IS BROW LAMINATION DEFINING THIS GENERATION?

Ten years ago if you told someone that people would be laminating their eyebrows en masse to make the hair stick up, they would probably put down their Anastasia Beverly Hills dipbrow and tell you that you're wrong.

Beauty trends have evolved so much throughout the last decade. And one of the newest viral moments is the "clean girl" aesthetic. This aesthetic involves looking fresh and well-groomed without looking like you try too hard. The absolute antithesis of the party girl aesthetic, a clean girl looks flawless with minimal makeup, or at least minimal obvious makeup. In line with this viral fad is brow lamination, the eyebrow trend that has been sweeping TikTok and the beauty community for the last year.

Eyebrow lamination first began receiving buzz in 2021 and made its way into the mainstream through platforms like TikTok last year. But what exactly is brow lamination and how does it fit into the cultural landscape of "clean girl" aesthetics and current beauty standards?

Source: Allure

In short, beauty experts have described the process of brow lamination as being like a "perm for your brows." Chemicals are used to straighten the hair of your eyebrows to allow them to lie flat on the face. The solution pushes the hairs into a desired place, often to make them appear fuller, and keep them that way without the use of gels or makeup. It is said to be the perfect solution if you are looking to obtain "fluffier" eyebrows without everyday management.

Now, you may be wondering how long a treatment like this would last. Unlike the semi-permanent microblading trend and the very permanent eyebrow tattoo trend, lamination is said to last around eight weeks. This is part of its appeal; it lasts long enough to be low maintenance but disappears quickly enough that you won't regret it if it turns out all wrong.

Source: Byrdie

Brow lamination is the natural next step for eyebrow trends in the wake of the clean girl aesthetic. This aesthetic relies on women looking "naturally" beautiful without appearing to have taken too long getting ready. Soap brows and the rise of eyebrow gel emerged along with this aesthetic because of the natural look, as opposed to the heavily drawn-on eyebrow trends of the last decade. This process allows for the bushy, natural look of soap brows with no daily maintenance necessary.

So, if you are still hoarding the eyebrow pencils and dipbrow, you may be starting to rethink. Brow lamination is not only taking over as a viral trend, but it is unveiling the eyebrow trend of this decade, which is a bit more of a natural look than the 2010s. Looking low maintenance is not as little effort as you might hope, so if you are trying to channel your inner clean girl it might be time to start planning!