The Dirt On Soap Brows

How to get the fresh and clean brows of your dreams

( @meglindowmua / Instagram )

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I’ve been a big fan of returning ‘90s trends lately. Big-pants-little-shirt combo outfits? Yes, please! Tiny purses? Sign me up. Don’t even get me started on how happy I am to see the fashion community embracing the corset top again. However, the one ‘90s comeback that I fear the most is the return of the overly tweezed, itty bitty eyebrow.

As a girl with naturally thicker eyebrows, I finally feel at home in the beauty world with the acceptance of big, bold, natural brows. More recently, the trend has took form as soap brows. Big thanks to illustrious eyebrow icons like Cara Delevingne, Solange Knowles, and Zendaya for helping popularize this look.

What are soap brows?

The “Soap Brow” is a method of eyebrow styling that involves using a clean mascara brush, or “spoolie”, to apply a soap paste to your brow hairs to make them appear full and well-groomed. Believe it or not, soap is a great alternative to brow gels since soaps are usually made with glycerin, a naturally derived fat that covers eyebrow hairs with its waxy texture to keep them in place all day.

This method won’t add color to your brow hairs like tinted brow gels or pomades can, but it’s an extremely affordable option to help shape them with an impressively long hold.

How do I get the look?

As someone with a more minimalist eyebrow routine, I turned to freelance makeup artist and soap-brow-enthusiast Aaleah Chou for advice.

“I was all for soap brows when it first became popular”, she said, “until I learned about brow lamination!” (FYI – Brow lamination is basically a little perm for your eyebrows that lasts for about a month, while soap brows can only give you this effect temporarily.)

First, you’ll want to dampen your brush with water or a setting spray, and rub the spoolie bristles against the bar of soap until the residue resembles a gel.

Aaleah recommends waiting until the soap dries up into a more paste-like texture before applying it to her brows with a spoolie.

“You don’t want to apply it wet to your brows,” she continued. “You want the brush to be damp, not soaked, when you swirl the spoolie in the soap until you get a thicker consistency.”

“I personally found that when it was too wet, it was more of a thin watery consistency that didn’t hold up my brows at all”, Aaleah added.

After prepping your spoolie, brush through your eyebrows in an upward-and-outward motion to give the brow hairs length and volume. Then, play around with the structure of your brows until you get your desired shape.

Personally, I would brush across the very top of my brows horizontally to make the ends more uniform and then comb downward at the ends for pronounced angles like in the TikTok below.

Product Recommendations

I can’t emphasize how important it is to choose a soap that won’t irritate your skin. Although soap is made to be safe and gentle on the skin while bathing, leaving a layer on your facial skin for too long may cause irritation, especially if your skin is sensitive or prone to dryness.

For my drugstore divas, Dove makes an unscented Beauty Bar Soap ($3) that is formulated specifically for sensitive skin. This makes it a great hypoallergenic option! If you have skin that dries out easily, this may also be a great choice for its moisturizing properties.

If you prefer a transparent soap option, Neutrogena’s Transparent Facial Bar ($5) has a “glycerin-rich” formula that works best for those with oily or combination skin.

I have also had good past experiences with SheaMoisture and Dr. Bronner’s products on both my hair and my skin for my fans of fair trade, cruelty-free ingredients.

For my boujee baddies, this Soap Brows Essentials kit ($50) by West Barn Co. was specially made for fans of the soap brow trend. It comes with a hydrating prep mist, an adorable tin of brow soap, and a matching spoolie brush.

Remember: it never hurts to do a patch test on your skin before committing to wearing the product all day.

Whether they are thin and light, dark and dense, or somewhere in between, don’t forget to appreciate your eyebrows no matter what’s trendy at the moment! My mother always warned me not to tweeze my eyebrows when I was younger, and I am thankful to this day that I kept them untouched. Luckily, the soap brow trend has spared us any painful plucking, and instead allows us to embrace our natural assets.

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Samantha Redditt is an Online Writer at Rowdy Magazine. She enjoys long, romantic walks to the nearest coffee shop and roller skating to obscure Spotify playlists. You can reach her on Instagram at @samantharedditt for more information.