In Tajikistan, Two Eyebrows Are NOT Better Than One

Countless beauty tutorials tell you just what you need to do to get your two brows into that shapely cut with the sensual arch. Stencils. Razors. Concealer. Tweezers. Creams. Tape. You name it.

Well today we’re taking a trip to the middle-eastern country of Tajikistan where the next unorthodox beauty trend lies. Feel free to leave your tweezers behind because this land of beautiful mountains, doubles as the “Land of the uni-brow.”

It’s excusable if you do not know what Tajikistan is. But a uni-brow is basic knowledge considering every girl is raised beauty-conscious and perfectly aware of what is deemed un-attractive in the generic (western) sense.

 Considered a sign of beauty in Arab culture, a uni-brow (also known as a jacco brow or mono-brow) is basically a single eyebrow created when the two eye-brows meet in the middle above the bridge of the nose. Bet you had no idea that Brad Pitt and Shakira naturally have uni-brows. They just keep them trimmed.

It is so demonized in generic culture that scientists likened it to a disease. They sat down and named the phenomenon synophrys. A nasty and disturbing name befitting a nasty and disturbing phenomena-not so?

Well the country of Tajikistan (amongst many Arab cultures) would beg to differ. According to the Tajiks, a well-joined uni-brow is the pinnacle of beauty, purity and femininity. Everyone is desperately trying to grow one you see; which is lucky considering the prevalence of uni-brows appears to be higher for those of Omani or Arab descent. Talk about being blessed by nature, huh?

But not everyone can naturally grow one. So what do they do? A leafy green herb by the name of Usma is the solution for those who cannot grow thick plumy uni-brows on their own. Sold in practically every Tajikistan market, a small bunch goes for about $0.06. (That’s two hundred Uganda shillings in case anyone is interested) The women take their herbs and leave them out in the sun to dry up. Thereafter, the dried leaves are ground into a dark green goo. This herbal paste is then painted into the middle of ones brows (usually using a matchstick to give that rich dark filling. After about 15 minutes the substance dries up, creating a perfectly rich and expressive uni-brow! The things women do for beauty.

The look hasn’t just stayed in Tajikistan though. Challenging beauty stereotypes, the look of big bushy brows brow has found its way to major run-ways. In Gucci’s 2018 Fall Milan fashion show for instance, a head-turning take on natural brows bordering on unkempt found its way to the stage when two models wearing fresh reincarnations of a hijab walked down the house’s runway full-brow.

So maybe next time think twice before you call out your friend for leaving her eye-brows hairy and “overgrown.” After-all, according to the Tajikistanis-there’s no such thing.

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