What is TikTok's 'straight brow' trend and how does it change the shape of your face?
If we look at images from the past few decades, it’s easy to pinpoint the time period due to one facial feature: the shape of someone’s eyebrows.
In the 1990s, skinny brows were all the rage. The 2000s were spent growing back said skinny brows, and the 2010s were all about Cara Delevingne-esque bold and bushy brows.
So what do the 2020s have in store? If TikTok is anything to go by, then straight brows will be the eyebrow calling card of the decade.
What are straight eyebrows? Straight brows are when you shave the tail of the eyebrow to create a straighter line rather than an arch, a look that has been popularised by model Bella Hadid.
Straight brows are trending on TikTok. At the time of writing, videos with the #straightbrows hashtag have over 11.2 billion views as people offer visual how-to guides on how to follow the trend yourself.
The trend has actually been around for decades. “Audrey Hepburn's signature eyebrow shape was a fluffy, thick brow with an elongated tail that would straighten her brow rather than arch it,” brow expert, and Rubis Tweezers CEO Fides Baldesberger, explains.
Straight brows can suit most face shapes. “It might give people flashbacks of ‘90s over plucked brows, but for many face shapes this straight brow can suit them really well,” Baldesberger says. “For those with round, oval, or heart face shapes this brow style can balance features.”
TikTok users are hailing the trend as creating a “non-surgical face lift”. “Straight brows can lift the face but this needs to be paired with a brow shape that is already somewhat edging upwards, like Bella Hadid's,” Baldesberger says.
If you want to try it out for yourself, there are some things to note first. “It's important to understand that brow hairs can take anywhere between two to six months to fully grow back, and that you should use a brow serum so that they can grow back healthy,” Baldesberger adds.
Cleanse your skin before plucking the brow tails. “What you can do is draw with your brow pencil where you plan on cutting off the brow. Look properly at the brow shape you've drawn both close up and from further away and see if you still want to go through with it.”
“Knowing when to stop is key for this look,” Baldesberger adds. “You don't want to continue shaving or plucking, look up and see half your eyebrow has gone. Keep the shaving or plucking to the part of your brow tail that creates the downturned look – the last quarter of your eyebrow."
Use tweezers or a facial hair shaving tool. “Hold the skin area taut and start from the bottom of your tail and work your way up,” Baldesberger says. “Take breaks as you remove a little bit off at a time, and have a look at your brows from afar, and then carry on as you need to.”
