A unibrow (or jacco brow or monobrow; called synophrys in medicine) is a single eyebrow created when the two eyebrows meet in the middle above the bridge of the nose.[1] The hair above the bridge of the nose is of the same color and thickness as the eyebrows, such that they converge to form one uninterrupted line of hair.

Close up of a unibrow.

History edit

The word monobrow first appeared in print in 1968,[2] and the adjectival form monobrowed followed in 1973, in Martin Amis' novel The Rachel Papers.[3] The first known use of the word unibrow was in 1981.[4]

Culture and beauty edit

 
Kyrgyz Cosmonaut Salizhan Sharipov

Some nations prize the unibrow. It is a sign of beauty among Baluchi Omanis, whose women sometimes draw a black line joining the brows as a part of their routine makeup to fake a unibrow. A study found the prevalence of synophrys to be at 11.87% in the Omani population.[5] In Tajikistan, where the unibrow is similarly viewed as attractive, some women dry and extract an herb known locally as usma and daub it onto their brows to mimic one.[6] Urban women may do the same with a kohl liner or a kajal pen.[7]

 
Gerald Grosvenor, 6th Duke of Westminster
 
New Zealand politician Brian MacDonell

The unibrow has largely been seen as undesirable in the Americas and Europe, with the hairs often plucked, shaved, or waxed away.[8][9] Exceptions include the artist Frida Kahlo, famous for her unibrow, which she often depicted in self-portraits,[10][11] and the Greek-Cypriot model Sophia Hadjipanteli.[12]

The unibrow is also the trademark of the NBA player Anthony Davis,[13] the football player Marouane Fellaini, and the YouTuber ElectroBOOM. The boxer Roberto Elizondo famously sported a unibrow during his professional career.[14]

Bert, Herry Monster, and Oscar the Grouch from Sesame Street, Muppets Sam Eagle, Statler and Animal, Tim Lockwood from Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, Spanky Ham from Drawn Together, Squilliam Fancyson from SpongeBob SquarePants, Helga Pataki and Harold Berman from Hey Arnold!, Babyball and Leto Otel from Ballmastrz: 9009, Brobee from Yo Gabba Gabba!, The Twins from Superjail!, Ed and Rolf from Ed, Edd n Eddy, and Baby Gerald from The Simpsons are fictional characters with a unibrow.

Medicine edit

Genetics edit

The unibrow is a genetic trait.[15] It is associated with the PAX3 gene.[16]

Medical conditions edit

A unibrow is part of normal human variation, but can also stem from developmental disorders. A unibrow is a recognized feature of Cornelia De Lange syndrome, a genetic disorder whose main features include moderate to severe learning difficulties, limb abnormalities such as oligodactyly (fewer than normal fingers or toes), and phocomelia (malformed limbs), and facial abnormalities including a long philtrum (the slight depression/line between the nose and mouth).

Other medical conditions associated with a unibrow include:[17]

 
Unibrow in Cornelia de Lange syndrome
 
Hydrocephalic man with a unibrow
 
Unibrow in MPS-III

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ "confluent eyebrow". TheFreeDictionary.com. Retrieved 2016-02-02.
  2. ^ "mono-brow, n." www.oed.com. Retrieved 2020-08-14.
  3. ^ "mono-browed, adj". www.oed.com. Retrieved 2020-08-14.
  4. ^ Chisholm, Elise T. (24 Nov 1981). "How Brooke Shields is raising eyebrows again". Evening Sun. Baltimore, MD. p. 9. Retrieved 12 Mar 2021.
  5. ^ Synophrys: Epidemiological Study.P.Kumar. Int J Trichology.2017;9(3):105-107.doi: 10.4103/ijt.ijt_14_17 PMC 5596643.
  6. ^ Elder, Miriam (November 27, 2010). "Where the unibrow reigns". Global Post. Retrieved November 13, 2011.
  7. ^ Mannaerts, Pascal (28 February 2022). "Life on the "Roof of the World"". BBC.
  8. ^ Adame, Amanda (2017-05-25). "People Are Embracing The Unibrow – Here's Why It's A Good Thing". Konbini United States. Retrieved 2018-08-27.
  9. ^ Usborne, Simon (2017-05-03). "Why it's finally cool to have a monobrow". the Guardian. Retrieved 2018-08-27.
  10. ^ "An Open Letter to the AGO About Frida Kahlo's Unibrow – Shameless Magazine". shamelessmag.com.
  11. ^ "Why Frida Kahlo's unibrow is important". NET-A-PORTER.
  12. ^ "Meet the model 'owning' her unibrow". Stuff. 4 April 2018.
  13. ^ "Anthony Davis Trademarked His Unibrow". Business Insider Australia. 26 June 2012.
  14. ^ "Roberto Elizondo Boxer - Wiki, Profile, Boxrec". 7 December 2017.
  15. ^ "Human Traits". faculty.southwest.tn.edu. Archived from the original on 2016-01-23. Retrieved 2016-02-02.
  16. ^ Adhikari, Kaustubh. "How we discovered the genetic origin of the 'monobrow' and other hair traits". The Conversation. Retrieved 2018-08-27.
  17. ^ "Synophrys (Concept Id: C0431447)". www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov. Retrieved 2023-12-01.

External links edit