Brow

Over-Plucked Brows? Here’s What to Do: Expert Tips

Eyebrow trends come and go—and over the years, the on-trend way to style your brows has gone through quite the evolution. But one of the more memorable trends—and, unfortunately, one of the most damaging to brow health? Thin brows.

Back in the 90s and early 2000s, thin brows above the eyes were in. Many people tried to achieve thin eyebrows through heavy-handed grooming, like waxing, threading, or plucking their eyebrows into oblivion.

Now, thin eyebrows are becoming popular again. And the risk of over plucked brows is hitting a new generation of trendsetters.

No matter how you feel about the trend, the consequences are real. If you overpluck thin eyebrows, it can be hard for them to grow back. This can make it tough to return to a thicker brow in the future.

The good news? There are ways to fix, improve, and reshape skinny brows; you just need the right solutions.

Let's look at how to support overplucked eyebrows—and get your brows looking and feeling healthier:

Give Yourself Time

If you overpluck your brows—and aren’t happy with the look—chances are, you want to fix them. Like, right now.

But take a deep breath. Regrowing your brows doesn’t happen overnight. It’s a long game—and in order to get your brows back to tip-top shape, you need to be patient.

Why? Because your eyebrows have a growth cycle—and before you attempt to style your brows, you want to allow your eyebrows to go through that entire growth cycle.

The eyebrow growth cycle generally lasts for about six to eight weeks, sometimes up to 12 weeks. It's best to avoid plucking or shaping them for about two months to allow them to grow properly. That means no tweezing, no waxing, no threading…nothing. This will give your body time to regrow brow hair before you start trying to shape or style them—and give you more brow to work with, which can help to restore a thick, full shape.

If you try to shape and style your brows too early, it could lead to another overplucking situation, making it even harder to regrow. So, try to be patient and give your brows the time, space, and break from the tweezers they need to get back to peak thickness.

See a Professional

If you've over-plucked your brows, now is the perfect time to seek professional help.

Once you’ve given your brows a few months to grow out, go to see a professional brow artist. They can help shape your brows as you want and prevent overplucking while reshaping them.

Visiting your brow artist every three weeks is best. This gives your brows time to grow, but not too much that you feel like tweezing them and starting over.

Keep Brow Hair Healthy

As your brows regrow, it’s super important to take the necessary steps to strengthen and condition your brows, which can help protect against breakage—and keep your brows looking full and healthy.

There are a number of different ways to strengthen and condition your brows, including:

Brow conditioner. In order to effectively condition your brows, you (of course) need a conditioner.

Our RevitaBrow® Advanced Eyebrow Conditioner is a brow serum specifically formulated for brows that have been compromised, including from excessive grooming. For best results, apply using a few short strokes every day, which will set you on the path to healthier-looking, more luxurious brows. (There’s a reason this conditioner is an 11-time consecutive Allure Best of Beauty Award winner!)

Brow mask. If you want to pack an extra brow-strengthening punch, round out your routine with a mask—a mask for your brows, that is. Our Lash & Brow Masque helps repair damaged, weakened hair by instantly delivering a surge of nutrient-dense ingredients. You'll experience a hydration boost after a single application—with even better results over time when you apply the mask for 15 minutes twice a week.

Use Products and Makeup to Hide Sparse Spots…

You’re trying your best to grow your eyebrows and keep them healthy, moisturized, and well-conditioned. During the middle stage of hair growth, some spots may grow slower than others. Unfortunately, tweezing can damage some hair follicles and prevent them from growing back.

But that’s nothing the right products can’t solve.

To hide sparse or uneven areas, try our Hi-Def Brow Pencil. It's long-lasting, water-resistant, and enriched with vitamin E to define and nourish thin or over-plucked eyebrows. To achieve a natural appearance, select a shade similar to your natural brow color and use brief strokes to mimic the look of individual hairs when filling in your brows. (If you’re not a pencil person, you can also try a brow pomade).

Next, apply a tinted brow gel to further conceal thin areas by adding color and shaping your existing brows. With the right gel, brows will appear defined, tamed, and enhanced. Try our Hi-Def Brow Gel with peptides and oat beta glucan to strengthen, nourish, and enhance your brows. This natural mineral tint gel fills in thin, sparse brows, allowing for buildable, precise sculpting.

…And Concealer to Hide Stray Hairs

Another side effect to that awkward “I’m growing out my over-plucked brows but they’re not quite there yet” phase? Stray hairs.

When you’re restoring over-plucked brows, you want to keep new growth. But sometimes, that new growth can happen outside of your desired brow shape.

Your first instinct might be to pluck those hairs. But if you truly want your brows to recover, it’s important to fight that urge. If you tweeze your brows at this point, you could accidentally tweeze more than you intend—which, again, will put you back into over-plucked territory.

But if those stray hairs bother you, there is a quick fix—and that’s concealer.

Take a small amount of concealer onto a concealer brush. Then, blend the concealer on top of any stray hairs.

If you’re going for a more natural look, choose a concealer that matches your natural skin tone. If the stray hairs fall on the underside of your brows, consider going a shade or two lighter—which will not only conceal stray eyebrow hairs, but will also give a highlighting effect.

Follow These Steps and Your Brows Will Get There!

If you’ve overplucked your brows, growing them out can feel like a long, frustrating process. But if you take the right steps, you can get your brows looking healthy and full again!

Resist the urge to tweeze and give your brows some room to grow. See a professional to help shape your brows—and ensure that you’re not setting yourself up to overpluck in the future. Use the right products to strengthen and condition your brows while they regrow—as well as to give you the look that you want during the growing out process.

And, for next time, remember: when it comes to tweezing, less is more.