Did I Kill My Eyebrows?

[DriftingCrow]

I haven't plucked my eyebrows since mid-November (and even before then, I was getting kind of lazy so they weren't as thin and perfect as I used to keep them), but so far not much has grown back, only a few dark hairs and just some peach fuzz:



I've heard lots of conflicting statements about the affects plucking can have on hairs. Some people say that plucking can damage the nerves which can eventually kill off the follicles ability to grow hairs, others say that the more you pluck the hairier you'll get because it'll irritate the nerves and cause more hair growth, others say it's all BS.

Is this a normal amount of eyebrow hair to have for a bit over 2 months of not plucking after years of plucking? I used to not pluck, and I had catepillar eyebrows, so it seems a bit odd that I don't have at least a few more dark hairs. 

[Shang]

Some places say that plucking can kill the hair follicles.  After one year or so of not plucking my eyebrows, my eyebrows still have not grown in fully and appear to have the look of just being plucked or at least shaped in some way.  They have also been waxed, however, as I couldn't see the arch of my eyebrow and it was easier. 

Your eyebrows may never grow back, at least not to the thickness they had been.  But it's not necessarily something that can be bad.  I've seen guys with nicely shaped eyebrows and eyebrows that are in better shape than mine.

[Emily Aster]

I don't know how long it takes to get to that point, or even if my grandmother was being serious for that matter, but I remember her saying that she plucked her eyebrows for so many years that they stopped growing back. She always had to paint them on.

[wheat thins are delicious]

you might have.  My mom plucked her eyebrows as a teen (think she said she only plucked them once) and they never grew back.  Not saying that is always the case.

[Tejas]

Personal experience: It does not seem to have affected me at all. Even before T, my hair (head, legs, eyebrows, etc) grew back insanely fast whether I plucked or shaved. The speed at which it grows hasn't changed since being on T, but I can add my face to the mix now. For example, I could shave my head skin bald and within a week, there's at least 1/8" on my head. I still pluck some strands on my eyebrows, but just the ones that seem to grow in odd or away from the others. I think it might depend on how fast your normal hair growth is to begin with too.

[smooth]

Different rules apply to eyebrow hairs than hairs in other face/body areas. I don't know why but this is the case. Plucking eyebrow hairs for some people will result in them not growing back. For some this happens quickly for others it takes years and for some no difference. Some plucked hairs can take as long as 9 weeks to re appear depending on area and the person and what's typical. Some hairs will lay dormant for ages before they rear their heads again. Some hairs will also reduce with age ie head legs and arms. Other areas will increase chest, back, ears, nose and eyebrow/nasal hair length. Isn't old age wonderful 

[Lara1969]

In Germany there is a eyebrow growing drug called M2 Brows from M2 Beaute available. As far as I know the only drug which let the eyebrows grow in 8-12 weeks of using it. It is not cheap and costs 130Euro here in Germany. I use it and I see significant growth after 6 weeks. I had only very few hair in my eyebrows.

I do not know if it is sold worldwide.

Lara

[summer710]

Your brow picture and story line is similar to my experience.

I've been plucking, threading, and waxing my brows for years, and there is now a natural, shaped arch that I don't really have to mess with anymore.  I still trim the insides, but there is a noticeable area of no growth that coincides with the plucked and waxed areas (and I have fairly dense, dark hair).  Of course, whenever I plucked, I made darn sure to get that follicle bulb out (like yanking weeds from a garden!), so I'm fairly certain I traumatized the follicles to impede future growth. 

- Summer   

[Lara1969]

I currently try out Minoxidil and Propecia. It stimulated hair growth on the head for a lot of people. But I just started so I do not have any results till now.

Lara

[Proton]

I pluck in between my eyebrows - have been doing so for a few years - and it definitely takes longer to grow back than it used to.

I also used to shape them, but those hairs don't seem to have changed much.