Eyebrows and Facial Recognition

Eyebrows Microblading
3 min readMar 1, 2022

Trends in hairstyle and grooming for women have changed dramatically over the years. These changes often coincide with other era-specific fluctuations. In 2003, Izzat Jarudi, Javid Sadrs and others published a study in Perception. This scientific journal specializes in psychology of vision and perception. It found that facial recognition is influenced by eyebrows. This study could provide additional insight into artificial facial-recognition technology development, but it may also help to understand why eyebrows are so important for women’s beauty standards Microblading Courses San Deigo.

The study involved a 25-shot test where participants were shown images of celebrities with no eyebrows and 25 shots of celebrities with eyes. Participants correctly identified 56% celebrities without eyes and 46% without eyebrows. According to the study, eyebrows play a greater role in recognising faces than eyes.

Eyebrow Trends Throughout the Years

A look at eyebrow trends over the years will reveal patterns that could be explained by the Perception study. Women wore thin eyebrows that were dramatically shaped starting in 1920. They had either long curving tails or exaggerated arches. Although the 1930s maintained the same thinness as the previous decade but included straight lines that only touched the edge, as well as rounded upward bends. Arches were less severe and thinner in the 1940s. Women wore thicker brows in the 1950s than they did in the 1940s. They had a sharper arch and shorter tail. Elizabeth Taylor, a film icon, used matte pigment to darken the brows. Audrey Hepburn popularized filling the eyebrows to create thicker brows in the 1960s. Twiggy, an actress and model from England, wore her eyebrows arched and thin in this period, akin to the 20s trend. In the 1970s, eyebrows had been shaped into arches or bends and were again thinned. The 1980s saw celebrities such as Brooke Shields, Madonna and Madonna make thick eyebrows a popular trend. The pencil-thin, stubby brow was revived in the 1990s. It slowly grew out during the 2000s.

In the past ten years, thick eyebrows have been in vogue once again, popularized by celebrities such as Kylie Jenner, Cara Delevingne and Emma Watson. In the past century, thick eyebrows have gone through many iterations. Each return has been associated to a famous figure of the time, such as Elizabeth Taylor, Audrey Hepburn, or Brooke Shields. This suggests that there is a correlation between the thickness of the eyebrows, and the memorableness in the face.

Empowerment of Thick Hair

Jarudi, one of study’s coauthors, said that thicker eyebrows look more masculine. Thicker eyebrows can make women stand out and grab attention. Stars such as Audrey Hepburn and Elizabeth Taylor are known for their intense expressions, which were accentuated by thick eyebrows. Cara Delevingne is also known for her striking brows.

Thick brows can make a woman stand out in situations where she needs to impress, such as when meeting someone for the first-time, getting promoted, or modeling for a photo shoot. Sadr, co-author, compares the thick brow movement today with the popularity of shoulder pads on women’s suits in 1980s. Both trends represented female empowerment by the use of masculinizing characteristics.

Take your power back

Women who desire to feel confident in their appearance to the world should have a bolder and more square-shaped brow. Not all women can grow enough hair naturally. They resort to makeup, tattoos, or microblading as a solution. These techniques can give you artificial or harsh looks that negate the empowerment aspect of the look. A eyebrow transplant allows women to have their own eyebrows. This can allow them to achieve the look they desire, and free them from the constraints of the cosmetic industry.

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