Social media users boast online that an over-the-counter remedy can act “like fertilizer for your eyebrows.”
The commonly prescribed medication minoxidil, sold under the brand name Regaine in the UK, has long been available as a treatment for hair loss.
But research also suggests that medication applied to the scalp daily may be just as effective at thickening eyebrows.
When used two to three times a week, the drug “significantly” improves eyebrow hair growth, advocates say.
Other doctors, however, have warned that the treatment is not approved for this use and, ironically, can even cause side effects, including hair loss, if used incorrectly.
In a TikTok viewed 386,000 times, London-based consultant dermatologist Dr Aamna Adel recommended two per cent minoxidil, found in Regaine for Women.
Giving instructions, he said: “First we will apply some Vaseline to protect the skin around the eyes.”
In a TikTok viewed 386,000 times, London-based consultant dermatologist Dr Aamna Adel urged viewers to apply a 2 per cent concentration of minoxidil to achieve “thick eyebrows”.
In another video viewed more than 1.3 million times, American dermatologist and skin cancer surgeon Dr Neera Nathan said: “Take your minoxidil because it’s like fertilizer for your eyebrows.”
In a Reddit thread with more than 4.1 million members, a user shared images showing the marked difference that three months of using 5 percent minoxidil had supposedly made.
“The last thing we want is bushy eyebrows and red, flaky skin around them,” she says.
“I use Regaine two percent, not five percent (found in Regaine Men’s Extra Strength and Regain Women’s Extra Strength) because I find it much less irritating.”
In the video, Dr. Adel applies the solution to a mascara wand and then sweeps it over her brows in both directions to make sure “every little brow hair is covered.”
He adds: ‘Just repeat this two or three times a week. It will probably take two to three months before you start to notice that your eyebrows are getting thicker.
“But be consistent because it works.”
In another video viewed more than 1.3 million times, Dr Neera Nathan, an American dermatologist and skin cancer surgeon, said: “Take your minoxidil because it’s like fertilizer for your eyebrows.”
‘Be sure to buy the liquid form and then take a clean mascara spoolie (wand) and saturate it with the product.
The Harvard-trained dermatologist added, “I want you to stop using eyebrow gels or waxes because this can cause irritation and cause your eyebrow hairs to fall out.”
The drug minoxidil, commonly prescribed and sold under the brand name Regaine in the UK, has long been known to treat hair loss by increasing blood flow to hair follicles.
The Reddit user, who shared images, wrote: “I had given up until I read someone mentioning that they had success using minoxidil to grow their eyebrows.”
“Instead, to shape your eyebrows, use some old Vaseline.”
And the phenomenon has become so common that forum users also share their experiences when trying the remedy.
In a Reddit thread with more than 4.1 million members, one wrote: “I tried to grow them last year, but they barely grew and were very sparse.”
“I had given up until I read someone mention that they had success using minoxidil to grow their eyebrows.”
Images shared on the forum showed the marked difference that three months of using 5 percent minoxidil had supposedly made.
“I have sensitive skin and use tretinoin and I didn’t think 5 percent was too strong,” they added.
Another said: ‘I’m using five per cent minoxidil on my naturally sparse eyebrows and I’m telling you it works! It’s been two months now.
‘I’m looking forward to the next few months so I can have thick eyebrows. I can’t wait.’
One 2012 Thai studywho evaluated the effectiveness of minoxidil, found it to be “effective for hair regrowth” after 16 weeks.
In another, in 2014, 39 volunteers participated who were administered minoxidil to one eyebrow and a placebo to the other.
writing in The magazine of dermatologyThe researchers said that after 16 weeks “the minoxidil group achieved significantly better results” than the placebo group.
Side effects were also “minor,” they noted, concluding that “2 percent minoxidil lotion is a safe and effective treatment for hypotrichosis of the eyebrows.”
The NHS, however, advises that minoxidil is only designed to treat hair loss in men and women that is hereditary.
It is not intended to treat hair loss caused by other factors, such as stress, illness, or even iron deficiency.
Users must also take minoxidil for life for lasting benefit and the limited research in under 18s means it is not currently recommended for anyone who is not yet an adult.
Possible side effects also include skin irritation and, in rare cases, causing hair loss, the opposite of what it is intended to achieve.
Nowhere does Rogaine claim that it is effective or that it should be used for eyebrows.