“Browlicks” Are Encouraging Us To Put Down The Tweezers — Finally

Raise your hand if you've got a “wild” eyebrow. If we were in a room together and not reading this on our phones, most people's hands would be in the air. Maybe you have a few brow hairs that fire up at an angle; if you're nodding along, you have what many brow artists affectionately call a “browlick” — and lucky you.

As the name suggests, a browlick is an eyebrow cowlick, and the hybrid term is slowly gaining traction on TikTok, where users are embracing the natural look. Like cowlicks in our hairlines, browlicks are characterized by one little section or patch of curls or splays against the grain. “What I see for some people is a little puff of hair in the very front of the brow that aims in the other direction, like towards the nose,” says brow artist Joey Healy.

There's a trend component, too, as experts say that brow lamination — a treatment that relaxes hairs and makes them more uniform — has all but died out. “The laminated look is so specific and calls attention to itself,” says Healy, and the same seems to be true for microblading. Instead of heavy brow hair manipulation, the current trend appreciates a natural brow shape and its nuances, encouraging browlicks — and even fashioning them using brow makeup — for character.

If you want to know if you have a browlick, consult your left eyebrow first. “At least 50% of my clients have a browlick,” says natural brow artist Denise Barbosa, “and almost always, it's on their heart side.” Brow artist Laura Frostad notes the same: “In the years I've been doing brows, about 90% of the brow cowlicks are only in the left brow,” she says, although it's not clear why. “I asked dermatologists why this might be the case,” says Barbosa, “but no one seems to have an exact answer. Most of the time, they say it's genetics.” Scientists believe cowlicks are in large part hereditary, so it stands to reason that browlicks could be, too.

While you can have a browlick in the arch or the tail of your brow — left or right — it's most commonly at the head, right near the bridge of your nose. “The beginning of the brow is a very unique part of the brow,” explains Healy. “What we see is one brow will kind of spray up in this little firework [pattern],” he adds, while the other brow naturally lays flat. Actor Zoey Deutch serves as a perfect example, thanks to a browlick on the head of her left brow. “It's a beautiful thing,” adds Healy. “Your brows should not be identical or perfectly symmetrical; if they're made or manipulated to be symmetrical, this can actually create an imbalance.”

First, what not to do with your browlick: Tweeze it away. “If you chop the fluffy brow, it's a completely reductive way of handling it, and it [might] not look great,” says Healy. Instead, Healy offers “gentle modifications” to maintain asymmetry and balance.

First, Healy recommends using a brow powder to fill in any sparse areas at or around the browlick. “In the very front, where the hair tends to go up more, you start to see hair and skin, and it can look a little gappy,” says Healy. “There, I like to use a little powder just to give the brow a bit of strength behind it. There's no need to make these hair-like flicks or strokes — just a whisper of color to put a little shadow on the skin. That way, the brows look uniformly dense.” Healy recommends his Joey Healy brow powder because it's “super light and soft.”

Step two: You can brush out the non-browlick brow to bring it closer to the one that has a browlick: “Use a tinted gel in the area that doesn't have the lick and feather it up a little bit,” offers Healy. “I would recommend using something with a very fine brush and a very opaque gel, like our Brow Laquer — something that will really hold, and kind of fan the other [brow] in the opposite direction. While they'll still be different, that can help them feel a little bit more balanced.”

However, the best 'hack' is reframing your perspective: “People have been trained to dislike the differences between their two brows,” says Healy. “I'm always asked to ‘fix’ the ‘weird’ brow, and I'm happy to do that, but it's a cool reframe to lean into the individuality.” What you find most frustrating about your brows, others may find charming — some might even try to replicate it.

If you haven't been blessed with a browlick, a little strong hold brow gel — like benefit 24-HR Brow Setter Clear Brow Gel, $27 — is all you need to create a faux or temporary look. Simply brush the head of one brow upwards and angle the hairs towards the bridge of your nose, emulating the charm of a browlick.

It's perhaps an odd comparison, but Healy is convinced that the browlick is going to become the brow version of faux freckles: “People can give themselves a browlick, and it will look natural and add interest to the face,” he says. “To break perfection makes everything prettier.”