Gen X horrified by Gen Z’s thin eyebrows
When Nicola Peltz Beckham attended the Academy Museum Gala in Los Angeles earlier this month, it wasn’t her black form-fitting Givenchy gown or sleek arm-length gloves that fashionistas were quick to weigh in on. Rather, it was the 27-year-old newlywed’s pencil-thin, barely there eyebrows that set tongues wagging.
“Just in case life wasn’t terrifying enough — the threat of thin eyebrows rears its head again,” a Twitter user wrote in response to a picture of the model’s new look. “[We’re] stuck in an endless nostalgia loop,” lamented another commenter.
In recent years, Gen X has had to witness the reincarnation of a number of questionable fashion trends from the ’90s and early aughts — from Uggs to bootcut jeans — but the return of the skinny, sperm-like brows from the end of the 20th century is crossing a line. Gen Zers and young millennials such as Bella Hadid, 26, and Dove Cameron, 26, are looking increasingly tweezer happy or worse — Doja Cat, 27, and Julia Fox, 32, have both erased their brows entirely in recent months. The hashtag #ThinEyebrows currently has 236.5 million views on TikTok, but elder millennials and Gen Xers are warning the younger set that they will regret the heavy plucking.
“All the people who lived through the thin brow trend in the ’90s now have to draw their brows on everyday for the rest of their lives,” a Twitter user cautioned.
But the younger generations seem intent on repeating past mistakes. Last month, the #ThinEyebrowChallenge took over TikTok, with a filter giving people a thin eyebrow makeover and some liking it so much they got the tweezers out to try it for real.
“Overplucking is a way of life,” one TikToker declared, showing off a series of pictures with narrow arches and declaring she’ll “never go back.”
“Thin eyebrows are just superior,” another young TikToker said.
According to Chanel brow artist Jimena Garcia, once you embrace the thin brow trend, it may be forever. There’s always a chance that brow hairs don’t grow back, she said.
“Talk to almost anyone who tried the trend in the ’90s and they’ll likely tell you that regrowing in the aughts was a nightmare,” Garcia, 46, told The Post. “That said, growing out your brows is not impossible, but genetics play a big factor in whether or not the hairs will actually regrow.”
Garcia also said maintaining thin brows takes a lot of time and money.
“You might want to first consider how more frequent beauty visits will impact your wallet –especially if you’re trying to pinch pennies,” she advised.
Celebrities who lived through the ’90s skinny-brow era are speaking out on the issue. Reese Witherspoon has previously admitted that her “biggest” beauty regret is over-plucking her eyebrows.
“It just looked awful,” Witherspoon, 43, told Allure in 2019. “Thank god they grew back, but, I mean, who knows what they might look like now if I hadn’t plucked them into oblivion.”
In 2021, Chrissy Teigen shared that she got an eyebrow transplant to fill out her brows after overplucking in her younger years left them sparse.
“It’s so cool to have brows again,” she wrote in an Instagram story, warning teenagers to “not pluck them all off like I did!!”
Garcia suggests that people try the trend without plucking by using dark pencil and concealer to create the look of thin brows or trimming instead of pulling out hair. If you do decide to just pluck, be prepared for potential challenges.
“Just remember, there will be awkward phases to regrowth,” she said. “Have you ever tried to grow out bangs or a pixie cut? Yeah, it’s kind of like that.”
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