Bleached Brows Are Back – But Were They Ever Really Gone?

A seemingly insignificant strip of hair above the eyes somehow holds the power to completely change the way we see someone.

Soften them, sharpen them, connect them or remove them entirely, eyebrows have always been far more then just another beauty feature.

That was certainly the case at this year’s Met Gala, where one striking beauty trend proved once again that it never really stays out of the spotlight for long.

Bleached brows.

From Kylie Jenner and Emma Chamberlain to Madonna, some of the biggest names on this year’s red carpet all seemed to agree on one thing, bold brows are out, and the skin-coloured brow is once again one of beauty’s most in demand aesthetics.

 

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But while this may feel like a new experimental beauty trend born out of the 2020s, the reality is it is anything but new.

In fact, eyebrow trends have always reflected changing ideas around beauty, celebrity culture and even social norms. Evolving from the thin pencil lines of 1920s Hollywood, to the bold, sculpted “Instagram brows” of the 2010s, and now to the daring, barely-visible brows dominating modern beauty culture.

Historically, eyebrows have often been used to visually subvert what is considered normal on the face. And while bleached brows may feel futuristic now, versions of the look can be traced as far back as the Elizabethan era, when higher foreheads and barely visible brows were considered fashionable.

And women would go through drastic and often harmful measures such as the use of lead-based cosmetics to achieve that light-coloured eyebrow look.

Thankfully, this beauty experiment no longer involves lead, and the modern version arrived much later.

 

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The modern version, arrived in the early 90s, when fashion houses like Alexander McQueen and Anna Sui began sending their models down the runway with bleach-blonde brows. While celebrities and fashion icons of the time such as Madonna and Kate Moss helped introduce the look into mainstream beauty, as something edgy and rebellious.

And then, just like most beauty trends, it disappeared.

Or at least, that was the case until 2016, when People magazine labelled bleached brows one of the biggest beauty debates from that year’s Met Gala, with stars like Kim Kardashian, Katy Perry and Lily Aldridge embracing the look a decade ago.

By 2021, W Magazine suggested the trend was surging once again, fuelled partly by the pandemic and rise in DIY culture and a growing obsession with more experimental looks from bangs to buzzcuts, eyebrows were no exception.

 

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Suddenly, celebrities like Lizzo, Kendall Jenner and later Kim Kardashian again keeping the trend alive. More recently, Jenna Ortega kept the conversation going after quietly debuting her own light-blonde brows months before turning heads once again at the London premiere of Wednesday season two.

And it seems every time bleached brows make another red-carpet appearance, platforms like TikTok and Pinterest seem to light up all over again, with home tutorials, mood boards and celebrity close-ups quickly flooding people’s feeds.

Which tells you everything.

Because whenever you think the bleached brow tend is going to die, it always seems to find its way back into the limelight.

And judging by this year’s Met Gala appearances, they may never have left at all.

Words by Andrew Connolly