Sparse, thin eyebrows are an instant ager. But, full, well-groomed eyebrows can frame your face and make you look years younger. Getting brows that look perfect can be difficult if yours are sparse due to overplucking, an underlying medical issue or the aging process. “Our hairs (even those in our eyebrows) are programmed to go through cycles throughout our lifetime,” says New York hair restoration specialist Carlos K. Wesley, MD. “Every time our hair goes through a growth cycle, it comes back in a little bit thinner. Sometimes the color fades, too.” Luckily, you don’t have to settle for patchy brows. These fixes can help you achieve the look you want.
If the cause is a medical
condition, a brow stencil can create a more uniform look.
According to Washington, D.C. dermatologist Elizabeth Tanzi,
MD, if your eyebrow hair is falling out, it may be a symptom of an underlying disorder.
“Thinning brows can be a sign of a condition like eczema, alopecia or an underactive
thyroid, all of which can cause you to lose your hair.” An easy way to transform
thin, out-of-shape brows is with a stencil kit, like Eylure Brow Stencils ($6),
which includes four different arch shapes to help you define and fill in sparse
brows.
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If the cause is overplucking,
revive sparse areas with a brow serum.
Overplucking is a common grooming mistake, but it’s also one
of the biggest reasons for hair loss in the eyebrows. “Eventually, the plucked
hair grows back in, but after a while, the growth rate shortens a bit with each cycle,” says Dr. Wesley. “The
areas that have been overplucked come back shorter and thinner, leading to
long-term thinning.” Try a brow serum like BrowFood Phyto-Medic Eyebrow Enhancer
($88), which contains powerful organic herb extracts that activate the brow
follicle for thicker brows.
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If the cause is a poor
diet, thicken existing hairs with a fiber gel.
A diet lacking in vitamins A, B, D or E, or an iron deficiency,
can be the culprit for your sparse eyebrows. In addition to adopting a well-balanced
diet, a key step to getting fuller brows is to thicken the individual hairs. For a quick fix, fake better
brows in an instant with Benefit Cosmetics Gimme Brow Volumizing Fiber Gel
($24), which contains tiny microfibers (you can’t see them when the product is on) that adhere to your natural
hair to mimic the look of better brows.
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If the cause is age-related,
try microblading for a long-lasting fix.
As you age, you may notice a change in the density of your
brows. Although the hairs may still be growing, they may appear thin and faded
in color. A technique called microblading uses fine, hair-like strokes to deposit
semipermanent pigment into the skin. “Microblading is the most natural-looking
way to make your eyebrows look like they have more hair,” says brow expert
Nadia Afanaseva of Eye Design New York. “You can create any shape or arch you
want, and your new brows can last anywhere from one to three years.”
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If the cause is genetic,
eyebrow restoration can boost hair growth.
Hereditary hair loss can shorten the time that hair spends growing, causing the
follicles to shrink. An eyebrow transplant permanently restores growing hair by
using healthy follicles from a donor site on your scalp and transplanting them to
an area where brow hair is weak. “On this patient, I removed hair from
the scalp and placed individual hairs into incisions made in the brow,” says Philadelphia
hair restoration specialist Thomas Griffin, MD. “Once the grafts heal, it grows
like normal hair.”
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