Reading time: 6 min.
How To Grow Back Overplucked Eyebrows

Once upon a time, thin eyebrows were in fashion. Today, not so much. Thanks to celebrities like Cara Delevingne and Dua Lipa, thick, shapely brows are on trend. Some celebrities have even turned to eyebrow transplants to get the bushy brows they’re after.

So what do you do if you’ve made the mistake of overplucking your eyebrows? If you’ve been a little tweezer-happy in the past, here are our top tips on how to grow back overplucked eyebrows.

Table of Contents

Do eyebrows grow back?

Like the hair on your head, eyebrow hair goes through a 4-stage growth cycle: anagen (growth); catagen (transition); telogen (resting); and exogen (shedding).

Unlike scalp hair, which has an anagen phase lasting up to 7 years, the eyebrow hair growth phase only lasts up to 4 months. That’s why your eyebrows are much shorter than your scalp hair [1, 2]. After the hair has shed, the cycle restarts, so most of the time eyebrow hair will grow back.

Hair growth cycle
Visual representation of the hair growth cycle.

Overplucking your eyebrows can disrupt the hair growth cycle — but it doesn’t stop it altogether. Eventually, your eyebrows will grow back. It just might take a little while for your follicles to recover and start producing hair.

However, if your eyebrow plucking is sustained, it can cause permanent hair loss similar to that caused by trichotillomania [3]. Find out more about the causes of eyebrow hair loss.

How long does it take for eyebrows to grow back?

The eyebrow hair growth cycle differs from person to person. For most people, it falls somewhere between 3 and 4 months [2]. If you don’t start to see regrowth after around 4 months, you may be experiencing more sustained or permanent eyebrow hair loss.

How to grow eyebrows back

Eyebrow regrowth is a waiting game. You need to give your brows plenty of time to reestablish hair growth in your follicles. But there are a few ways to help your eyebrows grow back quickly.

1. Allow your overplucked eyebrows time to grow back

If you’ve made a mistake when plucking your eyebrows, you should expect it to take around 3 to 4 weeks for the hairs to grow back fully. Don’t try to overcompensate for the error by plucking further — you’ll just have to wait for more hairs to grow back in.

Those that have seriously overplucked and ended up with very thin brows will probably have to wait a while longer – possibly up to three months.

Our advice is to be patient. Stop tweezing them and give them a chance to grow back. In the meantime, use an eyebrow pencil or make up to fill in the blanks.

2. Eat a healthy diet

Just like when trying to grow your hair, it takes a healthy diet to promote good brow hair growth, too. Make sure you are getting plenty of vitamins in your diet, including Vitamin A, B6, C, and E, which are all essential for promoting healthy hair growth.

Eating foods like carrots, leafy green vegetables, fruits and fortified rice as part of a balanced diet, will ensure you get the vitamins and nutrients you need to grow back those brows.

3. Stay hydrated

In addition to getting plenty of vitamins, you need to make sure you’re keeping your body hydrated. Drinking plenty of water will keep your hair hydrated and healthy, helping it to grow back faster.

4. Avoid thick cosmetic products

Concealer, foundation and other thick makeup products can clog up your pores, making regrowth more difficult. Avoid loading up your brows with makeup and even thick creams or moisturisers. A light eyebrow pencil or powder is OK.

5. Try Microblading

Microblading is a popular solution for creating the brow shape you want. This non-invasive procedure lasts for 1-3 years, so it’s a good option if you want semi-permanent brow fullness while you wait for your real eyebrow hair to grow back.

6. Use angled tweezers

If you can’t resist plucking out individual rogue hairs while you wait for the bulk of your brows to grow back, use angled tweezers to do it. These help you locate and extract single hairs more easily, so you don’t accidentally pull out more hairs than you want to.

7. See an eyebrow loss specialist

Hair loss specialists may be able to help you find a medical treatment to help stimulate growth in your eyebrows. Certain hair growth medications and topical solutions can sometimes be prescribed if you’re not seeing results after a hair growth cycle (usually around 3-4 months).

8. Try a topical solution, supplement, or natural remedy

Minoxidil is a widely used topical hair growth solution, and it’s been shown to work on eyebrows as well as scalp hair [4].

Other supplements and natural remedies have also been touted as hair growth solutions. These may be worth considering if you want a cost-effective option for restoring your overplucked eyebrows. However, bear in mind that the eye area is very sensitive, so don’t use products that could be harmful or irritating to your eyes. If in doubt, check with your doctor before using any supplements or topical solutions.

9. Fake it ’til you make it

Whilst you’re waiting for your eyebrows to grow back properly, you can always use a pencil, gel, or powder to fill in the gaps. We recommend choosing a shade that is a little bit lighter than your brows, this will prevent you going overboard and ending up with unnatural-looking brows.

With a light hand, create small strokes to fill in your brows and give them a fuller look.

There are a number of great eyebrow products available from both high-street and high-end makeup brands. You will find some products easier to work with than others – it’s all about finding what’s right for you. The key is to start subtly and build up the brow shape.

What to do if your overplucked eyebrows don’t grow back

Overplucked eyebrows don’t always grow back, especially if they’ve been plucked too thinly or too often. But the good news is that you can now get fuller eyebrows with an eyebrow transplant.

Eyebrow transplant involves taking between 250 and 400 donor hairs from somewhere else on the body (often behind the ears) and implanting them on the eyebrow area. This is done with tiny needles to ensure there is no scarring.

The end result is natural, fuller eyebrows that look healthy and youthful. Eyebrow restoration is a very simple process, so if you’ve overplucked your eyebrows and are struggling to get them back to their original state, it’s definitely worth considering.

Book an eyebrow transplant consultation

If you’re concerned that your overplucked eyebrows aren’t growing back, book a free consultation with our eyebrow hair loss specialists.

The Wimpole Clinic has years of experience carrying out hair and eyebrow transplants. If you are interested in finding out more about eyebrow restoration at our Harley Street hair transplant clinic, we recommend talking to our specialists directly.

How To Grow Back Overplucked Eyebrows, Wimpole Clinic

The Wimpole Clinic offers FUE Hair, Beard & Eyebrow Transplants & Trichology.
Talk to a specialist ☎ 020 7935 1861.

Book a consultation

Simply fill in your details in the form below and we'll get in touch with you shortly.