Beauty is in the eyebrow of the beholder
Have you ever seen someone without their eyebrows?
It’s very strange. Of course eyebrows impact a person’s expression, but I used to take them for granted in terms of their quite powerful effect on shaping someone’s look and identity.
Did you hear of (or potentially participate in) the whole Anthony Davis eyebrow hullabaloo? He’s a professional US basketball player who previously played for Kentucky during his university days and who, for a while, was best known for his unibrow. His unibrow became so interconnected with his identity that he trademarked it! Good for you, Anthony.
I rarely apply makeup, especially since I’ve been traveling and living abroad for almost two years, but when I do drawing in my eyebrows is always the bare minimum.
My eyebrow shape has changed over the years, both intentionally and unintentionally by not just the cultural trends but interestingly, and I guess not surprisingly, influenced by the content I consume. My eyebrow journey includes:
Half-missing (pre-teen): This was not a result of accidentally burning off my eyebrows but rather due to compulsively plucking away eyebrow hairs in response to stress and the only outlet I could conceive of was to pluck the hairs using my fingernails as tweezers. Pre-teen May did not have a mirror and did this in the back of a moving minivan, so when she sat across her mother at dinner several minutes later, her mother shouted out in horror. It wasn’t until many many years later when I found out that plucking out hair due to stress is a real thing; it’s a mental health condition known as trichotillomania that involves the compulsive urge to pull out hair. During those years I felt a lot of shame for these impulses and learning that I wasn’t alone in this compulsion was freeing.
Au natural (most of life): No pencil, marker, or powder. Just being their natural sparse selves, as many Asian eyebrows are.
Penciled-in, powdered-in, markered-in (post-university): I don’t think I actually used makeup products on my eyebrows until I graduated from university but I may be wrong here. If you recall differently and/or find photo proof, please share! I’ve played around with many products, much of which was based on a combination of the make-up trend of the time and my discretionary income. Maybelline’s felt multi-pronged pen (marker?) that creates a tattoo effect? Check. Covergirl’s eyeshadow tapped within my hairs? Check. Anastasia Beverly Hill’s much buzzed about eyebrow pencil? Check, but the e.l.f. eyebrow pencil with it’s appealing $2 price tag does about the same job.
But what’s been most interesting to observe is how my eyebrow shape has changed based on the content I’m consuming, whether that’s Netflix, magazines, or social media. The two main styles I’ve switched between are:
Arched: Ah yes the eyebrows I’ve seen for most of my life because the 90% of the people I saw on screen and in entertainment were white. Is it not surprising that I subconsciously styling my eyebrows in a way that is not natural to my Asian hairs?
Straight: This tends to be the natural shape for East Asian eyebrows. It was only after bingeing multiple K- and C-dramas (yes, all 57 episodes of each drama over a period of several months) that I realized I was drawing my eyebrows to be more straight and less dramatically arched. Huh.
I’ve gotten more comfortable with my eyebrows, and my physical looks, over the years and accepted them as they are. I’ve also started seeking out Asian eyebrow products, and Asian makeup products in general, especially mascara, because — surprise, surprise — it turns out Asian brands tend to have colors and products that work better for Asian people!
Which brings me to today. I got my eyebrows laminated and tinted, which lasts several weeks, as an experiment to see if this beauty service is one that is worth it as opposed to manually drawing in my eyebrows when I feel the need. It made sense to me to test out this service in an (East) Asian country with workers who were familiar with (East) Asian eyebrows.
I had first sought eyebrow tinting while in Chiang Mai, Thailand and went to a beauty spa that was recommended by someone from yoga teacher training (a white someone - you’ll see why this fact is important). As I walked in, I was greeted by the Asian receptionist who asked what service I wanted.
“I’d like to get my eyebrows tinted, please.”
She takes a look at my eyebrows.
“We don’t do your eyebrows.”
???
“What do you mean you don’t do my eyebrows? You don’t do Asian eyebrows?”
“Correct.”
Okay, I’m probably misunderstanding. Let me ask in a different way.
“So you only do white people’s eyebrows?”
“Yes.”
I was floored. I looked around at the other women in the spa with disbelief on my face - does anyone else think that this is absolutely absurd?! Looks of sympathy greeted me from both the customers and workers, but no one said anything.
Stunned, I walked out. I couldn’t believe that had just happened. What was the point of being Asian in an Asian country? How, why did this Asian-owned business only perform this beauty service for white people (or at least non-Asians)? I’d seen Asian women getting their nails done at this spa during my brief glance around the room, so it wasn’t complete discrimination against Asians…but what the fuck was going on?
I got my eyebrows done about an hour ago - in Hanoi, not Chiang Mai. Preliminary thinking is that while this was a good experiment and I don’t regret getting them, I think I’d prefer having the control to shape and design my eyebrows based on my mood and the look I want to achieve. However, I am glad that I tried this service in Vietnam and with someone who understands Asian eyebrows - beauty is in the eye of the beholder.