Are your thinning eye brows adding years on to your appearance?

Did you know that thinning eyebrows are one of the very first—and most easily quantifiable—visible signs of aging?

Our money’s on “no.”

And that’s completely understandable. Unlike, say, the crow’s feet we’ve been trained to fear by the time we’re out of high school, eyebrow loss is somewhat of a silent assassin. As the New York Times puts it, “eyebrows are like shoes; you don’t notice them unless they are exquisitely right or disastrously wrong.”

With that in mind, when it comes to your own eyebrows, unless they’ve gone missing already, you’re probably not concerned. And if they have thinned out over the years, you’ve no doubt noticed—what you likely have not done is attribute how old you look to their dwindling volume.

If you’re like most, you instead chalk up your aging appearance to those dreaded crow’s feet, and in turn spend tons of money and time in pursuit of a miracle cure that will turn back the clock on your complexion.

The truth is crow’s feet—along with fine lines, wrinkles and dark spots, while we’re on the topic—have created a tremendous moneymaking opportunity for the beauty industry. Sadly, though, there’s no long-term solution for these concerns, unless you want to talk about cosmetic dermatology. Put simply, it’s going to take some time and dedication to see an improvement in your wrinkles and lines—and even then, they won’t just “disappear.”

On the other hand, voluptuous, well-shaped brows make an immediate difference in your perceived age. If such a thing as an anti-aging miracle exists, it’s a brow makeover.

WHY BROWS MATTER
Eyebrows are one of the most defining features a person has. They frame the face, convey emotion, and, when shaped properly, make the eyes look brighter and the cheekbones more defined.

Speaking in terms of physical features, nothing—other than a full head of hair, perhaps—is more integral in one’s youthful good looks than a great set of eyebrows.

THE FACTS ON BROW LOSS
Eyebrow Loss tends to affect most people when they’re in their 30s, peaking by the age of 45 or so.But, according to Dr. Jeffrey Epstein, a specialist The Huffington Post interviewed, those who have tweezed avidly at any point in their lives will be hit the hardest.

And age is not brow loss’s sole trigger. Certain medications—birth control and Prozac, to name just a couple—can cause hormonal shifts that lead to it, as can pregnancy, menopause and thyroid issues.

HOW TO DEAL

In the 1990s, it was all about “permanent makeup” (e.g., getting brows tattooed on)… but we all know how natural and appealing that looks. Nowadays, there are brow implants, which work somewhat like hair plugs.

More natural-looking than the spoils of a visit to the tattoo parlor? Most definitely. Less extreme?

Not so much.

There’s also the affordable option of a good old-fashioned brow pencil. However, it’s one thing to use makeup to enhance your brows, and another to draw them on. Going back to the eyebrows/shoes analogy, how many times have you noticed someone’s badly made-up brows? Probably even more often than model-perfect arches have caught your eye.

There’s also an under-the-radar product called SmartBrow, which, as its name suggests, is an innovative way to get better brows. What sets it apart from pencils and powders is its unique formulation, which leverages polymers and binds microscopic hair-like fibers to your existing brows as well as fills in any thinning or sparse spots.

No brows? No problem.

The result is fuller brows that not only look natural, but will stay put all day. Given that SmartBrow is currently on sale for $29.95, it’s the most economical solution to thinning brows we’re aware of.