In brief
- Brows plucked too thin often grow back. Expect it to take months, though: the hairs grow slowly, and they don't all come through at once.
- Where you have plucked for years, the growth sometimes comes back thinner, and sometimes a patch stays bare.
- The most important step is to stop plucking. Every hair you remove starts all over again.
- In the meantime, colour makes the difference. Tinting makes short, light hairs visible, and henna also colours the skin underneath.
Written by Nilay, owner and beauty therapist at Moons BeautyUpdated on
Why growing out takes so long.
A brow hair grows for a while, then rests and eventually falls out. A new hair then grows in its place. Each hair goes through that cycle in its own time. That is why you see stubble in one place after only a few weeks, while nothing is happening yet in another.
When you pluck, you remove a hair in the middle of its cycle, and it starts again from the beginning in that place. So if you maintain the same line for years, you are constantly keeping the hairs there short. Once you stop, your brows first need time to find a rhythm of their own again.
Where you have plucked for a long time, a hair can come back finer or lighter. Sometimes a patch stays bare. That varies from person to person, and you only see it once you have given your brows a few months. So take a photo at the start, and later you can see how much has grown back.
From stubble to a new shape.
Everyone's brows grow at their own pace. This is the order you usually see.
The first few weeks
Stubble and temptation
Short hairs appear outside your old line, and that looks untidy. This is the point at which most people give in and start plucking again. Leave them be, because these are the very hairs that will go on to make up your fuller brows.
As they get longer
Hairs in every direction
The hairs get longer, but do not yet lie in one direction. A little brow gel or soap keeps them in place. Once they are long enough, a brow lamination can lay them in the same direction.
After a few months
The shape becomes visible
Now you can see where your brows get fuller on their own and where they stay thin. This is a good moment to decide on your new shape together. When we shape your brows, we remove only what clearly falls outside that shape.
From then on
Keeping it up
After a shaping appointment, the shape stays neat for three to four weeks. Once the hairs outside the line start to show again, it is time for your next appointment.
How to get through the in-between stage.
Don't do any plucking yourself
Leave even that one hair that seems to sit just a little too far out. A magnifying mirror makes every hair look bigger than it is, so use an ordinary mirror at arm's length instead.
Fill in with make-up
Fill in thin patches with a pencil or a little powder in the colour of your brow hairs. Draw short strokes in the direction the hair grows, as that looks the most natural.
Opt for colour in the salon
A tint makes short, light hairs visible, for up to about four weeks. Henna also colours the skin underneath, so bare patches stand out less.
Leave the tidying up to us
When we shape your brows, we leave whatever belongs to your new shape, even if it looks a little untidy for a while. Do let us know at your appointment that you want to grow your brows out.
What helps at which stage.
While you are growing your brows out, colour does more for you than shape. A lamination only really does something once the hairs are long enough.
| Topic | Useful if | What you see | How long |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brow tint | You want your short or light hairs to show | Only the hairs are coloured | Up to about four weeks |
| Hybrid brows | You want your brows to look fuller, with a soft shadow | Colour on the hairs and a little on the skin | On the skin up to about seven days, on the hairs up to about seven weeks |
| Henna brows | There are obvious bare patches | Colour on the hairs and the skin underneath | On the skin up to about fourteen days, on the hairs up to about seven weeks |
| Brow lamination | The hairs are long enough, but stick out in all directions | Your own hairs laid in one direction | Six to eight weeks |
Cleansing, shaping with wax and tweezers, trimming and aftercare are part of every complete brow treatment. You can find the prices under brows.
Good to know about growing out.
Every plucked hair starts again
If you do remove a few hairs halfway through, they start again from the beginning. So tidying up in between makes growing out take longer.
Henna and tint fade on their own
You're not tied to anything. If a fuller shape isn't for you, the colour is gone again after a few weeks, and you can simply try something else.
Are your brows suddenly getting thinner?
If your brows are falling out when you are not plucking, or are getting thinner in a short space of time, see your GP first. There may be another cause, and a doctor should look at that.
Frequently asked questions about growing out your brows
How long does it take for my brows to grow out?
Allow a few months. The hairs grow slowly and do not all come through at once, so your brows fill in bit by bit. After a few months you can clearly see where they are getting fuller and where they stay thin.
Will my brows always grow back?
Often they do. Where you have plucked for years, a hair can come back finer or lighter, and sometimes a patch stays bare. With henna or hybrid brows the skin underneath is coloured too, so a patch like that stands out less.
Can I still remove anything while I am growing out my brows?
It is better not to do it yourself, because the hair then starts all over again in that place. When we shape your brows, we only remove what clearly falls outside your new shape. That way your brows stay neat while they carry on growing.
Does henna help if I have plucked my brows too thin?
Henna makes them look fuller, because it also colours the skin under your brows. On the skin it stays visible for up to about fourteen days, on the hairs for up to about seven weeks. It does not make the hairs themselves grow any faster.
Can I have a brow lamination if my brows are still short?
A lamination lays the hairs that are already there in one direction. If they are still very short or thin, there is not much to lay, and henna does more. Once they are longer, a lamination does make your brows look fuller.
Do you do microblading or powder brows?
No, we don't do microblading, powder brows or permanent make-up. If you want fuller brows, we can look at henna, hybrid brows or a lamination together. These wear off again on their own.
From reading to doing
