We saw celebrities like Kate Moss, Cindy Crawford, Paris Hilton, and Pamela Anderson sport thin eyebrows in the ’90s and 2000s. However, that began to change in 2010 following a rise in celebrities and fashion icons like Cara Delevigne, Rachel Weisz, and Keira Knightley. These ladies started leading the thick and full-brow revolution.
But don’t relegate the thin eyebrows trend back to the nostalgic yesteryears just yet. Y2K brows are making a grand comeback with fashion favorites like Rihanna, Kendall Jenner, Bella Hadid, and Nicola Peltz leading the charge.
What Are Y2K Brows, and Will We See More Of It?
If Google searches and social media engagements are any indications, pencil-thin eyebrows are going mainstream these days. In fact, everything Y2K fashion is making a comeback. On Tiktok, #Y2K is getting 5 billion views. Specifically, the now-viral thin brows filter is reaching 156 million views.
Some people who’ve tried out the look on Tiktok even went out and put their tweezers to work — forming brows inspired by how they looked with the filter. It’s only a matter of time before online interest and Tiktok filters translate into a potential trend in real life.
Y2K Brows: What’s the Harm In It?
However, not everyone is delighted with the rising popularity of Y2K brows. After all, if you are from the nineties, there’s a good chance that you have your own over-plucked eyebrow disaster story. Overplucking is not just a matter of aesthetics either — this practice can lead to hair follicle damage, leaving you with little or no eyebrow hair growth.
Skin irritation is also another potential risk you’ll encounter when you thin out your eyebrows. Waxing, threading, and plucking can cause itching and bumps on the delicate skin surrounding your eyebrows. Although symptoms may go away after a couple of days, irritation could lead to a skin infection in severe cases.
Using hair removal cream to shape the eyebrows are seldom-used method. However, some social media influencers have been using this method. This approach could cause skin damage or allergic reaction, especially if you use products not intended for that body area.
The Modern Thin Eyebrow
The Y2K eyebrows may be a blast from the past, but even this trend is going through a subtle evolution. It’s not a complete rehash of the nineties craze. In the past, shaping the eyebrow was like a quest for formulaic perfection. People used tweezers, wax, threading, or a combination to achieve the Pamela Anderson look regardless of their facial features and natural eyebrow shape.
Today, it’s not about tweezing the eyebrows to oblivion. People shape their eyebrows by accentuating the arches and sculpting the tail to give them a perfect, tapered look. Modern brows are no longer about one standard of perfection. They’re more about individuality–playing up the eyebrows’ natural shape that’s proportionate to the person’s facial features. The modern thin eyebrow is based on the premise that every individual is different, and finding a balance that works best with the person’s facial features is key.
This modern take on Y2K eyebrows gives them a more natural look. Plus, you don’t risk using wax or tweezers like there’s no tomorrow to the detriment of your skin and eyebrow health.
Exploring This Latest Thin Eyebrow Trend
If you’ve had your share of thin eyebrow nightmares back in the day, you’re probably keeping a wary eye on this latest craze. Luckily, the modern variation of the Y2K eyebrow look is achievable even for those cautious souls looking at tweezers with distrust.
Get On the TikTok Bandwagon
Being the home of viral eyebrow hacks, Tiktok is the place to be if you want to explore the thin eyebrow craze without committing to anything. Grace Choi (@gracemchoi) designed the “eyebrow” filter to scan your face. With the “golden ratio” in mind, it reflects symmetrical lines to determine where the eyebrow should start, arch, and end. You can then mark these points with an eyebrow pencil and, using your eyebrow shape as a reference, connect these points to form the shape of your eyebrows. Fill in and brush up as needed.
Using this filter, you can achieve professional-looking eyebrow symmetry with only an eyebrow pencil and brush.
Tame or Trim But Don’t Pluck
Instead of plucking your eyebrows, you might want to use an eyebrow gel to tame wayward hair. Brush down upper hairs and brush up lower hairs to create a thinner and more defined eyebrow line. You can also use concealers to hide smaller hairs below and above the core eyebrow.
If you must remove hair from your brows to achieve your ideal thin eyebrow look, try trimming your brow hairs using precision scissors instead of plucking them. This technique will make your brows look slimmer without running the risk of permanently damaging your eyebrows.
This thin eyebrows trend has evolved to make it more fitting into our modern times–with a “you do you” attitude. So whether thin eyebrows look naturally good on you or you’re trying out this trend with an ounce of sentimentality of the yesteryears, it’s always great to keep this attitude.