Unibrow

A unibrow (or jacco brow or monobrow; called synophrys in medicine) is a single eyebrow created when the two eyebrows meet in the middle above the bridge of the nose.[1] The hair above the bridge of the nose is often of the same color and thickness as the eyebrows, giving the appearance that they converge to form one uninterrupted line of hair.

Close up of a unibrow.

History

The first known use of the word unibrow was in 1988.[2]

Culture and beauty

Oman

A unibrow is considered as a sign of beauty in Oman. Its popularity causes women to draw a black line joining the brows as a part of their routine makeup to fake a unibrow. A study found the prevalence of synophrys to be at 11.87% in the Omani population.[3]

Tajikistan

In Tajikistan,[4] a unibrow is viewed as an attractive quality in both men and women. For women, it is associated with virginity and purity and, in men, virility. If there is no unibrow present, or if it is weak, it is commonplace for women to use a kohl liner or a modern kajal pen to simulate a unibrow.

Elsewhere

The unibrow has largely been seen as undesirable in the Americas and Europe, with the hairs often plucked, shaved, or waxed away.[5][6][7]

Frida Kahlo

The artist Frida Kahlo was famous for her unibrow, which she often depicted in self-portraits.[8][9] Model Sophia Hadjipanteli is also known for her unibrow.[10]

Medicine

Genetics

The unibrow is a recessive genetic trait.[11] It is associated with the PAX3 gene.[5][12]

Medical conditions

A unibrow is part of normal human variation, but can also stem from developmental disorders. A unibrow is a recognized feature of Cornelia De Lange syndrome, a genetic disorder whose main features include moderate to severe learning difficulties, limb abnormalities such as oligodactyly (fewer than normal fingers or toes) and phocomelia (malformed limbs), and facial abnormalities including a long philtrum (the slight depression/line between the nose and mouth).

Other medical conditions associated with a unibrow include:

Cornelia de Lange Syndrome

See also

References

  1. "confluent eyebrow". TheFreeDictionary.com. Retrieved 2016-02-02.
  2. "Definition of UNIBROW". www.merriam-webster.com. Retrieved 2016-02-02.
  3. Synophrys: Epidemiological Study.P.Kumar. Int J Trichology.2017;9(3):105-107.doi: 10.4103/ijt.ijt_14_17 PMC 5596643.
  4. Elder, Miriam (November 27, 2010). "Where the unibrow reigns". Global Post. Retrieved November 13, 2011.
  5. "Why Does Food Taste Bad After You Brush Your Teeth?". 2018-08-24. Retrieved 2018-08-27.
  6. Adame, Amanda (2017-05-25). "People Are Embracing The Unibrow – Here's Why It's A Good Thing". Konbini United States. Retrieved 2018-08-27.
  7. Usborne, Simon (2017-05-03). "Why it's finally cool to have a monobrow". the Guardian. Retrieved 2018-08-27.
  8. "An Open Letter to the AGO About Frida Kahlo's Unibrow – Shameless Magazine". shamelessmag.com.
  9. "Why Frida Kahlo's unibrow is important". NET-A-PORTER.
  10. "Meet the model 'owning' her unibrow". Stuff.
  11. "Human Traits". faculty.southwest.tn.edu. Retrieved 2016-02-02.
  12. Adhikari, Kaustubh. "How we discovered the genetic origin of the 'monobrow' and other hair traits". The Conversation. Retrieved 2018-08-27.
  13. "Chromosome 3p- syndrome | Genetic and Rare Diseases Information Center (GARD) – an NCATS Program". rarediseases.info.nih.gov. Retrieved 2018-08-27.
  • Media related to Unibrows at Wikimedia Commons
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