Eyebrows

November 12, 2014: Eyebrows

Not since young Brooke Shields captured the attention of millions, due in large part to her attention-grabbing eyebrows, have brows been such a dominant part of the beauty business.

But according to Women’s Wear Daily (WWD), “for the past three years brow bars have been prominent players in the beauty service revolution at retail. The art of shaping brows started as an afterthought at home and has since evolved into a fashion essential.”

There are numerous ways to penetrate this market. Salon owners (hair and nail) and spas should consider offering eyebrow-shaping or threading services. But it’s not just brow-related services that are exploding—WWD says there are “near-constant introductions of products” such as brow gels, brow pencils, brow waxes, brow-tweezing kits and tools and more.

If you build a reputation and your market is big enough, you could even open your own eyebrow salon. (WWD reports one woman went from doing eyebrows in a salon to opening a “beauty studio” with her sisters, one a makeup artist, the other a hairstylist.)

Think this sounds like a lot of fuss for something as simple as eyebrows? Well, research firm The NPD Group reports revenues in the “prestige eyebrow market” ($143 million) have almost doubled in the past three years.

Part of the, ahem, beauty of this business is it appeals to both older and younger women. WWD quotes NPD vice president and global beauty industry analyst Karen Grant who says, “Older women need to finish their look, as brows are an area where hair begins to thin, and younger women want full brows because they’re fashionable.”

Of course there are a lot of beauty/cosmetics companies in the marketplace, but the number-one brand in the prestige brow market, Anastasia Beverly Hills, is less than 15 years old. WWD says, “As the brow market evolves, continued expansion will rely on innovation and options for consumers.” NPD’s Karen Grant adds, “The market is relatively small, so there’s so much more room for growth.”