Welp, Gen Z Dudes Are Apparently into Brow-Maxxing

Over the past few years, looksmaxxing has become the new cult for Gen Z men. Spearheaded by the influencer Clavicular and his ilk, the trend espouses all manner of personal grooming tips to (as the name suggests) maximize one’s appearance. Some are humorously obvious—like brushing your teeth—and others veer into the dangerous, as influencers promote techniques like “bonesmashing” (bone remodeling through blunt force trauma), steroids, drugs and other methods for attaining a specific physique.

And then, there are the treatments that fall in-between, like eyebrow maxxing. It’s not a “no duh” personal hygiene practice, but neither is it endangering one’s health. Rather, Gen Z men are finally succumbing to the beauty treatments to which women have subjected themselves for decades—and they’re just putting a bro-y spin on it. Below, I spoke with two brow artists about what exactly brow maxxing can entail, and whether a popular component of the practice, “brow-mapping,” should be taken seriously.

• Tanishka Thomas is the founder of The Brow Connect in New York City. She specializes in luxury brow services including lamination, tint, and brow sculpting.
• Yazmin Ibrahim is a licensed esthetician with over 20 years of experience in threading and waxing. She is the founder of Yaz Beauty Studio in New York City.

Eyebrow maxxing content abounds on TikTok, where young men reveal their brow grooming routines, give styling tips and show themselves in an esthetician’s office being waxed and threaded. In this way, brow maxxing isn’t a singular treatment so much as that it is a beauty routine with a new name to give a splash of machismo. It includes, but is not limited to, waxing, threading, plucking, growth serums, coloring and trimming. ‘90s brows these are not—instead of being overplucked into oblivion, brow maxxing focuses on full, but not unruly, eyebrows that are distinctly shaped.

It is true that eyebrows frame your face—but do they also change your face shape (or the perception of it)? In some ways, yes. Ibrahim explains: “Shaping the brows…[can lift the appearance of] the eyes and will balance the features. If brows are shaped according to [your] face structure, [they] can [give] structure to a soft face, make the face look more youthful or slim [it out]. [They can also be used to] soften a sharp jawline.”

When it comes to optimizing your brow shape, Many TikTokkers will espouse the idea of brow mapping. Essentially, they’ll use a ruler, brow pencil or digital overlay to mark specific points on their face and brows before getting to work. Thomas regularly employs this technique in her practice, noting that it’s often referred to as “the golden ratio” in the industry.

“This helps create the illusion of having symmetrical brows,” she tells me. Brow mapping consists of marking certain points of the brow bone, which then guide you as you shape them. Thomas uses a pigmented thread; content creators I’ve observed use a ruler or even freewheel it with an eyeliner pencil.

First, you mark the points where your eyebrows start, measured from the tip of your nose up to the beginning of your eyebrow. Then, taking the ruler or marking of choice, you make a line from the tip of your nose to the highest point of your eyebrow, which Thomas explains marks the apex of the arch on your brow bone. Another line connects the tip of your nose to the outer corner of your eye; extrapolate it upwards to find where your brow should end. The last line is drawn from one end of your eyebrow to the other, and this tells you how thick the brow should be.

Trends often have a one-size-fits-all approach, achievable only by attaining a hyperspecific look or product. When it comes to brow mapping and brow maxxing, though, the technique is the same, but results will vary from person to person, since everyone’s bone structure is different. And to Thomas, that’s a good thing.

“Your face is the main character, right? Your beauty is just your whole entire face,” she says. “Your brows are just being featured. We always want to create brows that accommodate your natural features.” In other words, what’s working for the influencer online may not be the best for your face shape. And that’s OK.

Eyebrow maxxing isn’t a one-and-done treatment, and some services require a professional’s touch. Between appointments (Ibrahim recommends every four to five weeks), there are a handful of things you can do to keep your eyebrows in shape.

• When in doubt, don’t pluck. “You can pluck a few stray hairs, but [it’s] better to have more hair to work with than less,” she says, noting that you should pluck to closely to the brow’s shape.
• Add dry brushing to your nighttime skincare routine. Ibrahim recommends using a spoolie to dry-brush your brows before washing your face. “It helps to remove any dead [skin] cells, moisturizer, SPF and promotes more blood circulation.” The best technique is to brush the hair upwards and then out as you near the end, which, Ibrahim tells me, helps train your hair to grow in a certain direction.
• Eyebrow serums are your friend. Those with sparse brows may benefit from a growth serum; Ibrahim also recommends cold-pressed castor oil but cautions that the results will be slower.
• Use a pencil to fill in sparse spots. Listen up, men. This is a quick way to give the illusion of fullness. Go in with a pencil and fill in any dead spots for an instant fix.