Growing eyebrows out after years of overplucking

[ShilvaA]

I guess it is still hair related so I thought I would ask... I have been obsessed with plucking my eyebrows since I was a young teen, I used to have them so thin, maybe only one or two strands thick! But I want a more natural look. The issue is that my eyebrows seem to grow outward now, like the few thick hairs that I can manage to grow really stick up and nothing I can do will flatten them so I just end up plucking them in frustration.

I have large gaps in the middle and my partner jokingly calls me a ‘seal pup’ because I have a thick bushy hairs near my nose bridge but I have overplucked the rest.

Has anyone else had this issue, do you think they ever grow back? And is there any way of taming the few hairs that do to lay flat?

Many thanks!

[Rhoward]

I had this happen, its still happening lol!

I am putting caster oil on them at night which is really helping them to grow back.

[GoddesJourney]

I second the oiling idea. I've heard good things about rubbing a little oil into them. Don't get discouraged. It may take months.

[Wildcat Diva]

I use castor oil for years. It don’t do jack but I still use it. My over-plucking was not even that bad.

Still, I persist. When I use makeup, I add eyebrow pencil; the struggle is real. Good luck .

[DoomKitty]

Clear mascara is good for holding wild hairs in place. I accidently waxed off half my left eyebrow about 11 years ago and it's grown back in shaped differently to my right lol.

[2gaits]

You might try a brow gel to get the new hairs to stay where you want them to. There are a ton of brow products now. Find an ultra or sephora store and go talk to a sales person that knows brows. They may help you find products to fill them in why you're trying to grow them out.

[FrayedFire]

The fact that they are growing back at all is a good sign, you can use a little bit of a glue stick to hold them in place.

[arr]

A year and a half ago I embarked on growing my eyebrows back. I did castor oil for six months, i don’t think it really did anything. The main thing I did was put the tweezers down, I didn’t touch my brows for four months. It was terrible, when I couldn’t stand it any longer I would trim the stray hairs as short as possible instead of removing them. But I made it through and there was some new growth. After the four months I removed only the hairs that were far down, near the eyelid. I left everything alone again for two months, then I did a big cleanup and removed the hairs that weren’t in my ideal eyebrow shape. I am continuing to maintain this as of right now. The good news is there is more growth, I’m still seeing new growth after a year and a half. The bad news is, my eyebrows are nothing like their original glory before I ever started tweezing and waxing. I don’t think they ever will be. Also, it takes extreme patience and self control. But it’s worth it. You can improve them.

[lapushka]

I started a thread about this very subject a while ago, might want to check that out too; lots of tips there already. :)
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=125661

[ShilvaA]

Wow, I never expected that so many other people were struggling with this problem too! Haha by the time we all have fuller brows, I bet the thinner brows are popular again!

Thanks lapushka! I see that you started that thread years ago! How are your brows now? Did they grow back properly? :)

[Stray_mind]

I started Using coconut oil to remove my eye make up a while ago and i noticed my eyelash and eyebrow condition improve greatly. My eyebrow hairs sprout in days, instead of weeks. It is annoying on one side, as i have to pluck away stray hairs more often, but on the other hand, i am happy with how thick and long it became. Here is my eyebrows and eyelashes now - uncombed and no make up on

http://i306.photobucket.com/albums/nn256/angel_corpse_album/20180128_141320_zpseqtoohjh.jpg

Some eyebrow gel should help keep the rebellious hairs flat :)

[lapushka]

Wow, I never expected that so many other people were struggling with this problem too! Haha by the time we all have fuller brows, I bet the thinner brows are popular again!

Thanks lapushka! I see that you started that thread years ago! How are your brows now? Did they grow back properly? :)

I just updated the thread. Maybe we can ask to merge them? What do you think? Or do you want a separate thread?

[ShilvaA]

I have dumped some coconut oil on my brows today, hope I ge5 the same results as you stray_mind!

I think merging will be a great idea! As much information for all of us sparse-brows types as possible in one place! :)

[Astia]

Stray_mind it looks great! Love your thick lashes. Wish my eyebrows were so nice. But sadly the outer half is almost nonexistent and consists of only few hairs with blank skin between them, they do not form any particular shape and cannot be plucked b/c there's not enough of them. Also whole brows almost invisible. No amount of coconut or castor oil can save that, already tried. There should be an eyebrows support thread.

[Stray_mind]

I have dumped some coconut oil on my brows today, hope I ge5 the same results as you stray_mind!

I think merging will be a great idea! As much information for all of us sparse-brows types as possible in one place! :)

I hope it will help you. Castor oil didn't really help me either in long term. The reason is it seems to be too thick to actually soak inside of my hairs and skin, therefore it just covers my hairs surface. It Does look thicker in the moment. But i found coconut oil works better for my eyebrows and lashes, just as it does for the hair on my head. :)

Astia - don't give up. You will find something that works for you too!

[lapushka]

I have dumped some coconut oil on my brows today, hope I ge5 the same results as you stray_mind!

I think merging will be a great idea! As much information for all of us sparse-brows types as possible in one place! :)

I've asked for them to be merged. Should be OK in a while. :flower:

[lapushka]

I hadn't used an oil on my brows, and in short, it took me a year to grow them back, all while letting them "go wild", so NO plucking, NO neatening up the edges every time (it slows down the process, you wouldn't believe it, but it does).

[ponine]

Here is a funny story for starters: I actually plucked out half of my eyebrow when I was fourteen. It looked good on someone so I went there too. It only took couple months to grow back but I only had plucked each of those hairs once.

I have some more relevant growing back eyebrows stories too. I thought my eyebrows were too long and thick and straight so I plucked them shorter and thinner at the arch. I was like 12 at this point. Well, my eyebrows are still short, the hairs didn't grow back, so if I wear makeup I extend them a tiny bit. But the middle part grew back! The eyebrows are not as dense at that part though. But I think I'm the only person who would notice that.

I simply did not pluck my eyebrows at all, except between my eyebrows since I don't think unibrow is a good look. I did try putting coconut oil but I don't think it did anything.

[Beeboo123]

I used to puck my brows so that they were pencil thin. Growing them out was difficult as they grew back patchy, and it took years to look decent. Most important thing for me was to throw those damned tweezers away, so I wouldn’t be tempted to “make them neat”. It’s like growing your hair long. Just leave your eyebrows alone! In the meantime, brow gel and brow mascara will help tame the hairs and make them look fuller

[Beeboo123]

I hadn't used an oil on my brows, and in short, it took me a year to grow them back, all while letting them "go wild", so NO plucking, NO neatening up the edges every time (it slows down the process, you wouldn't believe it, but it does).

^ yes! This! I couldn’t agree more

[enting]

I've been using castor oil and I do think it helps me. I absolutely agree with not touching the eyebrows as they grow back in. It's harder to tell what's stray and what's not when they're still growing in. It's better to let them get all bushy and then reward yourself with a little shaping only after it's all grown back in. And only a little shaping! It's all too easy to overpluck or overwax all over again.

Something else to consider is that sparse outer ends of eyebrows is one of the symptoms of hypothyroidism. No amount of oiling or treatments will help if there's a hormonal problem causing the patchiness.

[M3DUS4]

While you're growing those bad boys back, you might want to check out some eyebrow tutorials to fill 'em in and create the illusion of a little thickness where there may not be any. The 'Eyebrow' entries in this list are pretty solid tutorials in a variety of styles.

https://www.reddit.com/r/MakeupAddiction/wiki/best_of

Good luck!

[RosaCurl]

While I've always felt some type of way about the hair on my head I was 'cursed' with, my brows have always grown in incredibly fast and thick. I'm a natural unibrow. I've had my share of 'oopsies' in the brow department.

While growing them back, it's vital you don't touch any tools to 'fix em'. No scissors no tweezers no nothing. If you're self-conscious about the way they look, I'd suggest exploring some options with make up. Growing back brows is like growing out bangs. There's gonna be an awkward phase. There just is.

My brow hairs (and eyelashes) love vaseline. It keeps them protected and hydrated. Plus, it keeps the hairs smoothed down so they don't stick out at weird angles. Totally recommend it. I have sensitive skin, and vaseline doesn't break me out at all, if that's a concern.

[M3DUS4]

Vaseline! That's a good idea.

[Katsura]

I have a history of overplucking and being a trich sufferer and my eyebrows are in poor shape. On top of that my mum once took me to micropigmentation, I think the quality of the work was off, there was some skin damage and I ended up with even less eyebrow hairs. The micropigmentation itself faded pretty fast to non existant.

[Amy-Lee]

What really helped me was 100% aloe vera and castor oil. I had the same problem lol. The 90s was known for overplucking eyebrows. The good thing is, 100% aloe vera stopped them from falling out again, since I plucked and plucked for many years.

[sipnsun]

I tried castor oil on mine for 6 months and it didn't help unfortunately. I over-waxed for 20 years plus I dye my brows because they are very blonde so that could be why. Even with the dye, I have still have to pencil in so they don't look so thin. I've been thinking of getting a tattoo brow filler, any one have any experience with that? Just worried it would damage what little I have left.

[knobbly]

I'm sorry to tell you that I have tried various over the counter treatments (castor oil based salves, cosmetic growth creams, etc.) and nothing has changed with my sad tadpole eyebrows. I recommend looking into microblading, a form of permanent makeup (tattoo) that involves the artist painting tiny hairs on with a blade and pigment. Stays for a year or more and even after it has faded significantly, it gives you a roadmap to draw them on (at least in my experience-- I have been pregnant or nursing for the past few years so I haven't been able to get touch-ups as often as I'd like, but penciling them in takes only a minute or two now, and no second guessing about where to draw.)

[Thinthondiel]

I overplucked my eyebrows about twenty years ago. I've left them alone since, and unfortunately they haven't grown back properly. They're not the thinnest brows I've seen, but still thinner than they would be if I hadn't plucked them, and they weren't super thick in the first place. I tried using castor oil some years back, but in the end I got tired of the stickiness and nothing seemed to be happening. I've considered trying an eyebrow serum, but they're more expensive than what I'm currently willing to pay for fuller brows.

[lapushka]

It took about 2/3 years (of no plucking whatsoever, so not even to "even them out" or "keep a shape"). But they're back to being as thick as they once were.

[baanoo]

I was a rare 90s teen girl who didn’t tweeze her brows at all, but in my mid 20s I had a bad wax (she burned me!!!!!!!) – the very last of maybe 4 times I ever had it done – and I swear, it’s been a good 12-13 years now and they never grew back to quite the same fullness. I suppose it could be coincidental but I doubt it.

Occasionally, I pluck an odd “hey what are you doing here?” brow hair but otherwise it’s a periodic trim for shaping (some of my eyebrow hairs are kind of longish?), a bit of pencil and brow gel.