If you’ve stared at any celeb selfie or TikTok video in the last month, you’ve definitely seen the incredible trend known as soap brows. You know—that brushed, slicked-up look, reminiscent of laminated brows? I vaguely remember saving the makeup hack in the infinite abyss known as my favourites folder, but only recently was I reminded of it, after seeing the 400th image on my Instagram. And, since I’m continually in pursuit of the perfect brows, I decided to finally give it a go on myself.
If you want to hear (and see!) how my experience went, keep reading! …And if you have no idea what I’m talking about, you should also keep reading! With the help of dermatologist Joshua Zeichner, MD, director of cosmetic and clinical research at Mount Sinai, I’m about to answer all of your questions about soap brows, including how to do it, the right soap to use (yes, it really does require soap), and whether or not it’s actually worth trying.
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Every time I hear this audio I die a little inside – salty_anime_god
Why do people put soap in their eyebrows?
Soap is a genius alternative to brow gels and pomades because, as Dr Zeichner explains it, soap contains a fat known as glycerin that coats the surface of the hairs to keep them in place. Although it won’t tint your brow hairs like actual brow styling products can, it works like a charm for shaping them and setting them all day long—and for a fraction of the cost. If you struggle with most brow formulas because they’re not strong enough but you also hate the shiny, plastered look of hairspray (you haven’t struggled with taming your eyebrows if you haven’t succumbed to trying hairspray at least once), then this is a good trick to try.
Is soap bad for your eyebrows?
There’s one major caveat to this whole thing: Soap can get hella irritating just hanging out on your skin. According to Dr Zeichner, traditional soaps are made with a combination of an alkaline solution known as lye, along with fats and oils. “Because traditional soaps have an alkaline pH, they can cause skin barrier disruption and irritation, especially if you are sensitive,” he says. That irritation and inflammation can translate to red, scaly, itchy skin under your eyebrows, and that’s especially the case if you’re not using the right formula and it’s left on your skin all day without washing it off. Woof.
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Can you use any bar of soap for soap brows?
I’ll do anything in the name of good brows, but I draw the line at self-inflicted flaky, itchy skin on my face, so I asked Dr Zeichner for advice on what formula would be the safest. In short, don’t grab that slimy pebble that’s been sitting in your shower holder since before you were born. Instead of a traditional soap bar (as in the highly fragranced ones that suck the life and moisture out of your hands), Dr Zeichner recommends using something called a syndet bar, which is a soap alternative that’s made with different cleansing ingredients than traditional soap bars and is also pH-balanced to the skin, making it much less irritating.
His top picks? A Dove Beauty Bar, which contains the same types of emollient ingredients found in moisturizers, including a fat called stearic acid that protects the outer skin layer, much like glycerin. He also recommends the Neutrogena Transparent Facial Bar, which contains glycerin similar to traditional soaps but uses a pH-balanced cleansing surfactant. Or, you can try a product specifically formulated for your brows/the trend, like West Barn Co.’s Soap Brow Kit, which comes with a spoolie, spray, and cute little soap.
How do you do soap brows?
Now that you’ve got your bar of soap, grab a spoolie brush (the one on the end of your brow brush will work), and follow these four easy steps:
Step 1: Spray your spoolie brush with a facial mist to dampen the bristles. I did maybe four or five sprays? I liked a thicker residue, so I used very little moisture to make my brow soap. It takes a little bit of trial and error to figure out just how damp the brush needs to be, but start with a little and add more if you need.
Step 2: Rub the bristles of your brush against the bar of soap to create the gel-like residue. If you don’t want your brows to look waxy, start with a little bit of product and build it up if you need. If you have brows that, in the wise words of Miley Cyrus, can’t be tamed, don’t be shy—load on some more.
Step 3: Comb the soapy spoolie through the hairs and shape your eyebrows how you want them to set. It doesn’t dry that quickly, so you have time to work with it until you find an arch you like.
Step 4: Use your brow pencil or whatever brow styling products you prefer to fill in sparse areas. Remember, it’s soap, so do this after you set your soap brows or you risk washing it all off. Tip: Be careful applying your foundation close to your brows before combing them. Eye makeup and complexion products mixed with soap is no good and will flake, cake, or separate.
My soap brows review:
Much like the hair on my head and my eyelashes, my eyebrows naturally fall straight down, meaning my whole adult life has been devoted to somehow making them all defy gravity. I’ve finally found the right volumizing shampoo for my fine hair and the lengthening mascara that holds my lashes in place, but my brows? Still working on that. I currently use eyelash glue as a brow gel, but it’s not exactly foolproof (once it sets—and it does so VERY quickly—you’re kinda stuck like that all day). So I was very much excited to try soap as an alternative.
For the experiment, I used a Dove Beauty Bar (Dr Zeichner’s recommendation). And despite the soap being light pink and opaque (it’s all I had!), my dark hairs were surprisingly left with zero waxy, white residue. I wet my spoolie, rubbed it against the soap, brushed through my brows, and boom—my brows were nicely, softly styled, and they actually stayed that way until I washed my face at the end of the day.
I thought that they’d feel heavy or uncomfortable, but my brows actually felt totally normal—though, based on the TikToks and IG pics, I think I used a little less than most do. I mean, I was going for natural, not laminated. Overall, I was surprisingly pleased with the results, and I can definitely say I preferred this method over straight-up lash glue (lol).
The final takeaway
I still haven’t tried soap brows in the middle of a heatwave, so I can’t speak to whether or not a face full of sweat will make the soap run and burn your eyes. But keeping that in mind, I would say soap brows (when done with the right formula) is a great option every now and then—though it’ll be hard to stop myself from using it every single day when the results are this good. Just make sure to patch test with your soap before slicking it through your brows—no trend is worth an allergic reaction.
Via Cosmopolitan US