Do Eyebrows Grow Back? How Long Do They Take to Grow?

Did you accidentally shave your eyebrows? Don’t worry! They tend to grow back even if you remove them.

Do eyebrows grow back? How long do they take to grow? Eyebrows do normally grow back after you cut them. The length of time for your eyebrows to grow back could take 4 to 6 weeks if you have healthy skin and hair follicles. 

There are some cases when eyebrows take a long time to grow back or don’t even grow back at all. Read on to learn more about eyebrows and when they grow back, as well as tips on how to take care of them.

Do Eyebrows Grow Back? How Long Do Eyebrows Take to Grow Back?

Hairs on the different parts of your body are considered external growths, just like your nails. You can cut or clip them, but they’ll regrow and continue to grow robustly. However, there are certain health conditions wherein hair may not grow back, such as permanent damage to the hair follicles and alopecia areata.

Alopecia areata is a type of autoimmune disease where the immune system mistakenly attacks the hair follicles. As a result, hair isn’t able to grow back.

Under normal circumstances, hair always grows back to its optimum length – including your eyebrows. Whether you have shaved them, plucked them, or waxed them off, they would surely grow back.

You would likely know if you have alopecia areata as the hair on your head will not grow back when cut, or you may have patches of bald spots. If you have this condition, then your eyebrows may not grow when cut. For the vast majority of people who do not have alopecia areata, your eyebrows will grow back after they are cut.

How to Make Your Eyebrows Grow Back Faster – 4 Tips

1. Allow Your Eyebrows to Grow Back Naturally

Keep your fingers from your brows. Don’t do anything when you see hair starting to grow. Just let them be. Start trimming them only when they have fully grown back. Also, avoid touching these areas after trimming as you may infect them with your dirty hands.

2. Observe a Healthy Lifestyle

For your hair to grow back quickly, your body must be healthy so that your immune system and other organs can function well. When they perform their normal function, they can help your eyebrows to grow back healthy.

Observing a healthy lifestyle means getting enough sleep and rest, exercising regularly, eating right, and avoiding alcohol or drug abuse. Substance abuse and addiction also affect your brain negatively.

For example, alcoholism can cause malnutrition, which often leads to poor skin and hair health. When your body is healthy, the physiological processes involved in hair growth will also function correctly.

3. Eat the Right Food

Some foods promote hair health and growth, and you have to eat more of these foods to speed up your eyebrow’s regrowth. Examples of these foods are avocados, spinach, eggs, nuts, salmon, oysters, berries, and food containing protein, calcium, and minerals.

If you have noticed, most of these foods are fruits and vegetables. However, you can also include lean meat and other legumes to your diet as these foods are rich sources of protein, which your hair needs.

4. Groom Your Eyebrows Properly

As your eyebrows start to grow back, groom them properly, and treat them well. Don’t pluck them carelessly, as you can damage the hair follicle permanently. Applying a small amount of baby oil can help groom them in place.

You can use a gentle and nonallergenic eyebrow pencil while the hair is still growing. Also, avoid harsh makeup as it can stunt the growth of your eyebrows and could damage your skin.

4 Factors Affecting How Fast Your Eyebrows Grow Back

So how fast do eyebrows grow back? As mentioned earlier, it can take approximately 4 to 6 weeks for eyebrows to grow back. What are some factors that affect how fast the eyebrows grow back? Below are some factors that could affect how fast your eyebrows grow back. You have to be aware of them so that you can manage your eyebrows properly.

1. Age

It is harder for hair to grow back the older you get. This aging factor also affects your eyebrows. As you age, the biochemical processes in your body slow down too. Hence, as you get older, your organs also become slower to respond to your body’s needs.

That’s why older people become hairless in the end because of this reason. But that won’t be a problem these days, as you can always draw your eyebrows and wear a wig. Also, you can make your eyebrows the way you want them to be.

2. Genetics

Your genes have something to do with your hair growth. Observe your parents and the way their hair grows. If your father became bald in old age, you would, most likely, be bald at the same age. If you are a female, observe your mother at her age. There’s a high percentage that you would look like her at that age.

However, exceptions to the rule do exist. So, don’t fret! There are artificial eyebrows or makeup you can use to fill your brows.

3. Diet

As previously explained, the food that you eat could affect the growth of your eyebrows. Eat the recommended foods mentioned above to nourish your body with the essential nutrients it needs. These foods will allow a healthy regrowth of your eyebrows.

Avoid too much salt, coffee, fat, and sugar since they can trigger or cause illnesses in your body. Instead, hydrate yourself adequately by drinking more than eight glasses of water daily. Your body’s cells are composed of 60-80 percent of water. Thus, you need to drink water so your cells can function properly.

4. Health Condition

Your overall health could affect the growth of your eyebrows. Unhealthy people also tend to have unhealthy hair growth. Having an underlying disease could also cause complications that would prevent your eyebrows from growing back.

Find out if you have any underlying diseases by consulting a doctor. When your health problem is properly diagnosed and treated, your brows will grow back eventually.

Why Did My Eyebrows Not Grow Back? 8 Possible Causes

There would be instances that your eyebrow hair won’t grow back due to existing physiological and pathological causes.

Physiological causes are not due to any sickness in the body, while pathological ones are due to diseases. Thus, conditions with a pathological cause are harder to treat than those caused by physiological ones.

1. Stress

Reportedly, stress can cause hair loss and slow hair regrowth. So, to combat this problem, you can perform calming exercises and relaxation techniques daily. Examples of these activities are meditation and yoga, which can help ease your mind and body.

Moreover, being an optimist relaxes you and causes less anxiety. Think positively to reduce your daily stress significantly. Remember, it will take more time for your brows to grow back if you’re always stressed out.

Stress also reduces your body’s immune response to illnesses. The immune system is the one responsible for defending the body against infections and other types of diseases. Also, stress is considered a physiological cause because you don’t need medications to cure it. The remedies for stress include natural relaxation and optimism, which could be quickly adopted as long as you put your mind into these activities.

2. Unhealthy Diet 

As previously mentioned, a poor diet can lead to nutrient problems in the cells. It can also prevent the growth of hair and other normal physiological functions of the body. An unhealthy diet could also be considered as a physiological cause as you can naturally heal your body by eating healthy foods.

3. Alopecia Areata

This pathological condition causes bald patches on your scalp. It’s an autoimmune condition in which hair loss could extend to your eyebrows due to the destruction of the hair follicles. The rest of the causes below also have a pathological nature.

4. Thyroid Diseases

Thyroid diseases, such as hyperthyroidism and hypothyroidism, can cause hair loss that doesn’t regrow. Thus, if your eyebrow doesn’t grow back, you may want to consider testing for your thyroid function. An underlying thyroid disease could be the primary reason why your eyebrows don’t grow back.

5. Malnutrition

Lack of vitamins and essential nutrients in your diet can cause malnutrition. When these vital substances are abnormally low, hairs on your eyebrows won’t also grow back as they should be. It may grow back, but it would be painstakingly slow. Therefore, your fruits and vegetables are crucial to your diet, as these foods are the primary sources of vitamins and minerals.

6. Anemia

Anemia is the lack of hemoglobin in your red blood cells (RBC). A low RBC count is the most common cause of anemia. When you’re anemic, it’s difficult for hair to grow back due to your dysfunctional RBCs.

7. Chemotherapy

In cases when a person is undergoing chemotherapy for cancer or other conditions, hair usually falls off. Eyebrows also become thinner and won’t quickly grow back again. The reason is that chemo kills not only the cancer cells but also the healthy cells, making it difficult for your hair to grow back normally.

8. Protein Deficiency

Having a protein deficiency can make it hard for your eyebrows to grow back because they require protein to regrow. You can get protein from eggs, lean meat, and legumes (peas, beans, and mung beans).

How to Take Care of Your Eyebrows – 6 Tips

Taking care of your eyebrow is relatively easy. Just be gentle with it, like how you’re gentle with the hair on your head.

1. Don’t Pluck Your Eyebrows Forcefully

Forcefully plucking your eyebrows could damage the hair follicles and could permanently prevent hair from growing back. If your eyebrows are sensitive, it’s best to visit an eyebrow expert to trim them safely.

It’s also better to seek help from an expert than doing it yourself and inflicting injury to your skin. But if you’re confident with your skills, then you can go ahead and do it.

2. Make Use of an Eyebrow Comb

You can use an eyebrow comb to comb the hair in place. If there are 1-2 stray hairs, you can trim them carefully using a small pair of hair scissors. Instead of pulling the hair roughly, stroke it gently to untangle or comb the hair into place.

3. Allow Hair to Grow Naturally

In cases when you have accidentally shaved or plucked your eyebrow hair, don’t panic. If you don’t have health problems, you should keep off your hands from the shaved area and allow the hair to grow naturally. Focusing on that ‘naked’ area could stress you out and only cause unnecessary anxiety. Remember, stress could also exacerbate your condition.

4. Apply Baby Oil Every Now and Then

Baby oil can help you groom your eyebrows while providing a moisturizing effect on your skin. Don’t overdo it, though, as it can also cause an accumulation of sebum in the hair follicles. Before applying baby oil, ensure that you’re not allergic to any of its ingredients.

In case of any allergic reactions, you can go to the nearest health facility in your area. A severe anaphylactic reaction can be fatal if not treated immediately. However, skin reactions to baby oil are rare.

5. Visit a Beauty Salon Regularly 

You can have your eyebrows trimmed and taken care of by a competent beautician. Pamper yourself and go for a body massage, facial treatment, hair treatment, and eyebrow trimming. You can do these treatments once or twice a month.

You can do the eyebrow trimming at home, if you are skilled, but don’t short-change yourself! You deserve to enjoy a bit of luxury when it comes to your beauty regimen.

6. Maintain a Healthy Lifestyle

Again, maintaining a healthy lifestyle won’t only allow your hair to grow back quickly, but it’s also a safe and effective way to ensure that you stay fit, trim, and healthy. A healthy body is equivalent to having healthy hair and eyebrows. Need I say more?

Conclusion – Do Eyebrows Grow Back? How Long Do They Take to Grow? 

So to revisit our initial questions: Do eyebrows grow back? How long do eyebrows take to grow back? Yes, your eyebrows can grow back as long as you don’t have any underlying conditions that could prevent hair regrowth.

It would take approximately 4-6 weeks for your eyebrows to grow back. If it takes longer than that, you may want to enhance hair regrowth with your diet. Follow the steps and tips mentioned above to help you grow your eyebrows back as fast as possible.