As the old adage goes, “Don’t worry about me, worry about your eyebrows.”
Well, maybe that’s a new adage from instagram, but it’s true all the same: eyebrows are the essential defining feature of every woman’s face. That’s exactly why eyebrow loss can feel like a death sentence to the beauty-conscious woman. With thick, lush eyebrows in style, eyebrow loss can feel more traumatizing than ever. Hair one day, gone the next!
So why are you losing your eyebrows anyway? It can be hard to knowl, but if something on the list below resonates with you, maybe we’ve just helped you take the next step on your brow journey.
Given that brows and lashes are my life, I have been doing some serious investing on this topic. So if you’re losing your eyebrows, you’re in luck! Here’s my top 10 reasons for eyebrow loss:
1. You Just Can’t Fight the Clock
We all know that as we age, our hormone production changes (hello, menopause!). What most people don’t know is that your natural prostaglandin (a hormone) production is also what cues your lashes and brows to grow.
In fact, vascular prostaglandin production has been proven to decrease with age in rats (Lennon, Poyser, 1986). More than likely, prostaglandin production is naturally decreasing in humans over time, too.
Prostaglandins are modified forms of unsaturated fatty acids–those unsaturated or “essential” fatty acids (EFAs) that are also called Omega fatty acids. These EFAs cannot be produced by your body, but must be absorbed from our food. EFAs are naturally found in nut and seed oils in different compositions. EFAs have been shown to increase prostaglandin production in those with a deficiency (source, again).
So, as we understand it: the older you get, the less prostaglandin you produce. The less prostaglandin you produce, the less brows (and lashes) you have. That’s why you’re here reading this, right?
The best way to fight it? Give your brows the EFAs they need with our WINK lash & brow oil
2. You Plucked (and plucked, and plucked..)
The first time you over-plucked your brows, you probably freaked out. But 6-10 weeks later.. the hairs were back.Phew! You really dodged a bullet.
But as evolved as humans supposedly are, we’re not all that bright. We tend to make the same mistakes again.. and again.. and again.
The final result? Partial or even full brow loss.
If you’ve overplucked your brows too many times, you may have caused trauma to the follicles in the meantime, signalling not only those hairs you plucked to stop growing back, but also the hairs in surrounding areas. The good news: If the hair follicles aren’t dead, they can possibly be shaken from their resting state with a good brow enhancer. (like WINK yes of course, we have to say it). There’s no sure bets, but it’s worth a try–plus Wink has a money-back guarantee!
3. You’re Eating Like Crap
Sorry to be the bearer of bad news to your delicious bacon cheesy fries, but let’s be honest: if you’re not feeding your lashes and brows what they need from inside your body, how do you expect them to grow? What’s more is the longer you’ve been eating poorly, the longer and longer this effect has to compound and grow.
The result? Lashes and brows poorer than a college kid.
Cut the fast-food diet and start getting some whole food in your life. The less processed the better; as my mom says “as close to nature as possible.” Healthy skin and hair start with a healthy diet. Aim for a diet rich in Vitamin C, Vitamin A, Vitamin E, B Vitamins, lean protein and Essential Fatty Acids. EFAs can be found in walnuts, salmon, flax seed, and most seeds. EFAs have been shown to increase prostaglandin production in those with a deficiency; prostaglandin is what prompts your lashes and brows to grow.
In the meantime, jumpstart your lashes and brows by feeding what they need on the outside, with our WINK lash & brow oil , which is rich in natural, vegan sources of EFAs.
4. That Tricky Thyroid
All I’m going to say is this (the title of the paper published in a Medical Journal): Thyroid Hormones Directly After Human Hair Follicle Functions.
Hyperthyroidism and hypothyroidism both can alter hair and skin function and structure. If you haven’t already been diagnosed with a thyroid problem, but are suffering from hair loss and brow loss, it may be time do some online research and talk to your doctor. The main symptoms are typically hair loss, weigh gain, fatigue even with adequate rest, mood swings and more (Sound like you? Read more here).
We have had WINK customers who are very happy with their results, but first I want to direct you to an awesome resource: Hypothyroid Mom. Here is a link to her blog post titled “10 Things that Stopped My Thyroid Hair Loss”; just read it!
5. Not Just on Your Brows? Perhaps Alopecia is Amiss
If you are suffering from hair loss on your head AND your brows, you might be suffering from a protein deficiency of some sort. A supplement like Viviscal (available here), which is packed with marine protein, could help your condition. Viviscal has been shown to treat alopecia areata, as well as androgen-related hair loss (Journal of International Medical Research, 1992; FutureDerm). It will take some time, though: changes in protein in the diet have been shown to correspond with protein in the hair within 6-12 months (American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 1999; Futurederm).
6. Allergies Got the Best of You?
Did you know that you can be allergic to brow products? Yes, seriously. If you were allergic to a chemical in your brow powder, pencil, or pommade, you could lose your brows! Temporarily, of course, but if it were me, I’d be pretty peeved!
Regrow them in a flash with a brow enhancer like WINK .
7. If your bross loss is from itchy brows, you might have this
Seborrheic dermatitis is a condition where you have itchiness in the eyebrows.. like serious, serious itchiness. First of all, if you think you have this: see a derm, stat. You need a derm to confirm (can I trademark that saying?), and you definitely need a derm for the prescription. A dermatologist will tell you to treat the seborrheic dermatitis with a combination of desonide cream and ketoconazole cream twice daily for one week. Or, they may tell you to use a ketoconazole shampoo to control the problem.
In any case, the seborrheic dermatitis will most likely be gone within a week, and you can be on your way to regrowing those brows stat.
8. Hair Loss from Chemotherapy? Expect Brow Loss, too.
If you’ve undergone chemotherapy recently, you know the effects that it has on your hair, including your brows and lashes. First of all, I want to point you to this awesome resource by FairyHairs (click here), that shows in intervals, with pictures, what you can expect with regrowing your hair after chemo (Thank you, Jenny Mealy!). The article also includes ways to regrow your hair after chemo.
What she doesn’t mention is how to regrow your brows after chemo-related brow loss! If you have recently undergone chemotherapy, your brows may be a bit wonky in the beginning, but you still want them, right? They are the frame for your beautiful face. Every October we host a “Buy One Give One for the Cure” campaign, where for every bottle of WINK sold, we donate one to a cancer survivor. If that’s you, shoot us an email so we can get you hooked up.
9. Something More Sinister is Astir…
If you’ve gotten through this list and still don’t know what’s going on, it’s time to talk to your doc. Unfortunately, madarosis–typically used to mean the loss of eyelashes, but also referring to the loss of brows–may be due to many, many things, including a number of vision and life-threatening conditions, like herpes zoster, leprosy, HIV/AIDS, trachoma, malignant eyelid tumors, discoid lupus, scleroderma, and hypothyroidism (Khong, Casson, Huilgal, Selva; Survey of Opthamology, 2006). Brow and lash loss are both indicators of underlying diseases, so yes get to your doc stat.
10. Face it: Maybe it’s just NATURAL!
And by natural, I mean temporary and natural.
Okay, but REALLY.. if you’ve gotten through this whole list and it’s STILL not something here, face it: YOUR ARE A HYPOCHONDRIAC (sorry, someone had to say it). I am that person on WebMD 24/7, so I can say it.
But let’s be real: Brow loss is completely natural. Your brows have a growth cycle and they phase through growth (anagen), recession towards rest (catagen), and resting (telogen). Your brow hairs try not to all cycle at the same time, but unfortunately we get caught in certain weeks or months where more of our brow hairs are missing than before. Just be patient; they’ll come back. And if you need a boost, don’t be a stranger.
