Eyebrows typically contain about 500 hairs. They grow about twice as slowly as hairs on non-balding heads.
VIDEO TRANSCRIPT
Hey doc, why do we have eyebrows?
Good question! Every other part of our face has a clear purpose. Our nose smells, our mouth tastes, our eyes see. So what’s the point of our eyebrows?
Well, there is one, and you may find it surprising: they’re there to keep dirt and water out of our eyes.
When rain or sweat hits the eyebrows, it flows off to the side of the face instead of into our eyes and irritating them.
Now, that may not be a big deal to those of us with umbrellas and headbands, but to our ancestors, eyebrows were big assets, helping them see clearly as they hunted for food or ran from danger.
Today, our eyebrows are more aesthetic than functional. They help draw attention to our eyes.
They also convey emotion like surprise or anger.
Even though eyebrows are beneficial, we’re always looking for ways to minimize them. Women pluck and wax their eyebrows to make them thinner, and men try to get rid of that dreaded unibrow.
Keep in mind that over-plucking your eyebrows can lead to permanently thin or patchy brows. As a result, more women are requiring brow transplants, which can cost $5000 or more. That’s an eyebrow-raising price to pay for beauty.
For stump the doc, I’m Dr. Charlotte Grayson.