eyelids completely
- Scarring
- Contour irregularities
Another surgical option is the temporal brow lift, which involves making an incision hidden in the hairline and raising the underlying tissues to restore a more youthful appearance.
Though surgical solutions are much longer lasting and can be less risky than repeated thread lifts, which can cause infection, pain, and scar tissue buildup, they involve sufficient downtime, are painful, and can be extremely costly, with the average cost of a surgical brow lift ranging from $5,000 to $25,000.
Confused? It goes without saying that beauty trends come and go. Even the great Kate Moss, who has graced the covers of hundreds of magazines, including 46 (and counting) on Vogue, has changed her eyebrow looks over the years. Exaggerated arches that are ‘in’ today can be ‘out’ tomorrow. And just like the trends have changed and will continue to change with every passing year (or day, these days) it might be hard to decide which solution is best for you. If you’re considering going “high brow,” the best place to start is a consultation with one of our friendly, knowledgable, and experienced professionals.
Unlike surgical eyebrow lifts that require going under the knife or threading that doesn’t last very long and can yield less-than-desirable results, brow injections can achieve similar results with just a few strategic jabs of the needle.
It’s becoming an increasingly popular approach, one that works to lift and lengthen the skin above the brow and forehead for a more open and feline-esque eye area and defined brow bone. The difference is subtle but significant – and not as painful (on both your face and your wallet) as the alternatives.
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If you’re longing for a look that is sure to raise a few eyebrows, without going under the knife, then muscle relaxant brow injections just might be the answer. Our lovely team of experts is immensely knowledgeable and trained on the latest techniques, highly experienced, and incredibly dedicated to providing the best results possible. And they’re here to meet with you. Just book a consultation today!
At Specialist Skin Solutions, a physician-led cosmetic clinic specialising in non-surgical, anti-ageing aesthetic procedures, including the latest laser techniques, dermal therapies, anti-wrinkle injections, and body contouring, we offer expert-level brow-lifting injections, performed by our elite team of trained expert pros.
By relying on cutting-edge treatments and years of training, we safely administer injectables with the utmost precision and care in a relaxed, upscale setting. Stemming from our expertise, personalised guidance, and passion for skincare, we offer the latest treatments, technology, and skincare products in Australia.
At Specialist Skin Solutions, we believe in transparency and education, first and foremost, providing every client with information, explanations, and treatment options before performing any procedure.
Offering a thorough consultation prior to treatment, we’ll discuss the areas of concern and the range of treatment options suggested to produce optimal results. The amount and type of product, as well as our pricing structure, will also be discussed during the consultation process so there are no surprises other than eye-opening results.
If you’re ready to raise a few eyebrows at your next interview, meeting, or class reunion, look no more! Book online now. We’re dedicated to helping each one of our clients love the skin they’re in.
For more information on injectables for the face, neck, and body, see these related blog posts, and be sure to subscribe to our mailing list so you never miss another article!