Manbrows
The beautiful, loving story of a man and his brows
Story By Max Fernandez
I stepped into Shapes, my black t-shirt, ripped jeans, and black vans contrasting with the white and red colors of the walls. Comfortable with the judgmental stares and prejudiced looks from inside and outside the popular store, I decided to step inside to thread my eyebrows. The Hindi lady’s wrinkled hands and long fingers, filled with gold rings, started orchestrating tiny strings against my tan and hairy forehead, conducting my pores to a slight red symphony broadcasting the message from my inner macho, “I am a man threading his brows at a feminine place.”
Vanity is the devil’s favorite sin, therefore, I am a sinner. Without any fear or shame, I must say that I am a guy whose vanity is more important than the prejudice of others. I may not be the most good looking guy or the most fit, but I am a man who likes to take care of the little details, in order to look more presentable and, of course, a little more attractive.
It is an uncomfortable feeling not to have my eyebrows done. The reason is because when my unibrow forms, I feel as if little people are building a bridge made of hair between my eyebrows. The worst part is that it feels like people are staring directly at the stray hairs in between my eyebrows. Also, the unibrow makes me think people are looking at Bert from “Sesame Street”, instead of me.
Threading my eyebrows is one of my more prevalent and important expenses of the month. I prefer to thread them, since it’s less painful than waxing and more durable than plucking them with the tweezer. Also, threading my eyebrows is cheaper than a haircut.
Many people are hesitant when it comes to men grooming themselves. It’s seen as incredibly feminine, which isn’t a bad thing. Whether or not someone wants to shave certain parts of their body, get their nails buffed and cleaned, or in my case, get their eyebrows done, is a personal decision. It’s one that shouldn’t be anything to judge one upon.
Nonetheless, we live in a generation where the culture is a little more liberal and tolerable with people who like to do things differently than their parents or grandparents did. The prejudice and judgement from other don’t matter anymore for those who are comfortable with doing what I am doing with my eyebrows. Again, looking presentable is one of the most important things for a man, and if having cleaner eyebrows makes a man look more presentable, or a little more attractive, keep doing it. You are not alone.
