No matter the shape or how much of an arch you have, brows are one of the most eye-catching components of your face. Although there has been a resurgence of ’90s nostalgia in the fashion and beauty world lately, thin eyebrows are a rare sight, and thick, luscious brows are the goal for many of us. To achieve that look, many of us need to fill in our brows with everything from powders to pomades, which is a fine solution, but every once in a while we wonder, wouldn’t it be nice to just wake up with thick brows? That’s why we sat down with NYC brow specialist Joey Healy to discuss the ins and outs of eyebrow maintenance and the products that can help you grow the fluffy brows of your dreams.
On the causes behind thin eyebrows:
“This can be due to basic genetics. It can also be using harsh chemicals on your face, [like] alcohol-based astringents or chemical peels. Things that you are applying topically that touch the brow that are harsh can make the hair brittle. Age is a big part of it. As we get older, our brows tend to weaken. [But] it could be more specific things, like eczema or psoriasis, even alopecia. And then of course there are things that happen that we do to ourselves, like chemotherapy, which can drastically reduce the amount of hair growth too. [Lastly,] of course over-tweezing, threading, or waxing the brow [makes] the hair coming back sparser and thinner.”
How stress, health, and hormones can affect your brows:
“Our brows are very much linked to hormones, and sometimes they change or get thinner during major hormonal changes like pregnancy or menopause. It’s often that thin brows can occur due to nutrition. This can be not having enough vitamin A or zinc, both of which are very helpful for the brows. Even emotional stress can cause thinner eyebrows in general, as well as thin hair on the head and elsewhere.”
Products to help grow thicker & fuller brows:
“My Brow Renovation Serum! It’s full of peptides and amino acids. And then, just to round it out, other products that I would suggest for growing thicker or fuller brows: silk pillowcases are wonderful because they help reduce friction against the brow at night. For a lot of people, this leads to reduced shedding of the brow. I think taking an oral supplement is great. I’ve always liked fish oil or biotin, but lately I have been using Nutrafol, which I think is really wonderful for your brows, lashes, hair, et cetera. I would even go so far as to try something like acupuncture to increase hair growth.”
On the ingredients that help brow hair growth:
“First of all, if you’re using a brow growth product that just has conditioners, vitamins, moisturizers, it’ll hydrate the hair, but it will not make it grow. Conditioners aren’t enough on their own. So you either need two categories: peptides or hormones. Hormones trick the hair into thinking it’s in a constant state of growth. There’s a lot of downfalls with using hormones, a lot of side effects—darkness of skin around the eyes; possible change of iris color. You can’t use hormone-based growth treatments if you’re pregnant or breastfeeding. Also, the results don’t last if you discontinue use of the product. Peptides are more natural, [because] when peptides are in long chains, they create proteins which really are the building blocks of hair.”
On shaping brows to fake a fuller look:
“I suggest only tweezing for everyone, particularly if you have thinner brows, because each hair counts. When you’re doing the brows, it’s not about how much you remove—it’s about what you remove. Tweezing gives you a lot of artistic control. Waxing and threading will put you in peril because more than one hair is removed at a time. Also avoid things like doing laser hair removal on the face, or stuff like that, electrolysis—just avoid the brows. When your brows are thinner and finer, you need to protect them like a guard dog. Also, if your brows are thin and fine, chances are you need to get them done less—maybe every six to eight weeks versus every month.”
“This can be due to basic genetics. It can also be using harsh chemicals on your face, [like] alcohol-based astringents or chemical peels. Things that you are applying topically that touch the brow that are harsh can make the hair brittle. Age is a big part of it. As we get older, our brows tend to weaken. [But] it could be more specific things, like eczema or psoriasis, even alopecia. And then of course there are things that happen that we do to ourselves, like chemotherapy, which can drastically reduce the amount of hair growth too. [Lastly,] of course over-tweezing, threading, or waxing the brow [makes] the hair coming back sparser and thinner.”
How stress, health, and hormones can affect your brows:
“Our brows are very much linked to hormones, and sometimes they change or get thinner during major hormonal changes like pregnancy or menopause. It’s often that thin brows can occur due to nutrition. This can be not having enough vitamin A or zinc, both of which are very helpful for the brows. Even emotional stress can cause thinner eyebrows in general, as well as thin hair on the head and elsewhere.”
Products to help grow thicker & fuller brows:
“My Brow Renovation Serum! It’s full of peptides and amino acids. And then, just to round it out, other products that I would suggest for growing thicker or fuller brows: silk pillowcases are wonderful because they help reduce friction against the brow at night. For a lot of people, this leads to reduced shedding of the brow. I think taking an oral supplement is great. I’ve always liked fish oil or biotin, but lately I have been using Nutrafol, which I think is really wonderful for your brows, lashes, hair, et cetera. I would even go so far as to try something like acupuncture to increase hair growth.”
On the ingredients that help brow hair growth:
“First of all, if you’re using a brow growth product that just has conditioners, vitamins, moisturizers, it’ll hydrate the hair, but it will not make it grow. Conditioners aren’t enough on their own. So you either need two categories: peptides or hormones. Hormones trick the hair into thinking it’s in a constant state of growth. There’s a lot of downfalls with using hormones, a lot of side effects—darkness of skin around the eyes; possible change of iris color. You can’t use hormone-based growth treatments if you’re pregnant or breastfeeding. Also, the results don’t last if you discontinue use of the product. Peptides are more natural, [because] when peptides are in long chains, they create proteins which really are the building blocks of hair.”
On shaping brows to fake a fuller look:
“I suggest only tweezing for everyone, particularly if you have thinner brows, because each hair counts. When you’re doing the brows, it’s not about how much you remove—it’s about what you remove. Tweezing gives you a lot of artistic control. Waxing and threading will put you in peril because more than one hair is removed at a time. Also avoid things like doing laser hair removal on the face, or stuff like that, electrolysis—just avoid the brows. When your brows are thinner and finer, you need to protect them like a guard dog. Also, if your brows are thin and fine, chances are you need to get them done less—maybe every six to eight weeks versus every month.”
