Asked and Answered: How Fast Do Eyebrows Grow?

In your quest for beautifully shaped brows, it’s easy to overdo it and over-pluck them, especially with the ‘90s skinny brow making a comeback. It happens to the best of us, but it begs an important question: How fast do eyebrows grow? And maybe more urgently: Do eyebrows grow back? Rest assured, they typically do, but maybe not as quickly as you’d like. Keep reading to discover how long it takes for eyebrows to grow back, plus tips on the best products to help you fake fuller arches while you wait.

3 Causes of Thinning Eyebrows

If your eyebrows are thinning, there could be a few reasons why. We’re detailing three of the most common causes of sparse arches below.

1. Damage

Repeatedly plucking your eyebrow hairs can damage the hair follicles, per the Cleveland Clinic. Over time, this damage can eventually stop your hairs from growing back altogether, making sparse spots and bald patches all the more prevalent.

2. Stress

According to the Mayo Clinic, significant stress can put your hair follicles into telogen effluvium, or the resting growth phase. During this stage, hair tends to stop growing but continues to fall out. The resting phase primarily targets the hair on your head, but in severe cases, it can impact your brows, too.

3. Genetics

The truth is that some of us just have a natural predisposition to having thin brows. The thickness, shape, and overall appearance of your eyebrows are ultimately influenced by the genes you inherit. So if you can’t remember a time when your brows were thick and bushy, chances are good that you simply naturally have thinner eyebrows.

Keep in mind these aren't the only things that can cause your eyebrows to thin—certain medical conditions can play a role, too. If your brows suddenly appear sparser than you'd like, we recommend reaching out to your dermatologist or doctor to see if there’s an underlying issue at play.

Do Eyebrows Grow Back?

Eyebrows do grow back in most cases, but it’s often slower to grow than the hair on the rest of your body. That said, the cause of your thinning brows can also influence how fast or slow they grow back. If you take a break from the tweezers and reduce your stress and find your brows still aren’t filling in after a few months, it’s a good idea to consult your doctor.

How Long Does It Take for Eyebrows to Grow Back?

The Cleveland Clinic reports that it can take up to four months for the eyebrow growth cycle to move from start to finish. That’s because hair growth happens in three phases, and according to the NCBI, the length of each phase varies from person to person.

First is the anagen (growth) phase, when follicles begin producing the hair fiber. Next is the catagen (transition) phase, which is when the hair starts breaking through the skin’s surface. Finally, there is the telogen (resting) phase, a period when no more active hair growth occurs. Up to 15% of hair follicles on our body are in the telogen phase at any given time and can last for weeks to years, depending on their location.

Some people may see new growth after four to six weeks, while others may see little change for a few months. To get an idea of how fast your brows grow, think of how often you need to book appointments for eyebrow waxes or how frequently you break out your tweezers.

4 Tips To Help Support Eyebrow Growth

If you’re wondering how to grow your eyebrows, we have to let you in on a little secret: You can’t actually make your eyebrows grow any faster. What you can do, however, is adopt healthy grooming habits to give them the best possible chance of growing longer, stronger, and fuller. Here are four tips to help make your eyebrow growth journey a bit more seamless.

1. Stay away from your tweezers

You may be an avid eyebrow plucker, but if you want your brows to grow, now is the time to put your tweezers on hiatus. Simply put, there is no better way to allow your brows to grow than to leave them alone. While the thought may be painful (metaphorically, anyway), it’s worth skipping out on tweezing for a few weeks (or months) to score fuller brows.

2. Only trim your brows

Growing out your eyebrows doesn’t mean you have to abandon grooming them completely. After all, you don’t want to end up with totally unruly arches. To maintain their shape, trim your eyebrows once a week (or as needed) with angled eyebrow scissors.

Just use a clean spoolie to brush your eyebrows up toward your hairline, then take your scissors and snip any hairs that are significantly longer than the rest. The aim of trimming them is to keep your brows clean, not change their shape or appearance, so be sure to keep the focus on long, unruly hairs only.

3. Try an eyebrow serum

You can also help support healthy eyebrow growth using a dedicated eyebrow serum, which you can obtain over the counter or through a prescription. Just be sure to follow the instructions on your chosen serum to avoid irritation or other adverse side effects. If you have sensitive skin or any concerns about using an eyebrow serum, talk to your doctor before adding one to your routine.

4. Be patient

Waiting for your eyebrows to grow back can be the ultimate test of patience. But just like growing your hair takes time, so too does growing out your brows. Instead of trying every eyebrow growth hack you read about, be patient and leave your arches alone as much as possible. They’ll come back—eventually.

Common Myths About Eyebrow Growth

When it comes to eyebrow growth—and hair growth in general—myths and misconceptions abound. Ahead, we’re debunking three common myths that pop up when people are questioning how to grow their eyebrows back.

Myth 1: Plucking makes eyebrows grow back thicker

If growth is your goal, plucking your eyebrow hairs can actually have the opposite effect. As mentioned above, continually extracting hairs from the root can scar the hair follicle so that it stops producing new hair altogether. This misconception is right up there with the notion that shaving can also make your hair grow back thicker (spoiler alert: it doesn’t).

Myth 2: Eyebrow growth is the same for everyone

Eyebrow growth can vary significantly from person to person. Several factors influence how fast and thick your eyebrows grow, including genetics, hormones, lifestyle, age, and your environment. Some people may be able to easily achieve lush regrowth within a few weeks, while others may have to wait months for their brows to finally fill in.

Myth 3: Certain products guarantee faster growth

We hate to be the bearer of bad news, but there are no guaranteed methods to help accelerate eyebrow growth beyond your natural genetic predisposition. As long as your brow growth isn’t stunted by an underlying condition, only time can guarantee a thicker-looking eyebrow. In the interim, you can fake it ‘til you make it. Speaking of which…

How To Fake Fuller-Looking Brows

You can totally emulate full-looking brows while waiting for your natural brow hairs to play catch up. Have your pick from some of our best eyebrow makeup products below.

L’Oréal Paris Eye Makeup Up to 24HR Brow Lamination

Eyebrow lamination is a cosmetic treatment that can help your brows appear full and lifted for up to six weeks. But you can recreate a similar effect at home (with less commitment and for a fraction of the price) with L'Oréal Paris Infallible Up To 24H Wear Brow Lamination. Inspired by in-salon brow lamination services, this non-sticky, sweat-resistant formula lifts and holds brows in place for a laminated look that can last up to 24 hours.

Simply swipe the precise, angled applicator in short, upward strokes onto your brow hairs, then use a brow pencil to fill in any spare spots for thicker-looking brows.

L’Oréal Paris Brow Stylist Definer Mechanical Waterproof Eyebrow Pencil

This mechanical brow pencil is designed with an ultra-fine tip to help you create the look of tiny, natural-looking brow hairs. Starting with clean brows, outline your desired brow shape and then use light, feathered strokes to fill in any gaps. Comb your brows upward with the soft spoolie brush, following the shape of your arch for the right amount of definition. After you’ve filled in your brows, set them with a clear brow gel, like the L'Oréal Paris Infallible Up To 24H Wear Brow Lamination, to help hold them in place.

Next Up: A Guide to Eyebrow Makeup for Beginners

Photo Courtesy of L'Oréal Paris