Regardless, we’ve rounded up the best picks for eyebrows in desperate need of TLC. Here’s exactly how to beef up your brows, whether you have hairs thinning with age or you’ve gone a little too tweezer-happy. Many brow serums contain castor oil or peptides, which feed the delicate brow hairs with nutrients; this, in turn, can help combat free radical damage and inflammation (and both are linked to hair aging1 and hair loss). However, you can find other fatty-acid- and antioxidant-rich oils, too, like jojoba or squalane, which are frequently touted to “help nourish and soften the brows,” celebrity brow artist René de la Garza previously told mbg. Essentially, coating the brow hairs in moisture and protecting them with antioxidants can help them stay healthy—and healthy, thriving strands grow faster. Just one caveat: If you have any scarred follicles (from, say, over-plucking, piercings, or burns), there’s a solid chance those hairs won’t grow back. “Plucking, tweezing, threading, and waxing all pull the hair from the root, and there’s only so much trauma each root can take,” notes board-certified dermatologist Whitney Bowe, M.D., about brow serums. “Repeating these insults to our hair root over time increases the likelihood that some hairs will never regrow, as too much damage has been done to the base of the root where the stem cells live.” No brow serum can bring a dead follicle back to life. However, assuming your follicles aren’t dealing with any long-term trauma, they should be able to grow back naturally. And if they need a little encouragement in doing so, reach for a brow serum: These nourishing formulas can do a lot of the heavy lifting. Of course, your budget plays a role, but it’s also important to seek out ingredients that meet your specific brow goals. Read: Someone with aging brows might want a different formula from someone with over-plucked brows looking to soothe the area. Here are some of the most common players you’ll find:
The eyes tend to be more sensitive than brows, so if an eyelash serum is gentle enough for your flutters, you can probably apply it on your brow hairs, too. But just because a brow serum works wonders for your arches doesn’t mean you should coat your lashes—with the eye area, it’s always better to be safe than sorry. Our high standards also come from testing products—many, many products. Our editors and writers rigorously test and research the products featured in our roundups to offer you the best, most informed recommendations. When we write reviews, you can trust we spend quality time with the formulas: We don’t simply rave about products we’ve slathered on the back of our hand. We endorse products we’ve tried and loved. Learn more about our testing process and clean beauty standards here.
