# Shaved Eyebrows = Madness? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 31, 2009, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shaved-eyebrows-madness/498234 "2009-05-31T03:44:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Apocalypso](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@Apocalypso](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apocalypso)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2009, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shaved-eyebrows-madness/498234/1 "2009-05-31T03:44:43Z")
In Pink Floyd’s “The Wall” movie, at the end of the movie the main character shaves his eyebrows and chest hair off in the middle of a crazy drug binge. Didn’t think that much of it, but then I heard something from another source indicated the shaved eyebrows as a sign of insanity. It was one of those “…and you know what THAT means” type of comments. I don’t remember where I heard or read it though, so I don’t have a source for it. So, my question is, does shaving your eyebrows, or having a desire to shave them, a sign of insanity? If it is, what about women who pluck their eyebrows out and pencil them back in (it NEVER looks better than it did before, ladies)? Are they insane too, or just mildly demented (a form of ocd maybe)? ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2009, 8:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shaved-eyebrows-madness/498234/2 "2009-05-31T08:10:38Z")
Well, I believe Syd Barret shaved his eyebrows off, but then The Wall was partly _about_ Syd Barret, so that can’t be taken as a separate data point. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2009, 8:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shaved-eyebrows-madness/498234/3 "2009-05-31T08:57:43Z")
> [@Apocalypso](#): > > If it is, what about women who pluck their eyebrows out and pencil them back in (it NEVER looks better than it did before, ladies)? Are they insane too, or just mildly demented (a form of ocd maybe)? One could say that fashion is manic, but like many movements, the followers don’t need to be to partake. But no, given that something like 90% of women pluck and shape their eyebrows to some extent or another, it can’t be said to be a form of mania. ---
**Author:** ![Mathochist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c89c15/32.png) [@Mathochist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mathochist)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2009, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shaved-eyebrows-madness/498234/4 "2009-05-31T14:39:28Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > But no, given that something like 90% of women pluck and shape their eyebrows to some extent or another, it can’t be said to be a form of mania. Having interacted with women and appearance before, I’d change that “can’t” to “can”. ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2009, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shaved-eyebrows-madness/498234/5 "2009-05-31T16:07:53Z")
Shaving off your eyebrows certainly runs counter to social norms, but that’s not quite enough of a reason to call it madness. ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2009, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shaved-eyebrows-madness/498234/6 "2009-05-31T16:58:07Z")
I too have never heard of this being associated with mental illness. I guess making some sudden, dramatic change to one’s appearance that runs counter to social norms can be a sign that the person is having problems (think Britney Spears and her head-shaving incident), but that’s not specific to the eyebrows. The big downside to eyebrow shaving is that sweat and oil from the person’s forehead/hair will run into their eyes. I figure that must be pretty annoying, but doesn’t seem destructive enough to indicate a serious problem on the part of the shaver. I have heard of shaved eyebrows being a sign of membership in a gang, but not totally shaved ones – the gang members supposedly shave lines into their brows. ---
**Author:** ![ParentalAdvisory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/53a042/32.png) [@ParentalAdvisory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParentalAdvisory)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2009, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shaved-eyebrows-madness/498234/7 "2009-05-31T18:26:04Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > One could say that fashion is manic, but like many movements, the followers don’t need to be to partake. > > But no, given that something like 90% of women pluck and shape their eyebrows to some extent or another, it can’t be said to be a form of mania. 90%? ---
**Author:** ![listedmia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e0b2c6/32.png) [@listedmia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/listedmia)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2009, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shaved-eyebrows-madness/498234/8 "2009-05-31T19:43:07Z")
> [@ParentalAdvisory](#): > > 90%? That sounds about right. Most of my female friends and I would have unibrows if we didn’t do some minor plucking. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2009, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shaved-eyebrows-madness/498234/9 "2009-05-31T19:52:55Z")
I often wish I had no eyebrows. I just hate any and all body hair, and if social norms didn’t frown on it, I totally would just wax mine off. ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2009, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shaved-eyebrows-madness/498234/10 "2009-05-31T20:01:23Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > I often wish I had no eyebrows. I just hate any and all body hair, and if social norms didn’t frown on it, I totally would just wax mine off. I shaved my eyebrows off a little while ago just to see what I looked like, and no one seems to have noticed. You could probably get away with it. For the record, I think I look pretty good without eyebrows, but shaving them is extremely painful and I won’t be doing that again. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Scrivener](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@The\_Scrivener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Scrivener)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2009, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shaved-eyebrows-madness/498234/11 "2009-06-01T00:48:05Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > One could say that fashion is manic, but like many movements, the followers don’t need to be to partake. > > But no, given that something like 90% of women pluck and shape their eyebrows to some extent or another, it can’t be said to be a form of mania. > [@Mathochist](#): > > Having interacted with women and appearance before, I’d change that “can’t” to “can”. If the plucking is psychologically impulsive, compulsive and/or excessive and not just normal grooming, then the behavior could qualify as [trichotillomania](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trichotillomania). ---
**Author:** ![Peanuthead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peanuthead/32/360_2.png) [@Peanuthead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peanuthead)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2009, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shaved-eyebrows-madness/498234/12 "2009-06-01T03:01:54Z")
Just to add a little trivia tidbit… The Mona Lisa has no eyebrows. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2009, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shaved-eyebrows-madness/498234/13 "2009-06-01T03:39:32Z")
_googles_ You just totally blew my mind.