The Soap Brow Trend, Explained

I think we can all agree that it's a massive relief to know that full brows are being lusted over again. I can sleep soundly at night knowing that in 30 years, I won't look back at pictures of myself in my 20s and be horrified at my skinny, barely-there brows. Now that I feel like I've mastered brow pencils and gels, it shouldn't come as a surprise that there's a new trend for me to master: Soap brows.

Soap brows are aptly named. Though this trend has been on the fringes for a while, the creative makeup-obsessed youths on TikTok brought it to the mainstream. The idea is to spray a bar of glycerin soap with either a facial spray or just plain old water, and then to use a spoolie to brush the brows. Seems simple enough, but as with any new beauty trend, it takes trying it yourself to figure out if it actually works.

TikTok user @millieleer makes achieving a fluffy soap brow look easy, so Marie Claire decided to put it to the test. First our quick step-by-step guide.

@millieleer

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1. Spray a bar of soap with either water or a facial spray.
2. Grab an eyebrow spoolie and rub it against the damp bar of soap.
3. Brush your eyebrow hairs upwards, or in your preferred style.
4. With your finger, smooth the hairs flat, or draw in additional hairs with a pencil.

The results are wild. Even the bushiest brow hairs can be tamed and slicked up into a faux-brow lamination look. Think feathery, brushed-up brows that are thick and full, but still tame. Celebrity brow artist René de la Garza, founder of Brow Down Studio, recommends using “longer lifting strokes in upward motion."

While the results are undeniable, soap sitting on the skin for hours can be damaging for anyone with sensitive skin. “Soaps are technically safe for skin because most on the market are dermatologist-proven to be safe—however, I wouldn’t leave soap on the skin as it can have a drying and dehydrating effect,” says Garza.

Luckily for us, beauty brands have been working overtime to create skin-safe brow products that mimic the soap-brow look without any sensitivity.

Shop These Soap Brow Essentials

Soap works in a similar manner to brow wax, but soap isn't as long-lasting. Both products give brows a feathery effect with varying movement. Garza prefers wax to soap for one vital reason: “Soap brows lather when you sweat; wax stays pliable and sculpt-able, giving longer wear styling hold,” he says. 

That said, there are advantages to soap brows—mainly that the product isn’t as thick and is much easier to remove than the build-up of wax. 

Shop These Soap Brow Dupes

If you still want the help of a pencil or other color-depositing product, simply go in and draw on those additional hairs after the soap or other product is applied. That's it—you're done!