Why Are My Eyebrows Getting Thinner as I Get Older?
Updated: 2 days ago
Eyebrows thin with age because of a combination of factors: a slower growth cycle, smaller follicles, hormonal shifts, less resilient stem cells and, for some of us, years of plucking. Some of that you can’t change. A lot of it you can support.
Here’s something nobody tells you about eyebrows thinning with age: it’s never just one reason. It’s a combination of four, sometimes five, factors. Let’s look at them one by one, so you’ll understand your eyebrows better.
What can cause thinning eyebrows?
1. A slower growth cycle
Over time, the hair growth cycle naturally slows down. Follicles tend to spend less time in the active growth phase and longer in the resting phase, which means lost hairs take much longer to grow back.
2. Shrinking hair follicles
With age, follicles shrink and become less active. New eyebrow hairs can grow back thinner in diameter, sparser and lighter in color.
3. Hormonal shifts
Falling hormone levels, especially lower estrogen during menopause, can make brow hairs finer, particularly along the outer tail. Thyroid issues like hypothyroidism can also thin the outer third of the brows (sometimes called Hertoghe’s sign or Queen Anne’s sign).
4. Lower stem cell resilience
The specialized stem cells in the bulge region of the follicle drive hair renewal. With age, they lose some of their regenerative capacity, which makes self-repair and regrowth harder for the body.
5. And for some of us: past over-plucking
’90s and ’00s babies, this one is for you. Decades of repeated tweezing or waxing can damage the follicle. Over time, this may harm the stem cells in the bulge region, causing some follicles to go dormant or stop producing hair altogether.
So, is it all lost?
The first four factors are beyond our control, and the fifth is about the past. But that doesn’t mean you’re powerless. There’s a lot you can do to support the hair you still have and give some sleeping follicles the chance to wake up again.
The journey is different for everyone. Take my client Lotte, for example. She’s a ’00s brow girl: lots of plucking in her teens and twenties. I guided her brows, but her progress stayed modest. They’ve never really seemed to recover from all that tweezing.
Then there’s Marieke. I watched her brows turn thin and pale over about five years as she entered peri-menopause. I guided her too, and a few months later her eyebrows were so full and dark that the result surprised us both.
Why did it go so differently for these two women? My experience tells me that Lotte’s years of tweezing damage are hard to undo. Marieke’s follicles were responding to hormonal change, which seems easier to influence. That’s my observation from the studio, not a guarantee for anyone.
What I can and can’t promise
Truthfully, I can’t tell you exactly how your eyebrows will change over time. But I can say with certainty that they will.
I can’t guarantee that I’ll be able to help you slow down eyebrow aging and thinning. No one can, not a person and not a product.
But I can guarantee that I will not do anything that adds to your eyebrow thinning, and I will not advise you to either. In my experience, when we focus on the brows you have, and care for them mindfully and lovingly, you will age with the best possible brow for you.
What you can observe yourself
Your brows tell you a lot if you look at them calmly. Ask yourself:
Where is it thinning? Gradually along the outer tail, or all over?
Is it slow, over years, or did it happen quickly?
Are there patches with no hair at all?
Do you also notice other changes in your body?
Thinning at the tail can simply be part of getting older. It doesn’t mean something is wrong, and it isn’t proof of a thyroid problem.
When to see your GP
Check in with your GP if your brows thin suddenly, if hair falls out in patches, or if the thinning comes with other changes, such as persistent tiredness, feeling cold all the time, dry skin or unexplained weight changes. These can go together with a thyroid problem, among other things. Your GP can tell you whether further checks make sense.
What’s in your hands
So next time you wonder, “What is happening to my eyebrows?”, remember that some things are in your control:
Rest first. If you’ve plucked or waxed for years, the kindest first step is to stop for a while and give your follicles time. Regrowth takes months, not weeks, and it differs per person.
Then tweeze rarely. Once your brows have had their rest, tweeze no more than once every four to eight weeks. Give small hairs a chance to mature before you remove them, and only take out large hairs that are visible when you step back from the mirror.
Think carefully about a serum. It can be a good habit, as long as your expectations are realistic.
Look at the ingredients. Knowing what’s in a serum is key. I’ll write more about this in an upcoming article. [link: serum article, once published]
If follicles don’t come back, tinting, lamination or makeup can make the brow look fuller. They cover rather than regrow, but they can be a lovely addition to the brows you have.
Your brows have a story. Once you understand it, you can work with it.
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Sources
Nguyen, J. V. (2014). The biology, structure, and function of eyebrow hair. Journal of Drugs in Dermatology.
Lin, X., Zhu, L., & He, J. (2022). Morphogenesis, Growth Cycle and Molecular Regulation of Hair Follicles. Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology.
Chu, X., Zhou, Z., Qian, X., et al. (2025). Functional regeneration strategies of hair follicles: advances and challenges. Stem Cell Research & Therapy.
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