Thin Eyebrows can have a lot of different causes – overplucking, eyebrow makeup, nutritional deficiencies or medical conditions, just to name a few. Sometimes there are eyebrows falling out because of stress or as a part of the aging process, same as with regular hair loss. Read more about the possible causes of thinning eyebrows.
This article however, is about how to grow eyebrows back and what you can do to make them look fuller while you’re growing them.
How to Grow Your Eyebrows – Practical Advice
What You Need to Know Before You Start
Note: If you want some more really easy and useful advice on how to strengthen your eyebrows, then we also have the following articles available:
1. Setting the Right Expectations
There’s no shortcut on how to grow eyebrows faster, so be patient and grow them back slowly and continuously.
For motivational purposes, it’s recommendable to monitor your progress as you go. Take a picture of your eyebrows without makeup when you deceid to start regrowing them and do so every to weeks.
Using the pictures you can determine whether you’re on the right path and the methods that you’re using are working for you. They are great for tracking your sucess and staying motivated over a long period of time.
Let’s be honest, eyebrow regrowth takes time. In fact, eyebrow hair has the slowest rate of regrowth on the body compared with hair on the scalp and body hair. For some, they might grow back in about five to six week but it’s possible that it takes a full year to restore completley.
2. Stop Damaging Your Eyebrows
The first thing that you have to do immediatly when you deceide to take action against your thinning eyebrows is to stop doing anything that could possibly damage your eyebrow hair growth. This includes the following:
- Stop excessive eyebrow plucking
- Don’t wax around you eyebrows
- Try not to use too much brow makeup such as brow pencils, dyes, tints and the like
- If you’re on medication or taking dietary supplements, get up to date about their side effects (for example creatine supposidly increases hair loss if you’re prone to male baldness pattern, see also our article on that topic)
Regrowth Strategies
There is no one-size-fits-all solution to eyebrow hair loss or one best eyebrow growth treatment. Instead, there are several strategies that you can try out to find the ones that works best for you.
1. Grow Them in Rows
For some people it can be hard to stop plucking the eyebrows all together. This is where the grow-in-row strategy comes in handy. This was first mentioned by a professional makeup artist on Huffington Post.
The idea behind is that you allow the hairs closest to the existing brow to grow in, but tweeze those that are not. As the hairs closer to the brow grow in, you can start with the next row.
This method might take a lot of time, but it gives your brows a neater appearance while still allowing you to grow them back.
2. Get Enough Vitamins and Minerals
Make sure that you have everything covered that your body needs for healthy hair growth. Your eyebrows need the same nutrients for growth as any hair on your body. No mather what you do, if you don’t get the vitamins and minerals needed for growth, you won’t get your eyebrows back. This is the most essential that you need:
- Protein (needed for cell growth and repair)
- Iron and zinc (they help the hair follicles to grow)
- Biotin (vitamin B7) helps strengthen your hair (found in eggs, for example)
- Vitamin B12 (deficiency causes weak or brittle hair shafts)
These nutrients might be beneficial as well:
- Omega 3 fatty acids (as found in fatty fish)
- Vitamin D (recent studies show that it might help to promote hair growth)
- Vitamin K (can lead to hair loss if your body can’t absorb it well enough)
Supplement Recommendation for Eyebrow Hair Growth
However, if you really want to make sure that you get everything that you need, you can look into supplements. The one we recommend to grow eyebrows back (and is good for your hair in general) is Hair Growth Essentials.
It covers all the essential, is made in the US and vegan/vegetarian. It has been rated 4.6 out of 5 stars on average by more than 800 customers.
3. Stimulate the Skin by Exfoliating
According to Dr. Adel Rammel, Chief Scientific Officer of Indeed Labs, exfoliating the eyebrow area can help stimulate growth to thin or sparse eyebrows.
Exfoliating is commonly used to stimulate hair growth on the scalp, but it seems to for growing eyebrows just as well. For this, use a soft-bristled toothbrush and gently rub an exfoliating enzyme into your brows in small, circular motions.
You don’t need a fancy product for this. Check this video for a quick and easy recipe:.
4. Apply Natural Oils
You can try to apply some of the most common essential oils to your eyebrows. To do this, put a few drops of the oil on your finger and massage it gently in circular motions into your eyebrows. Apply the oil at night and leave it there until the next morning to get the best effect.
Keep in mind that you don’t have to just use one of the oils at the time. You can mix them together and create your very own special hair growth recipe.
Here’s an overview about the best oils for growing eyebrows.
Castor oil
Castor oil has natural antibacterial and antifungal properties and is high in Vitamin E, minerals, proteins, and Omega 6 and 9 beneficial fatty acids. Its unusually high ricinoleic acid ratio makes it beneficial to skin and hair.
Coconut oil
Coconut oil has been used since ancient times in India for grooming hair. It’s rich in vitamin E, vitamin K and iron and shields the hair protein through its fatty acids
Olive oil
Olive oil improves blood circulation and fights off bacteria. It promotes the health of your skin and sets a foundation for healthy hair growth.
Almond oil
Castor Oil is rich in Vitamins A, B, and E – which are all needed for hair growth
5. Use an Eyebrow Growth Serum
If you are interested in growing your eyebrows longer, you might consider using an eyebrow growth serum. One common ingredient in eyebrow growth serums is castor oil. However, there also are some eyebrow growth serums that use other ingredients, either instead of it or in addition to it.
The brand that we recommend for eyebrow growth (and is also very popular on Amazon) is Body Merry’s Lash and Brow Elixir. One of the benefits of it is that you can use it not only on your eyebrows but also on your eyelashes.
This eyebrow growth serum contains biotin, along with peptides and B vitamins. They also contain other ingredients, such as aloe, pumpkin seed oil, algae extract, panthenol, and rosehip seed oil. These ingredients are very beneficial to the health of eyelashes. In addition to increasing the length of eyelashes, the product is designed to make eyelashes stronger.
Make sure to check out the reviews on Amazon before you buy.
Styling Tips for Thin Eyebrows
While you’re regrowing your eyebrows it’s a good idea to check out the various guides on Youtube about how to make your eyebrows look fuller. There are a variety of interesting videos and tutorials.
Conclusion
If you’re trying to regrow your eyebrows, make sure to start out with the right expectations. Try some of the strategies listed in this article, if one does not work for you, move on to the next one.
If you struggle with growing them back, check your nutrition if you’re missing out on something. In case you want to make sure you have everything covered, consider a supplement.
Do you have some stories or advice to share? Please leave it in the comment section.
