Eyebrow Shapes and Trends

   Having perfectly shaped eyebrows is very important, as they are what frame the eyes. Your eyes frame your face, which are the windows to your soul. The first thing one looks when greeting someone, are the eyes; so having nice brows is essential and a must nowadays. There are many styles of brows, and in order to know which one you prefer and suits you best; you should know a bit about the history of eyebrows.

     Eyebrow trends change over time, as does fashion and any other beauty trend. In late centuries, uni brows were popular for women; so brows have evolved quite a lot..thank god. In the 1920's brows were thin and straight.

 In the 30's they were still thin but very arched. They hardened your look and they appeared more like an evil queen's brow (think Maleficent from Sleeping Beauty).

 In the 40's brows thickened a bit but were still arched; kind of like an average type of brow. In the 50's the trend was to wear darkened, thicker brows with a pointy arch;  like Elizabeth Taylor, Marilyn Monroe and Audrey Hepburn (although hers weren't as arched). 

In the 60's brows were typically shaved off and penciled in, with individual strokes using a brow pencil. Darkening them was also a big trend. They were thick as well and looked very fake.

In the 70's, brows were of medium width and had a more natural arch. They seemed more natural looking, the only difference was they started with a ball shape on the thickest part of the brow, near the beginning of the eyes.  
In the 80's Brooke Shields shook things up by having bushy, natural shaped brows. These were great since they were very low maintenance and looked "au naturel".  Now a days, Keira Knightley wears this trend.

In the 90's brows were of medium width and followed a more natural brow pattern, with a smooth outer brow arch..like Madonna. Notice her virgin brows on the left, and how much cleaner they look on the right. Having more space opens up her eyes and softens them as well.

Now a days, in the 2000's brows still follow the natural shape, but are more inspired by the 80's fullness trend. A thick Brooke Shield type brow, which looks ungroomed is seen all over runways world wide..like the Kardashians. 

As with all in fashion, not everyone likes all trends or can wear them. So maybe a full brow is not for you; especially if you have small lid space. Defining your brows can really open up your eyes, so do groom them regularly and try new shapes if you are curious and more of a beauty risk taker.  I would recommend trying to keep your eyebrows as natural looking as possible, both in shape and thickness. Eyebrows do not grow back as much past a certain age point; so if you over pluck in your early adult life or teens, you may suffer from having thin and sparse brows in later years. Plus, it is always more appealing to having medium to thick brows than thin ones, as these tend to age you and give you a harsher look. If you don't believe me, look at every singe evil queen in kid movies; you will notice they all have high, pointy and arched brows... it is not a nice look. Thicker brows will always suit you better, plus they make you look younger...true fact!

There are many forms of brows if you start to notice. Not one person has the same brows as you, and not one brow is exactly the same as the other. It is normal to have asymmetrical brows; the important thing here is to determine which brow shape you prefer and which suits you best, based on your face shape. The idea is to compliment and balance whichever face shape you have, which tends to be the opposite of the one you have. For example, if you have a round face, a straight brow will suit you best. A long or oval face pairs best with a medium arch and width brow (a mid point type of brow, not too dramatic). And if you have a square face, a rounder/more arched brows will make you look great. Here is a chart with the different forms of brow, so you can identify which one you'd like to have:

Hope you found this eyebrow history post interesting and useful! If you want to know the 3 ground rules on how to shape your brows, stay tuned for my next post: Eyebrow Grooming :)