Which Eyebrow Shape Do You Have? Here's How To Tell + Expert Grooming Tips

So step away from the tweezers, stow the brow pencil, and determine which brow category you fall into (there are five!) before going to town on those face framers. Below, our guide to everything eyebrow shapes, plus expert styling advice for each archetype. 

The thing is, brows don't necessarily have to fit a certain mold—your eyebrows may naturally adhere to one shape or another (or perhaps a blend of two), but that's not to say you must groom them accordingly, if at all. A simple brush up will certainly do. But if you're dying to typecast yourself as one of these common shapes, here's your guide: 

Round eyebrows never come to a point, even at the highest peak. Rather, says brow expert Joey Healy, the brow only looks rounder at the top, usually with a bit of a curved arch. "[Round brows] are softer, and I think they work well if you have a lot of strong angles on your face—a really square jawline, maybe a pointier chin or nose." In other words, these softer brows can offset any angular features. 

Also in the arched category, there's a spectrum of sorts: You have soft arches, with just a slight lift at the peak ("It's most popular right now," says Alicia Halpin, esthetician and owner of Foundation Beauty & Esthetics). Then there's your medium arch, which ups the intensity a bit, and, finally, your high arch with an aggressive peak up top. 

Contrary to what you might think, upward brows actually provide the greatest amount of lift, says Healy. Even though these brows don't have a defined arch, upward brows tend to rise at the tail and up toward the hairline. "It's more of a fashion brow," Healy notes, which is why many request upward brows in the hopes of a chic, editorial look. But, alas, "You need to have them naturally, as they are harder to make." 

Here's where the semantics get a bit tricky: Some professionals use "straight" and "upward" interchangeably, while others categorize straight brows as flat. Nonetheless, there's a difference between upward and flat brows. "Flat, I say, is when it kind of sits heavy—two parallel lines directly across," Healy says, whereas upward brows don't necessarily have an arch, but they do have a slight tilt at the tail. 

S-shaped brows are something of an anomaly, says Healy. "There is sort of a dip in the front," he says (hence, the S-shape), that resembles a scooped-out sort of brow. "The tails are kind of moving, and your front is kind of dipping." It's typically not a natural shape, he notes—more like the aftermath of a cosmetic treatment or plucking gone wrong.  

Once you've identified your natural brow shape, there are some grooming tips to keep in mind for each type. Of course, you can ultimately brush up your brows any way you please (eyebrow shapes are by no means the be-all and end-all), but the pros have noticed quite a few patterns over the years for the different brow shapes. Below, you'll find the basics:

First things first: You don't want to stray too much from your natural shape. (This may require you to grow yours out, so if you need guidance, here's how the pros do it.) For example, if you have arched brows, it'll be quite difficult to achieve a true, straight brow without plucking them too thin. You can slightly modify them to match a certain shape, but use the guide as mere inspiration for your natural brows. "[It's about] leaning into what you have and not working too hard against it," notes Healy. 

Your brows are your face framers, after all, so there's something to be said about grooming your brows to complement your face shape. Again, don't do too much to change your natural brow type, but perhaps modify them a bit with this inspiration in mind: 

Read our guide for more tips on how to shape your brows at home.

If you're looking to elevate your brow game, the first step is to identify which brow shape you naturally have. Then you can brush up those fluffy face framers to make a statement that truly suits your bone structure—a recipe for next-level brows, we'd say. Need a brow gel to help get you there? Here, our favorite brow gels.