A hotly debated topic when it comes to discussing masculinity, you may be asking yourself: should men trim their eyebrows? The answer is that it depends. When it comes to whether or not men should trim their eyebrows, we want to look at this from a few different angles.
For some men, it may be beneficial to trim your eyebrows to make yourself look clean and well-groomed. For other men, it may not be necessary at all outside of a conscious aesthetic choice.
The Gentleman’s Playbook is here to explain a few of the reasons men should trim their eyebrows.
A Quick Note on Masculinity and Eyebrow Grooming
Before we dive into some of the reasons behind male eyebrow grooming, we wanted to address who this article is aimed toward.
This article is primarily targeted toward cis-men who may be trying to validate whether eyebrow trimming, waxing, etc. is emasculating or not.
The short answer for this crowd is that there is nothing emasculating about keeping yourself well-groomed, even when it comes to your eyebrows.
That being said, The Gentleman’s Playbook welcomes people from all walks of life. The truth is, masculinity boils down to doing what you feel brings you closer to your best self.
We are not here to push or promote toxic masculinity, but we understand there’s a segment of men who may be nervous about grooming their eyebrows for fear of being perceived as less manly. If this is you, there’s no need to be nervous about asking: should men trim their eyebrows?
Let go of that fear, if you have it, and embrace the power of eyebrow grooming! Well-groomed eyebrows are manly eyebrows.
Reasons for Men to Trim Eyebrows
Let’s dive into some of the reasons men may want to trim their eyebrows. We will start with practical and professional reasons men should trim their eyebrows.
After that, we will discuss some of the other reasons you may want to trim your eyebrows as a man, primarily focusing on the kind of eyebrows you may have and the way your eyebrow hair grows.
Presentation
To start, your presentation as a man is important. When we say, “presentation,” we are talking about the way you present yourself to the world.
Presentation is how you want to be perceived by others – it’s the story you tell with your appearance. We don’t mean things like what color you wear, but we are talking about how you take care of yourself.
When you have an interview or go on a date, you want to make sure you present yourself in a way that shows you’re a man who keeps yourself well-groomed, hygienic, and presentable.
If you have naturally unruly eyebrows, it would be beneficial to keep them well-groomed, enhancing the way you present yourself to your professional and personal connections.
Whenever other men have questioned the reason I get my eyebrows waxed, I always tell them:
“If I’m in a room of other men who don’t have their eyebrows groomed, I’ll be the one who people look at and wonder what I do to look so sharp.”
The secret is, I had my eyebrows waxed.
Unibrow
Another reason men should trim their eyebrows is the common unibrow. There’s a lot of back and forth on whether trimming or waxing a unibrow is a good idea, but generally speaking, we are going to say it is.
If you like the aesthetic of having a unibrow, then rock it! If you don’t, then our advice is to keep it trimmed or waxed.
The truth is, a large section of the population (especially in Western cultures) find unibrows to be unattractive on all sexes. If you are scratching your head as to why you aren’t getting matches on your dating profile, you may want to consider trimming the unibrow.
So, should men trim their unibrow? Yes, in most cases trimming your unibrow will be a net positive both professionally (appearing well-groomed and more professional) and personally (especially in dating).
Tame Overly Thick Eyebrows
Another reason men should trim their eyebrows would be to reduce overly thick eyebrows!
In most cases, thick eyebrows aren’t an unattractive feature on men. However, with thicker eyebrows comes more unruly hair to get under control. A great way to keep it controlled is to simply use a trimmer with a guard, and go over the eyebrows.
The goal isn’t to shave off too much length, but to reduce some volume and make your eyebrow hairs a more uniform length, which will make those luxurious thick caterpillars look more tame and majestic.
Clean Up Long, Wispy Brows
Outside of having a unibrow or thick eyebrows, another reason men should trim their eyebrows is to clean up long and wispy brow hairs.
Sometimes we get long eyebrow hairs that don’t match the length with our other eyebrow hairs. These can be handled with proper male eyebrow grooming!
You just need to trim your eyebrows properly or break out the tweezers if it’s only a handful of wispy brows.
By cleaning up long, wispy brow hairs, you’ll keep your eyebrows looking nice and neat and not so chaotic and unkempt.
Visit a Barbershop for Eyebrow Maintenance
Before we wrap up, we wanted to take a moment to mention that when it comes to eyebrow grooming for men, the best route to go is to go to your local barbershop.
Make sure it’s one that you already trust, as well. A men’s barbershop will know exactly how to clean up your eyebrows in a way that works for your face and your eyebrow type.
Alternatively, you could take a DIY approach, but if you end up with a botched job, you’ll be showing off those DIY-mangled eyebrows for a couple of weeks at the office.
When it comes to messing with your face, especially your eyebrows, invest the money in having a professional do a top-notch job for you. We can’t stress this enough.
Conclusion
Should men trim their eyebrows? Yes, they should, depending on the context. We’ve outlined some common reasons men should trim their eyebrows:
- Perception (being well-groomed is a good look for anyone)
- Getting rid of a unibrow
- Reducing overly thick eyebrows
- Taming thick eyebrows
- Cleaning up stray, wispy eyebrow hairs
The Gentleman’s Playbook has also debunked any perception that male eyebrow trimming is not masculine. The truth is, anything that improves your presentation and appearance in a way that makes you more confident is manly. Whether that means you rock your eyebrows as is or clean them up a bit.