How to Prevent and Reverse Thinning Eyebrows, According to Pros

If you have thinning eyebrows, you may have gotten excited by the news of thin eyebrows making somewhat of a comeback. However, intentionally choosing to groom your eyebrows to match the likes of Bella Hadid or Gwen Stefani circa 1998 is far different from waking up to realize that your brows are thinning on their own.

Hair texture changes with age—and the same goes for our eyebrows. While this is totally normal, that doesn't mean that some of us might not want to try to reverse the effects of our brows thinning or even prevent it from occurring in the first place. To help us out, we tapped experts Delphine Breyne, Joey Healy, and Jared Bailey, who let us in on everything there is to know about thinning arches.

Keep reading to find out how to prevent and reverse thinning eyebrows.

Causes of Thinning Eyebrows

As with all types of hair loss, there could be a number of reasons your eyebrows may begin to thin. Apart from the obvious over-plucking or over-waxing, Breyne notes that alopecia, thyroid disorders, hormone issues, and chemotherapy can all adversely impact your eyebrows. "As a final and more general note, it’s important to emphasize that as we age, we will naturally lose eyebrow hairs—it’s perfectly normal," she adds.

How to Prevent Thinning

The best type of treatment is always prevention. He recommends drinking plenty of water, getting a good amount of sleep, and eating a balanced diet with iron and foods high in good fats (omega 3-6-9s). What's more, both he and Breyne cite how researchers have linked extreme stress with hair loss. So look for ways to relax by incorporating journaling, meditation, and leisurely walks, into your wellness routine.

Treatments for Thinning Brows

Once you identify the root cause of your thinning brows, you can decide on the best treatment to address it.

• Put the tweezers down. This is obvious, but you can't promote hair growth if you're tempted to pluck out strays as they grow in. Instead, let them grow out and disguise any patchy areas with makeup.
• Use a brow-boosting topical treatment. Typically found in serum form, find a product formulated with ingredients safe for the eye area that also promote healthy hair growth (e.g., keratin, peptides, and soy protein). We love Joey Healy's Brow Renovation Serum and Benefit's Browvo! Conditioning Primer—in case you were wondering.
• Massage the brow area. "Every hair is connected to a tiny blood vessel, so stimulating blood flow to the brow area can help encourage healthy hair growth," Bailey tells us. "Give your brow bone a micro-massage with your fingertips by gently using your fingertips to tap over each brow for about 30 seconds," he says. 
• Try PRP treatments. Healy says many people opt for platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injections to stimulate brow hair growth.
• See a doctor. If you're experiencing drastically thinning eyebrows, seek medical attention.

How to Conceal Thinning Eyebrows

Since results from brow growth treatments are not instantaneous, you may be tempted to consider solutions with a quicker, albeit temporary, turnaround. Here are some of our favorite at-home and in-office ways to disguise thinning eyebrows.

Eyebrow Pencils, Gels, and Powders

Use a brow makeup product to create full brows. The trick here is to find the right type of product for your desired effect and the right shade. "First, select shades that mirror the undertone (warm, cool, neutral) and depth (blonde, brown, black, etc.) of the hair on your head," instructs Bailey. "Then, begin adding a few hair-like strokes in the sparsest areas of the brow using a thin, micro-lining pencil." He suggests Benefit's Precisely, My Brow Pencil.

To create more texture, follow up with a brow gel. Breyne says this can add color and a fluffy, brush-like effect. Powders can create a natural look, too. "The powder is a lot more gentle to apply and remove, and also, if you want to shade in the brows you're not going to see the thinning," explains Healy.

Microblading

For those looking for a more permanent solution, look no further than this type of semi-permanent tattoo. "The benefits of microblading are meaningful beyond making eyebrows more full; my clients experience tangible time-saving. They wake up ready to start their morning, no longer burdened with spending lots of time in front of the mirror doing their makeup," says Breyne.

When looking for a microblading artist, make sure to find someone whose work you've seen and admire. "Details matter, and it’s important to proceed conservatively, ensuring that matching eyebrow hair color, shape, and other nuances are taken into great consideration," she adds.

Brow Lamination

Lastly, getting your eyebrows laminated is an effective way to push up your brow hairs to create a fuller look. Bailey says lamination makes it easy to fan out the brow hairs and cover more surface area on the skin so you’re not just reliant on makeup alone. Furthermore, the results last anywhere from six to eight weeks.