How Long Does It Take for Eyebrows to Grow Back?

In your quest for beautifully shaped brows, it’s very easy to overdo it and over-pluck, especially with the ‘90s skinny brow trending once again. If you don’t pluck your brows, something as simple as an eyebrow waxing session gone wrong can also have your arches looking less than stellar. 

It happens to the best of us, but it begs a really important question — how long does it take for eyebrows to grow back? Do eyebrows grow back? Rest assured, they do grow back, they just may not grow back as quickly as you’d like. Keep reading to learn how long it takes for eyebrows to grow, plus tips to boost eyebrow growth and how to get yourself through the growth process.

4 Causes of Thinning Eyebrows

Your thinning eyebrows can be the result of a number of different factors. Here are four of the most common causes of eyebrow hair loss. 

Trauma

Repeated overplucking can be detrimental to the hair follicle, to the point where your brow hair may not grow back if too much trauma is caused.

Stress

According to the Mayo Clinic, telogen effluvium is when significant stress puts your hair follicles into the resting phase where the hair stops growing but continues to fall out. This primarily targets the hair on your head but in severe cases, it can cause your brow hair to fall out.

Genetics

Some of us have a natural predisposition to thin brows and that’s thanks to good ol’ genetics. 

Autoimmune Disorders

Per the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD), alopecia areata is an autoimmune disease that attacks the hair follicle, causing hair loss all over your body, including your brows. If you’re affected by this, talk to your doctor about ways to promote hair growth.

Do Eyebrows Grow Back?

Eyebrows grow back at a much slower rate than the rest of the hair on your body so it’s important to stay patient throughout the process. That said, the cause of your thinning brows can influence how fast or how slow they grow back. If you overplucked your brows, you have a better likelihood of them growing back than if your thinning eyebrows are a side effect of an autoimmune disorder. If your brows don’t grow back after three or four months, consult with your doctor.

How Long Does It Take for Eyebrows to Grow Back?

According to the NCBI, hair growth occurs in three phases. The anagen phase is the growth phase where the hair follicle begins to form. The catagen phase is next and occurs when the follicle moves closer to the skin and finally, the telogen phase is when the hair begins to grow and breaks the surface. 

The Cleveland Clinic reports that it takes three to four months for the eyebrow growth cycle to move from start to finish, so be patient. 

Overall, growth varies from person to person. Some people can start to see growth anywhere between four to six weeks, while others may not see much 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.

5 Tips to Grow Eyebrows

Learn how to grow eyebrows like a pro by following these five tips to help you along your eyebrow growth journey.

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, it’s worth skipping out on tweezing for a few weeks (or months) to score full brows.

2. Keep Your Brows Trimmed Only

Just because you’re growing out your eyebrows doesn’t mean that you have to completely abandon grooming. Using salon-quality scissors to shape your brows will go a long way in maintaining your eyebrows during the growth process. After all, you don’t want to end up with totally unruly brows. 

To maintain the shape of your arches, trim your eyebrows once a week with eyebrow scissors, avoid plucking or waxing though. Focus on the unruly hairs because the aim of trimming them is to keep your brows clean, not change their shape or appearance.

3. Try Castor Oil

According to the NCBI, castor oil is rich in fatty acids that help to enrich the hair follicle and can lead to growth. After applying your nighttime skin care routine, use a cotton swab to coat your brows in castor oil. It will take some time to notice a difference but stay consistent to see results. 

4. Try an Eyebrow Serum

An eyebrow serum can also help boost brow growth. According to Cleveland Clinic, Bimatoprost is a topical prescription serum that has been shown to lengthen and thicken eyebrows and eyelashes. Before adding one to your routine, talk to your doctor to see if you’re a good candidate. 

5. Stay Patient

Waiting for your eyebrows to grow back can be the ultimate test of patience. But just like growing out your hair takes time, so 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. 

If you have bangs, wear them long to conceal your brows so they're out of sight, out of mind as they grow. These days you can find a clip-in bang in every type of hair texture, color and length so you can even fake it with your hairstyle as you let your brows grow.

How to Fake Fuller Brows

Whether you prefer eyebrow pencils, brow gels or pomades, you can totally emulate full-looking brows while waiting for your natural brow hairs to play catch up. Have your pick of some of the best eyebrow makeup products, below.

L’Oréal Paris Brow Stylist Definer Waterproof Eyebrow Mechanical Pencil 

Designed with an ultra-fine tip, this mechanical brow pencil will help to create the look of tiny brow hairs and fill in sparse areas or gaps perfectly. Starting with clean brows, lightly outline your brow shape. Then fill in gaps with light, feathered strokes. Comb upward with the soft spoolie brush, following the shape of your arch for the right amount of definition.

After you filled in your sparse brows, set them with a clear brow gel, like the L’Oréal Paris Unbelievabrow Longwear Brow Topcoat, Waterproof Universal Transparent to provide all-day hold. 

L’Oréal Paris Unbelievabrow Longwear Waterproof Brow Gel 

If you’re looking for a brow gel that can fill and sculpt your brows without flaking off, this is just what you need. Featuring a waterproof formula, this brow gel works to fill and thicken brows for a natural or dramatic finish — the choice is up to you.

Lightly apply the product to the sparse areas of your eyebrows using short, light strokes. Follow up with the angled brush to outline and define your brow shape and arches, then comb through your brows with the spoolie.

Next: 5 Editors Tested the Unbelieva-Brow Waterproof Brow Gel and They Loved It

Photo Credit: iStock