Eyebrow trends through the decades

Just like the fit of our jeans, our hairstyles, and our home decor, eyebrows trends have seen substantial changes over the past 100 years. As well as seeing changes in shape and style, products designed specifically for our brows have changed how we do them…for the better (like the EyebrowQueens ‘Essentials kit’ and ‘Brow fix’.) Let’s explore the Eyebrow trends through the decades…
Let’s take it right back…The 1920’s Brow
With silent movies being big in the 1920s, facial expression had never been more important which was why a thin, defined, slightly downturned brow was favoured… A shape that enhanced the actresses’ expressions of both nostalgia and deep melancholic thinking.
It’s also a night where we can all admire the glamourous make-up looks and eyebrows that catch ourattention. Here’s how you can recreate the look of the stars from this year’s Brit Awards.

Thin and round Eyebrows in the 1930’s
Fast forward ten years to the 30’s and thin brows were still the preferred eyebrow trend. Unlike the 20’s, instead of being slanted downwards, women opted for a more rounded, curved look. ‘Face shape’ or what ‘suited’ didn’t come into it at this stage… Whatever the face shape, thin rounded eyebrows were sought after with some even opting to shave their natural brows, drawing them on instead!

Fuller brows in the 40’s
Fuller and more natural brows reigned over this wartime era with thin brows being a thing of the past. Joan Crawford is one of the stars of this time who sported the original power brow!! Forget thin and over plucked, think big, bold and more dramatic than ever before!!

Bold and Iconic in the 1950’s
With Elizabeth Taylor, Audrey Hepburn and Marilyn Monroe all leading the way with full, strong, dramatic brows during the 1950’s, women everywhere started experimenting with makeup using eyeshadow on their brows to achieve full, striking brows like their film and tv industry idols! They took on a slightly more ‘pointed’ arch than we’d seen before…Think powdery, thick, bold and strong!

Slim and Spiky Eyebrows in the 60’s
During the ‘Mod’ trend in the 60’s , Twiggy’s look dominated. With the focus being more on bold eyes, thick eyeliner and spiky lashes, the eyebrows took more of a ‘back seat’, being the frame, not the focal point! The eyebrow trend was a slim arched brow with rounded tails to compliment that statement liner!

70’s – When bright colour over shadowed brows
Disco Fever hit the 70’s and with that came big hair, brightly coloured eye makeup, long false lashes and blusher! Lots of blusher! Similar to the 60’s, eyebrows were not the main focus on the face so brows tended to be thin, barely-there and a lot more arched. Think Donna Summer, Farrah Fawcett and Aretha Franklin.

1980’s – Full natural Brows
This decade saw women step away from the tweezers and ‘over plucking’ opting instead for a much more natural look. Brooke Shield inspired many to return to the full bushy natural brow, whilst the likes of Whitney Houston rocked bushy ‘brushed up’ brows (oh how she would have loved the EyeBrowQueens Brow Fix!). The ‘less you looked preened’ the more ‘on trend’ you were so the ‘au natural’ look really took off! Let’s also not forget Madonna during the 80’s and her overgrown brows which at times looked as though she had a monobrow! Funny how that didn’t seem to catch on!!

1990’s inspired by the 60’s!
Like with most trends, after a while people like to mix things up and no sooner were thick brows the ‘in thing’ women returned to plucking their brows! Thin, rounded brows were now the eyebrow trend throughout the fashion and beauty industry! Mariah Carey, Drew Barrymore and Pamela Anderson all took inspo from the 60’s and reverted back to plucking their brows right back. There were no stray hairs making arches look messy during this decade! Super thin, neat and very rounded brows reigned again during the 90’s!

2000’s – ‘Barely there’ Eyebrows!
When we thought the 90’s brows were thin, little did we know that they could and would get even thinner! During the decade that followed, we saw women plucking their brows down to a thin line!
A lot of the ‘damage ‘ that we see from clients these days (with thin brows that don’t grow) is as a result of this stage of ‘over plucking’! Some women took to drawing a ‘line’ for their brows to create this ‘look’ with the likes of Christina Aguilera and Gwen Stefani jumping on this ‘eyebrow trend!’

2010+ – Eyebrows Trends of the here and now!
Thankfully we’ve come a long way from over plucking. These days with the likes of mega stars, Kim Kardashian, Natalie Portman and Cara Delevingne sporting full bold brows, we now have the opportunity to visit salons to help us create perfect brows that ‘Wow’ like our favourite celebrities. Alternatively with online tutorials all the rage (Check out our eyebrow tutorials on our Youtube Channel here) we’ve now learnt to create definition and shape at home using fabulous products designed specifically for eyebrows such as the ‘EyebrowQueens Essentials kit’ (Shop the EyebrowQueens ‘Essentials kit’ HERE). Face shape plays an integral part when deciding the shape of the brow nowadays and whether taking advice from brow experts in salons when having brows threaded, waxed, laminated or dyed, or whether deciding to use revolutionary brow specific products on the market like home dyes, tints, powders and fixing gels (Check out our fixing product, “Brow fix’ here!) we’ve finally learned how to create stunning brows that suit each individual! Phew!
Which is your favourite eyebrow trend?