Eyebrow Growth Serum Picks for Growing Out Your Brows

Eyebrow Growth Serum Picks for Growing Out Your Brows

An eyebrow growth serum is the quiet step behind the full brow look, and the best ones pair it with a gel and a good brush while you wait. Here are the serums, brow gels and tools I would line up for a grow out, with the brands' own words on what each is made to do.

Barely there brows became the norm in the 1990s, when Kate Moss ruled the catwalks and stars like Drew Barrymore and Pamela Anderson tweezed theirs into fine lines. Then Cara Delevingne kicked off the 2010s with thicker, more natural brows, and a lot of people who had plucked for years suddenly wanted theirs back. That is where the eyebrow growth serum comes in, and I will be plain about it: I can only repeat what each brand says, and none of this is a medical promise.

GrandeBROW Brow Enhancing Serum is the one I start with. Grande Cosmetics says it promotes the appearance of fuller, bolder looking brows in six to eight weeks, with full improvement in as little as four months, and that it is ophthalmologist-tested. The Ordinary Multi-Peptide Lash and Brow Serum is a lightweight serum made for fuller looking lashes and brows in as little as four weeks. Olaplex Browbond Building Serum is a 3-in-1 that also shapes with all-day hold. Vegamour GRO Volumizing Brow Serum is plant-based, with red clover and mung bean. Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Genius is a conditioning serum with red clover and Korean red ginseng. Virtue Flourish Brow Density Booster uses Alpha Keratin 60ku, Augustinus Bader's serum covers both brows and lashes, and MILK MAKEUP KUSH is a daily lash and brow serum with hemp-derived seed extract.

Patch test first, and follow the brand's directions on the box. A quick test: take a photo of your brows in the same light each week so you can judge them honestly.

Big numbers collage for Eyebrow Growth Serum: six products from Grande Cosmetics, The Ordinary, Olaplex, Virtue, Vegamour and Anastasia Beverly Hills, each set beside a large numeral
Eyebrow Growth Serum

Brow serums

Gels that hold brows while they fill in

While brows fill in, they look patchy, and that is where a gel earns its place. GrandeBROW 2-In-1 Tinted Brow Gel + Brow Enhancing Serum in Medium is the one that does both jobs, with mini fibers for immediate color and volume, made for light to medium brown hair. Kosas Air Brow is a clear gel with lamination effect that fluffs and lifts, with biodegradable plant-based fibers and a triangular spoolie. Rare Beauty Brow Harmony in Cool Brown is waterproof, with a flexible hold for up to 12 hours. Anastasia Beverly Hills Clear Brow Gel is a lightweight clear setter, and Benefit 24-HR Brow Setter is a clear gel that locks in the shape for up to 24 hours.

If you want color, MERIT Brow 1980 in Brown Black is a tinted gel-pomade that nods to the brows of the 1980s, with light hold. Glossier Boy Brow in Dark Brown is a gel-pomade with beeswax and carnauba wax, so it holds without stiffness. Benefit Gimme Brow+ in shade 4 uses microfibers for natural looking fullness and is water-resistant.

Pairing tip: brush the hairs up first, then up and out with the gel, and tint only the sparse spots.

What I would skip: a heavy pomade every day on brows you are trying to grow. A clear or lightly tinted gel is kinder to the routine, and you can save the bolder ones for events.

Brow gels for the grow out

Brushes, tweezers and razors for the tidy up

Good tools keep a grow out from looking messy. The Essential Brush 12 Brow is a dual-ended brush with an angled end to fill and a spoolie to groom. The Patrick Ta Dual-Ended Brow Brush and the MAKEUP BY MARIO E7 Dual-Ended Eyebrow Brush follow the same idea, with synthetic bristles, and Bobbi Brown Eye Definer Eyeliner & Brow Brush is a slim tapered brush for hair-like strokes.

For stray hairs only, Tweezerman Stainless Steel Slant Tweezer in Rose Gold and the Tweezerman Pink Perfection Slant Tweezer both have a 25-degree slanted tip with hand-filed tips, per the brand. The Revlon Eyebrow Precision Shaper is for trimming the outline, and the KITSCH Dermaplaner Face and Brow Razors in a 12 count pack give you a lot of fresh tools for light shaping of brow edges and the face.

Tip: tweeze and trim only below the lower line and under the arch, never the top of the brow, and brush the hairs up first so you only remove what is truly stray.

What I would skip: the razor on brows that are still filling in. Wait until the growth settles so you do not remove the hairs you are waiting for.

Brow brushes, tweezers and brow razors

How I would run a grow out

A grow out is mostly patience, so I keep it simple. Apply the serum exactly as the brand directs, patch test first, and stop if your skin reacts. Use a clear gel to hold the brow in place, a tinted one only where it is sparse, and a spoolie to brush up and out each morning. Tidy only the strays. Photograph your progress every few weeks, and if you are worried about thinning, ask a doctor or dermatologist before adding more products. The serum does its quiet work in the background, and the gel and brush are what make the in-between weeks look deliberate rather than forgotten.