Eyes

Men's eyebrows: the shape that changes your look, without overdoing it

Well-groomed men's eyebrows go unnoticed, while neglected or over-plucked ones get noticed right away. They frame the eyes and weigh heavily in how we recognize and judge a face. The goal: keep their thickness and clean up the strays, without thinning them. 👁️

Updated November 7, 2026 · By Julien Rayes · Version française

Why they matter so much

In 2003, MIT researchers showed photos of famous faces, edited to erase either the eyebrows or the eyes. Faces without eyebrows were recognized less well than faces without eyes.

A 2018 study with 922 participants varied five features on faces: eyebrow thickness, cheekbones, eye size, face height and jaw. Eyebrow thickness was among the features that weighed most in judging a male face.

The shape to aim for

A masculine eyebrow is usually fairly straight, fairly thick and set low, close to the brow bone. In a 2012 study of composite faces from several ethnic backgrounds, the faces rated attractive had lower eyebrows than the average faces. A few markers:

• The start of the brow sits roughly in line with the side of the nostril.
• The highest point is about two-thirds along, with no pronounced arch.
• The tail ends a little past the outer corner of the eye.
• Thickness stays nearly constant for the first two-thirds, then tapers off gently.

Grooming: a few minutes a week

• The middle: tweeze the hairs between the two brows, without cutting into their natural start. ✂️
• Long hairs: brush the brows upward and trim with scissors whatever sticks out past the top line.
• Underneath: remove only isolated hairs clearly apart from the line. Don't touch the top line with tweezers.
• A clear gel in the morning holds unruly hairs in place.

Mistakes that show

• Plucking to thin: the brow loses its thickness and your look seems surprised or softer. What you remove takes a long time to grow back; when in doubt, take nothing off.
• Carving an arch: a thin, strongly arched shape looks more feminine and opens the eyes too much.
• Shaving the middle: the regrowth shows by the next day.
• Dyeing them much darker than your hair and beard.

Sparse, light or uneven eyebrows

Light or sparse brows can be filled in lightly with a pencil or powder the color of the hairs, or tinted at a barber. Asymmetry can often be fixed by lining up the two starts and the two tails, without chasing perfect symmetry: no face is symmetrical. Brow loss that appears for no reason, in patches or all at once, deserves a medical opinion. 🩺

What the scan measures

The GlowUpTogether scan measures the height of your brows relative to your eyes, and their tilt. An AI also rates their thickness, density, color and symmetry. Then the Style tab suggests two brow shapes suited to your face, which you can try on your photo.

Sources: Sadr, Jarudi and Sinha, "The role of eyebrows in face recognition", Perception, 2003; Mogilski and Welling, "The Relative Contribution of Jawbone and Cheekbone Prominence, Eyebrow Thickness, Eye Size, and Face Length to Evaluations of Facial Masculinity and Attractiveness", Frontiers in Psychology, 2018; Rhee, Woo and Kwon, "Biometric study of eyelid shape and dimensions of different races with references to beauty", Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, 2012.

Frequently asked questions

Should a man pluck his eyebrows?

Only to maintain them, never to thin them: remove the unibrow, trim overly long hairs and the few stray hairs underneath. The shape and thickness stay yours.

How can I get thicker eyebrows?

Stop plucking them and let them grow back untouched. A pencil or dye fills the gaps in the meantime. If the loss is marked or recent, see a dermatologist.

Barber or salon the first time?

Either works if you ask for a natural result: thickness kept, no arch. After that, you maintain them yourself in a few minutes a week. 🧔