Debunking Medical Myths: The Eyebrow Shaving Myth

Abstract

The shaving of eyebrows has long been a clinical taboo. When a patient has a facial laceration or some other facial trauma involving or near the eyebrow, clinicians have classically been taught not to shave the eyebrow for fear that the hair will not grow back or will grow back abnormally. And, the fact that the eyebrow is so important for facial expressions and aesthetics further amplifies this concern. In this article, we briefly discuss the problem of perpetuated medical myths and discussed the outcomes of our review of the literature concerning the belief that eyebrows should never be shaved. We did not find a single article supporting this teaching in our review of the literature. Finally, we discuss other etiologies of eyebrow hair loss that may have contributed to this myth and review several more legitimate reasons for not shaving an eyebrow.