How To Get Eyebrow Hair To Grow Back Quickly

Fact: Millenials know all too well the struggle of trying to regrow eyebrows (the early on aughts were a rough time). So if yous've spent the last few hours Googling how long it takes for eyebrows to go back, while as well panic-searching for the best countenance pencils and eyebrow tinting kits , and so hi, I've been there. Because while leg and armpit hair seem to grow at an outrageously fast charge per unit, eyebrow hair can feel like the slowest-growing hair of all time—and there are a ton of unlike factors that determine why.

That's why I chatted with two dermatologists to intermission downward everything you need to know about how to help your eyebrows grow back with both over-the-counter and prescription treatments, along with breaking downwards the DIYs that don't work (see: castor oil and vitamin E oil), and, virtually importantly, how long it all takes. So permit's go into information technology, shall nosotros?

Run into the experts

Meena Singh , Doctor, is a board-certified dermatologist at Kansas Medical Clinic Pilus Center in Shawnee, KS, who specializes in hair loss and pilus restoration.
Sophia Reid , Doctor, is a board-certified dermatologist at Trokhan Dermatology in Closter, NJ, who specializes in alopecia, skin cancer, and psoriasis.

What causes eyebrow hair loss?

According to dermatologist Sophia Reid, Doctor, the almost mutual crusade of eyebrow hair loss is over-plucking. "When people tweeze, rummage, or pluck their eyebrows too much, it causes trauma and inflammation to the hair follicle, which thins and slows the hair growth," says Dr. Reid. And if you have a habit of pulling at your brows when you're anxious or stressed (aka trichotillomania), you may also exist contributing to the trauma and damage from over-manipulation.

However, if yous truly never touch your brows, let lone pluck them, and you're still experiencing eyebrow loss, it may be the result of certain skin atmospheric condition similar eczema, psoriasis, and alopecia, according to both Dr. Reid and dermatologist Meena Singh, Dr.. Even if your eyebrow area looks fine to you lot, retrieve that yous're not a md, and unknown thinning of your brow hair warrants a give-and-take with a dermatologist to narrow down the exact cause. The quicker you discover out why, the quicker y'all can start a treatment programme, which brings usa to:

How long do eyebrows have to abound back?

While eyebrow hair grows slower than the pilus on your caput, at about 0.fourteen millimeters per 24-hour interval, according to Dr. Reid, the time it takes for your eyebrows to fully grow back depends on the cause of pilus loss, the health of the hair follicle, and where the hairs are in their growth bike. So before we go to the bodily timeline, here'southward a quick break downwardly the life of a hair follicle:

The full growth cycle of eyebrow hair:

The anagen phase (the growing phase): The kickoff phase of the bike, when your brow hair is actively growing to its full, predetermined hair length, which normally takes 30 to 45 days.
The catagen phase (the transition phase): During this phase—which lasts about iii weeks—the pilus follicle shrinks, the hair stops growing, and your eyebrow hair sits stable after reaching its full length.
The telogen phase (the resting phase): In this terminal phase, your fully-grown hair sits inactive and resting for two to four months before it sheds and gets replaced with a new brow hair starting in the anagen phase once again.

A healthy, un-traumatized follicle that has been tweezed or waxed volition take three to four weeks to grow back to the betoken where yous can actually run across the pilus piercing through your skin, says Dr. Reid. Then add together on another month (at to the lowest degree) earlier the hair is at its full length, and that brings you lot to a total of two to iii months to see full regrowth of your eyebrow pilus.

But if you exercise take damaged hair follicles, depending on how damaged they are (which, again, requires a conversation with a dermatologist or trichologist), Dr. Singh says information technology's still possible to regrow them with the aid of topical treatments that contain the agile ingredient minoxidil (more on that below).

"Equally long as you have stem cells in the pilus follicle, the hair can start to regrow in two to three weeks, but information technology will take two to three months earlier they are fully regrown, if they do come back," Dr. Singh says. Without treatments, the hair volition either grow much slower or not at all (if the follicle is damaged), and yous might want to wait into other options similar countenance tinting or microshading.

Desire fuller-looking brows asap? Try a tint while you wait

Huda Beauty #BombBrows Full 'n Fluffy Volumizing Fiber Gel

Huda Dazzler #BombBrows Full 'n Fluffy Volumizing Fiber Gel

Godefroy Professional Tint Kit

How long will eyebrows abound back after shaving?

If shaving is your go-to facial pilus-removal method, hither'due south some proficient news: Shaving doesn't damage the follicle the same fashion tweezing and facial waxing can, and it won't take equally long to abound back. You tin can expect to see hair stubble in a few days, and full regrowth in six weeks. And despite the myth of shaving making your hair grow faster, information technology won't: It will still grow at the aforementioned rate of .14 millimeters per twenty-four hour period (and to give you some perspective, leg hair grows at a rate of .27 millimeters per day).

The only difference between shaving and tweezing (or waxing) is that the hair growth starts further along in the hair cycle. "When y'all shave the hair, the follicle is nevertheless underneath the pare," says Dr. Reid. "So it takes less time for you to come across it coming out than if yous were to pull the entire follicle out." And that also doesn't have into account regular ol' genetics and DNA, which means that some people'southward hair just grows faster than others.

What helps eyebrows grow back fast?

Dr. Reid says that at any ane time, all of your eyebrow hairs will be at different points of the hair-growth cycle, and there'southward also nothing y'all can do to forbid them from eventually shedding (circle of life, bb). Only both derms concur that the best manner to help grow fuller-looking brows is with OTC pilus-growth treatments similar Rogaine or Hers (both spiked with the active ingredient minoxidil), which you can get online or at the drugstore.

Minoxidil-based products don't actually increase the number of hair follicles in your skin (only a hair transplant can do that). Instead, Dr. Reid says, minoxidil lengthens the growth stage (aka the anagen phase) of the hair cycle, so that it takes longer for it to eventually fall out. It's important to notation here that minoxidil treatments require time and consistency before you'll see results: "You need to employ Rogaine for about three months before you see a benefit from it," says Dr. Reid. "And then when you terminate using it, you'll lose the benefit."

But before you start rubbing hair-growth products all over your brows, remember that your centre area is far more than sensitive than your scalp, so irritation is very possible. Dr. Reid says if you have sensitive skin or skin conditions similar eczema, be super cautious, as you would be with any new product. "If your eczema is flaring up around your optics, I wouldn't recommend using Rogaine," Dr. Reid says. In general, await for minoxidil products that are unscented or fragrance gratis, and make sure to patch test 24 hours ahead of time on your neck just below your ear.

four hair growth treatments to try:

Rogaine Women's 2% Minoxidil Topical Solution

Rogaine Women'due south two% Minoxidil Topical Solution

Women's Minoxidil 2% Topical Solution

Keranique Pilus Regrowth Treatment

Virtue Flourish Minoxidil Foam 5 For Women

Or, if y'all're worried (hey, off-white), you lot can e'er go for a prescription treatment that's specifically formulated for your brow area, which brings usa to…

Prescription brow-growth serums

Currently, there are no FDA-approved prescriptions to care for eyebrow loss. All the same, doctors commonly prescribe Latisse (the prescription-merely lash-growth serum) to assistance boost brow growth—and there are even studies to support its efficacy. "Latisse is actually only FDA-approved for eyelashes, but we utilise it off-label for people to put information technology on their eyebrows to help with eyebrow growth," says Dr. Reid.

While drugstore products may use minoxidil for pilus growth, Latisse is formulated with an active ingredient called bimatoprost, which helps stimulate the growth of new hairs within four to half-dozen weeks. Then while Latisse won't speed up the growth rate itself (deplorable, merely your DNA and hormones tin can practice that), it will help trigger the anagen stage of the bicycle, which can consequence in fuller-looking brows.

Thankfully, yous tin only go this one through your derm—which, FYI, if you tin't brand it to the office, y'all can ever try a virtual dermatology engagement—so they'll be able to reply all of your questions on side effects and directions.

At-dwelling house remedies

If you're here, you've probably already seen tons of forehead-growth DIYs on the internet, like brush oil, vitamin E oil, aloe vera, and coconut oil. Just, says Dr. Reid, these remedies don't actually increment hair growth or speed it up, they merely status and strengthen the hairs themselves. "They might give yous stronger, fuller-looking hairs, but they're not making you grow hair any faster," she says.

And so sure, give your brows a lil castor oil at night to proceed them shiny and healthy, just don't expect the hair to grow any faster. But if y'all really want to endeavour an at-home remedy, Dr. Singh says that rosemary oil could help encourage pilus growth, though, of course, won't exist almost as effective every bit prescription treatments.

Wanna start with an at-home remedy? Grab these Amazon-favorites:

Handcraft Blends Rosemary Essential Oil

Maple Holistics Pure Rosemary Essential Oil

RejuveNaturals Vitamin East Oil

Last notes

It's no secret that whatever kind of hair loss or thinning, while totally normal, tin can be a highly frustrating experience. And if yous're not ready to endeavor treatments similar minoxidil, there are other ways to go fuller-looking brows. Enter: countenance tinting, at-habitation countenance tinting kits, and microshading. And not to mention the many really good countenance pencils and eyebrow gels that, with a few swipes, can fill up in any sparse patches.

Then whether y'all but demand to look out your eyebrow hair growth, you want to start regular topical treatments like minoxidil or Latisse, or you simply need some really proficient eyebrow tools at your side, yous've got options for fuller-looking brows.

Sami Roberts Sami Roberts is the dazzler banana at Cosmopolitan, covering dazzler trends, news, and deep dives into all the beauty products you love in order to determine which ones are actually worth your coin (she knows more than any one person should know about deodorant!).