Consider 2017 the year of bizarre brow trends. Everything from the Nike swoosh and McDonald’s arches to squiggle lines and faux braids have taken over the eyebrows of the adventurous. Now, with nostalgia being so in vogue, there’s been a resurgence of a classic brow shape that your favorite rappers used to sport back in the late ’80s and early ’90s: eyebrow cuts.
Toronto-based beauty blogger Menal Khan uploaded a photo of her “extra” eyebrows with the caption: “Felt like annoying everyone by doing something hella unnecessary with my eyebrows. I call them, the boxed brows.”
Khan first glued down her entire brow (a technique commonly used by makeup artists backstage at Fashion Week) to smooth it out. Then she used Anastasia Beverly Hills Pomade in Soft Brown to replicate the box shape and exaggerated the hair strokes with Kat Von D Beauty Liners in Mad Max Brown and Trooper. Tarte Cosmetics Shape Tape helped Khan to “carve out the shape further.”
The 25-year-old’s “boxed brows” has gained over 1,500 likes on Instagram. Followers impressed by the look wrote “Very creative love it,” “I aspire to be your level of extra lmao I loveeeee,” and “Way better than the squiggly brows!!” Khan’s makeup skills even caught the eye of beauty guru Huda Kattan , who reposted the pic on her account and racked up over 154,000 likes.
But as one woke commenter noted: “Sorry to disappoint this is definitely not new.”
Big Daddy Kane was one of the very first hip-hop artists to popularize eyebrow cuts. The sharp gaps in his brows accentuated his hi-top fade and killer cheekbones.
Many other rappers have since adopted the look and attempted to make it their own, including Vanilla Ice…
… Kriss Kross…
Soulja Boy…
… and Bow Wow, aka Shad Moss.
Far from a trend or being entirely “new,” eyebrow cuts may also identify gang affiliation with the number of cuts allegedly representing one’s clique.
While Khan didn’t elaborate on the inspiration for her boxed brows or explain whether she was inspired by any of these rappers, calling it “boxed brows” is wrong. The lack of acknowledgement of any hip-hop influence could be her unawareness of where the look truly originated.
However, we can’t help but recall that time where undercut designs were culturally appropriated and redefined as “hair tattoos.” Any individual whose stepped foot inside a barbershop in a predominately black or Latino neighborhood knows that etching crisp and imaginative works of art with a pair of clippers didn’t start on Instagram or Twitter — social media simply elevates these looks beyond your neighborhood salon.
So to summarize: boxed brows aren’t new and you should refer to them as eyebrows cuts.
Read more from Yahoo Lifestyle:
- The real issue with Victoria’s Secret Angels singing the N word along with Cardi B
- Sorority sister apologizes after Pocahontas costume backlash
- White couple with dreadlocks proudly celebrate ‘2 years of Cultural Appropriating’
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