The History of Brows and How Your Indie Brand Can Benefit From Current Beauty Trends

Every indie beauty brand can benefit from knowing more about current beauty trends. What is trending tells us a lot about how customers are feeling and what they think they need. A successful entrepreneur studies trends to predict consumer behavior. A quick study of today's brow trend, for example, gives small business owners valuable knowledge, but it also provides consumers with insights they may find meaningful and valuable. 

The history of brows is really quite fascinating and shows the ways that trends evolve and change over time due to various influences. Trends in beauty are affected by economic factors, political factors, changes in leadership, and popular culture influences. Certainly, famous leaders have always been trendsetters in the areas of fashion and beauty.

Brow Trends in Ancient Cultures

Cleopatra was not just the Queen of the Nile; she was the Queen of the brow trend in her time. She ruled fashion in ancient Egypt and is known not only for her bold brows but also for popularizing cosmetics and iridescent scarab jewelry. The stylish eyebrows of ancient Egypt were thick and bold. In fact, the unibrow was considered quite beautiful. Both men and women used cosmetics to darken and thicken the brows to pay tribute to the ancient Egyptian god, Horus. Horus was a sky god and represented health, protection, and justice.

Ancient Greece also had specific brow trends that were related to spiritual values. The cosmetic and beauty rituals of ancient Greece were often a celebration of purity. The brows of ancient Greece were considered most beautiful when they were full and dark. In fact, the unibrow was considered quite beautiful. 

Current Beauty Trends Reflected in Brow Trends Through the Decades

1920s and 1930s

The Roaring Twenties brought a very thin brow trend. Women often shaved their natural brows and drew thin eyebrows with a pencil. The most stylish brow trend had an exaggerated downward slope to give a look of exaggerated emotion. Brows were also made shiny using creams and oils. These trends were popularized by the new fascination with movies and Hollywood legends like Jean Harlow and Marlene Dietrich. 

1940s and 1950s

Beauty trends during the 1940s and 1950s were strongly impacted by WW2. Men were overseas fighting, more women joined the workforce than ever before, and war rations were put in place. All of these factors led to a minimalist beauty routine for women. Brows were more natural, often unplucked, and makeup was minimal for eyebrows until the late 50s.

1960s and 1970s

These decades brought two divergent beauty trends that affected eyebrow styles. Natural makeup was very popular, and brows were unadorned and medium to thick. But there was also an experimental, free-spirited fashion trend that brought more color and experimentation to brow styles. This was the era that salons and spas started to offer brow treatments and eyebrow waxing at home became popular.

1980s and 1990s

Fashion and beauty trends during these decades were dominated by pop culture. Television stars, musicians, and runway models all played a part in creating an exciting time for beauty trends that shifted and changed quickly. The '80s favored long nails, shoulder pads, and big hair. Bolder, natural-looking brows went along with these trends and were featured on the haute couture runways. In the '90s, however, the trend shifted, and very thin, penciled-in eyebrows were back. Plucking eyebrows as thin as possible and penciling them in, like the trend of the Roaring Twenties, was repopularized.

2000s to 2010s

Super-thin eyebrows continued to be popular through the 2000s and 2010s. Overplucking the brows lost its appeal, though, and the new trend was to sport a thin wisp of a brow that arched to show various expressions of emotion.

Current Beauty Trends for Brows 

With more people at home and online than ever before, experimentation has become the new normal with brow beauty and cosmetics in general. Some experts say that the fluffy brow, including the soap brow, is the look for 2022. Another way to achieve this look is by using our Brow Fixative. All you need is a little maintenance with a tweezer, our Brow Fixative to define your brows, and you're good to go! Other experts note that brow trends are shifting quickly, and consumers frequently show off new and different looks on social media. The bold, dark brow is in. People are using more beauty products to create DIY brows looks than ever before, including colored pencils, powders, waxes, gels, and sparkles. Bleaching the brows has also become a popular look, especially on the runways. 

Entrepreneurs and Small Businesses Can Benefit From Knowing the Beauty Trends

Anastasia Soare is an entrepreneur who has studied eyebrow trends and turned brow styling and grooming into a multimillion-dollar business! Being a successful entrepreneur means understanding the trends, following trends, and also helping to create them. Trends tend to repeat themselves. As a small business owner, you can help encourage your business to be more successful by studying the small business trends in your industry and then contributing to them. Start with gaining knowledge about trends by watching the trendsetters, and then bring those ideas into your DIY projects. Watch your beauty business grow as customers respond to your attention to the most current beauty trends.