From Renaissance to Instagram: Who Shaves Eyebrows and Why

Shaved or bleached eyebrows are still at the forefront of modern fashion. - progressive make-up artists and desperate models go to this experiment more often, and the Russian children of the 2000s still remember the popular myth that if you shave your eyebrows, the new ones will grow thicker and more beautiful. If you step back from the beauty failures, the story remembers bright moments when the razor was very useful. We tell who and for what reason shaved eyebrows in different epochs from the Middle Ages to the Golden Age of YouTube.

Japanese tradition hikimayu

Traditional Japanese makeup is a separate art form with amazing techniques. Hikimaya has been known since the eighth century, when whitewash and bright pigments were used in make-up. The essence of the technique is simple: eyebrows were removed in different ways, and in order to balance the proportions, dark spots were applied to the bleached forehead. Shaving had a utilitarian function: it was easier to apply powder on smooth skin. In general, nothing like that, if you remember that modern girls willingly shave off the fluff on the face, so that the makeup goes smoother.

Egyptians and mourning for a cat

In fact, the Egyptians in honor were black and bushy eyebrows, and most of the rituals, which are today considered to be aesthetic, were endowed with completely different meanings. Thus, it was customary to shave eyebrows if a cat died in the house: the animal was worshiped as a deity and was honored with special honors. By the way, if a dog was dying, which was considered a conductor in the afterlife, the owners without a doubt shaved off all the hair on the head, and in this case the men were supposed to remove hair on the chest.

Shaved foreheads and eyebrows of the European Middle Ages

The most famous evidence that Renaissance fashion implied missing eyebrows was, of course, the “Mona Lisa”. The eyebrows were part of a single renaissance ensemble: a high forehead was valued so seriously that it was necessary to expand its natural boundaries not only from above, but also from below. Eyebrows were shaved and plucked not only by women, but also by men - such are the standards of beauty without gender boundaries. In England, Italy and France, the long-running fashion lasted from the XV almost to the middle of the XVI century.

1920s and Marlene Dietrich

With the development of cinema and photography and the emergence of a star system, the very concept of fashion itself took shape, and beauty standards began to change in almost every decade. Contrast black-and-white images required a bright make-up with well-drawn details - it was in the 20s that the eyebrow-strings of popularity rose on smooth skin with shaved natural hairs. An immortalized example is the icon of the style of Marlene Dietrich, but girls with the thinnest curved eyebrows can be seen in almost every silent film. Then the eyebrows began to ascend to breadth: already in the 30s, the “strings” will begin to be sculpted from natural vegetation.

1960s and Sophia Loren

Already by the 60s, the drawn eyebrows began to take positions, and the hippies were the first to announce the return to naturalness in different versions. Nevertheless, the tradition of removing eyebrows to make them even better did not go away for a long time. In particular, hair removal helped to achieve a luxurious look of eyebrows to the main movie star of the Sophia Loren era - but she already drew a bend with strokes imitating the natural growth of hairs. Technique is alive and well so far, but now we use it to add density.

Goths and their theatrical makeup

One of the last refuges for shaved eyebrows was the style of goats - a subculture that has been actively developing since the 1970s. By the end of the 90s, many areas emerged, according to which it was possible to collect a special wardrobe and makeup. The shaved eyebrows became almost obligatory for cybergoods, but in general this element of the Renaissance canon, along with the shaved forehead, was tried by many, drawing on top both laconic "strings" and coming up with new eyebrows of various unusual forms. YouTube is still full of inspirational tutorials.

David bowie and in fact a sad story

In the 70s, most pop-cultural characters, whose style the fans fancifully copied, boasted wide and very thick eyebrows, so it is not surprising that absolutely bald stripes of skin above the eyes, added to the image of Ziggy Stardust, looked amazingly bold. Later it became known that Bowie shaved his eyebrows as a result of a nervous breakdown, but then this detail perfectly completed the androgynous image of the musician.

90s and Kristen McMean

In this cool story, missing eyebrows literally helped make Kristen McMenman’s models a memorable career. Emphasized feminine image is not much distinguished her from the crowd of colleagues, but in the 90's androgynous potential revealed its appearance. In 1993, Kristen got rid of eyebrows, which only attracted more attention to progressive magazines and fashion houses that tried to keep up with the times. And Makmeni turned out to be a real rock star and clearly does not plan to grow eyebrows in 2018 as well.

Jazzsel Zanotti

Jazzsel is a representative of the youngest generation of models and instagram-celebrity, which approaches beauty issues, directly speaking against standards, and is not afraid to express her own opinion. She shaved her eyebrows and hair on her head at the dawn of her career, and now not only allows these photographers and makeup artists to use, but she herself comes up with the makeup herself with pleasure, without limiting her imagination. Rhinestones, graphic lines, star map - the face of the star of the podiums Ashley Williams and Ashish is ready for anything.

Jenna marbles

Of course, it is impossible not to recall the famous experiment of Jenna Marbles, who rather desperately approaches beauty issues. In her video, she said that, in fact, she often shaves her eyebrows by half in order to come up with a tail in different shapes for each day. Radical getting rid of hairs made Jenna even more delighted: she was able to draw herself evil eyebrows, sad eyebrows and even adidas eyebrows. We do not understand why it is still not repeated for everything.

PHOTO: Models, Wikimedia Commons, David Bowie, Daiei Studios, Les Films Concordia

Watch the video: how I draw on my eyebrows (November 2024).