We may think that the current obsession of having our brows look a certain way is peculiar only to this era, but it isn’t. I once read on the online fashion publication Marie Claire, “The Ancient Egyptian Eyebrows of Horus, 3500 BC – 2500 BC consisted of both Egyptian men and women who wore makeup for its supernatural powers. As an homage to the God Horus, heavily-lined eyes were the focal point of the face, which meant that eyebrows needed to be equally as prominent. They darkened, arched, and elongated brows by painting on carbon and black oxide substance.”
For as long as I could remember, I have kept mine somewhat neatly groomed. I think it was around the age of 13 that I started to pluck the stray hairs out at a hair salon. Then when I moved away for university I began having my brows threaded, which is the most painful brow-grooming process. Later on, I settled for waxing. It is habit that slowly developed into an obsession. I tended to feel unkempt if they outgrew the shape.
I have fond memories of watching my former nanny Margaret spend an hour in front of the mirror everyday as she prepared to leave work, highlighting her lips with a black eyeliner pencil and then drawing her brows on. I think this is where I gathered that brows must always look a certain way before one is deemed presentable. She took so much pride in it.
