Eyebrow
Eyebrow | |
---|---|
Details | |
Identifiers | |
Latin | supercilium |
MeSH | D005138 |
TA98 | A15.2.07.023 A16.0.00.017 |
TA2 | 181 |
FMA | 54237 |
Anatomical terminology |
An eyebrow is an area of short hairs above each
Functions
A number of theories have been proposed to explain the function of the eyebrow in humans. One approach suggests its main function is to prevent moisture (mostly sweat and rain) from flowing into the eye.[citation needed] Another theory holds that clearly visible eyebrows provided safety from predators when early hominid groups started sleeping on the ground.[1][clarification needed]
Recent research, however, suggests eyebrows in humans developed as a means of communication and that this is their primary function. Humans developed a smooth forehead with visible, hairy eyebrows capable of a wide range of movement. Such eyebrows can express a wide range of subtle emotions – including recognition and sympathy.[2][3]
Cosmetic modification
This section needs additional citations for verification. (August 2021) |
Fashion in eyebrow shape has changed throughout the ages and eyebrows have always featured heavily in female fashion, often as part of cultural demands made on women about body hair.[4][5]
Cosmetic methods over the centuries have been developed to alter the appearance of eyebrows, by adding or removing hair, changing the color, or changing the position to meet the aesthetic ideal of the time, for example, by tinting the eyebrow with permanent dye, similar to hair colour, often in order to darken them.[6]
Eyebrow brushes, shaders, and pencils are often used to define the eyebrow or make it appear fuller. These can create an outline for the brows or mimic hairs where there are sparse areas. Brow gels are also used in creating a thicker brow; they allow for the hairs to be more textured, which gives the appearance of thicker, fuller brows. Lastly, brow powders or even eyeshadows are used for those who want a fuller and more natural look, by placing the brow powder or eyeshadow (closest to the natural hair colour) in areas where there is less hair.
Several options exist for removing hair to achieve a thinner or smaller eyebrow, or to "correct" a unibrow, including manual and electronic tweezing, waxing, and threading. The most common method is to use tweezers to thin out and shape the eyebrow. Waxing is becoming more popular. Lastly, there is threading eyebrows, where a cotton thread is rolled over hair to pull it out. Small scissors are sometimes used to trim the eyebrows, either with another method of hair removal or alone. All of these methods can be painful for some seconds or minutes due to the sensitivity of the area around the eye but, often, this pain decreases over time as the individual becomes used to it. In time, hair that has been plucked will stop growing back[citation needed]. Some people wax or shave off their eyebrows and leave them bare, stencil or draw them in with eye liner, or tattoo them on. In Western societies, it has become more common for men to pluck part of their eyebrows.
To create a fuller look, eyebrows can be cloned in an
The healing process after an eyebrow transplant is similar to the process of tattoo. In this process, patients may experience light bruising and crusting of the skin. People who have genetically thin eyebrows or who have over-tweezed are considered ideal for the transplant.
An eyebrow lift is a
Japanese women and men from the 8th century practiced hikimayu: that is, shaving or plucking the eyebrow hair and painting smudge-like ones higher on the forehead or pencilled in thin ones in a different place. This practice is comparable to that in the Elizabethan era when high-status women would remove eyebrows altogether.[4] Thin eyebrows, achieved by rigorous plucking, were again fashionable in the 1920s and 1930s.
In the 21st century, tattooing became popular as a way to achieve and maintain an eyebrow shape, using a coil machine, rotary machine or a manual tool containing a row of needles. This process, also called cosmetic tattooing or microblading involves an eyebrow artist implanting pigments in small, precise cuts that mimic the look of hair. Shaving lines in eyebrows is another cosmetic alteration, popular among some younger people in the 1990s and 2000s.[9]
Gallery
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1930s fashion.
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Eyebrows often thicken with puberty.
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Eyebrows can be used to convey emotion, such as surprise.
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One of Audrey Hepburn's trademarks was her thick eyebrows.
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A young adult with hair between the eyebrows - a unibrow
See also
- Anti-eyebrow, a body piercing placed below the eyebrow
- Eyebrow piercing, a body piercing done through the eyebrow
- Eyebrow restoration, surgical procedure to change the look of one's eyebrows
- Eyelashes, a set of hairs on the edges of the eyelids
References
- Why do People Sing? Music in Human Evolution, chapter "I Can See you! Eyespots in Humans." Logos, 2011, pg. 96
- S2CID 4698765.
- ^ "Human face evolved to help us communicate emotions, scientists say". 15 April 2019.
- ^ a b Edwards, Lydia (15 November 2019). "Friday essay: shaved, shaped and slit – eyebrows through the ages". The Conversation.
- ^ "The History of Women and Their Eyebrows". Marie Claire. 10 April 2014.
- OCLC 1043525546.
- S2CID 10082065.
- ^ Narins, Rhoda S. (2008). "Creating Beautiful Eyes and Eyebrows With Nonsurgical Procedures". Medscape Dermatology.
- ^ Bruce Ely, The Oregonian (28 April 2008). "Teens shaving lines in eyebrows raise gang concerns in schools". OregonLive.com. Retrieved 23 June 2012.
External links
- Cave, C.; Guaitella, I.; Bertrand, R.; Santi, S.; Harlay, F.; Espesser, R. (1996). "About the relationship between eyebrow movements and Fo variations". Proceeding of Fourth International Conference on Spoken Language Processing. ICSLP '96. Vol. 4. pp. 2175–2178. S2CID 6034851.
- S2CID 1210295.
- Media related to Eyebrows at Wikimedia Commons