Unibrow
![](http://178.128.105.246/content-http-upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/43/Unibrow_Close_Up.jpg/220px-Unibrow_Close_Up.jpg)
A unibrow (or jacco brow or monobrow; called synophrys in medicine) is a single eyebrow created when the two eyebrows meet in the middle above the bridge of the nose.[1] The hair above the bridge of the nose is of the same color and thickness as the eyebrows, such that they converge to form one uninterrupted line of hair.
History
[edit]The word monobrow first appeared in print in 1968,[2] and the adjectival form monobrowed followed in 1973, in Martin Amis' novel The Rachel Papers.[3] The first known use of the word unibrow was in 1981.[4]
Culture and beauty
[edit]![](http://178.128.105.246/content-http-upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/45/Sharipov.jpg/220px-Sharipov.jpg)
Some nations prize the unibrow. It is a sign of beauty among Baluchi Omanis, whose women sometimes draw a black line joining the brows as a part of their routine makeup to fake a unibrow. A study found the prevalence of synophrys to be at 11.87% in the Omani population.[5] In Tajikistan, where the unibrow is similarly viewed as attractive, some women dry and extract an herb known locally as usma and daub it onto their brows to mimic one.[6] Urban women may do the same with a kohl liner or a kajal pen.[7]
![](http://178.128.105.246/content-http-upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0f/The_6th_Duke_of_Westminster_Allan_Warren.jpg/220px-The_6th_Duke_of_Westminster_Allan_Warren.jpg)
![](http://178.128.105.246/content-http-upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6c/Brian_MacDonell_%28cropped%29.jpg/220px-Brian_MacDonell_%28cropped%29.jpg)
The unibrow has largely been seen as undesirable in the Americas and Europe, with the hairs often plucked, shaved, or waxed away.[8][9] Exceptions include the artist Frida Kahlo, famous for her unibrow, which she often depicted in self-portraits,[10][11] and the Greek-Cypriot model Sophia Hadjipanteli.[12]
The unibrow is also the trademark of the NBA player Anthony Davis,[13] the football player Marouane Fellaini, and the YouTuber ElectroBOOM. The boxer Roberto Elizondo famously sported a unibrow during his professional career.[14]
Fictional characters with unibrows include Bert, Herry Monster, and Oscar the Grouch from Sesame Street, Muppets Sam Eagle, Statler and Animal, Tim Lockwood from Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, Spanky Ham from Drawn Together, Squilliam Fancyson from SpongeBob SquarePants, Helga Pataki and Harold Berman from Hey Arnold!, Babyball and Leto Otel from Ballmastrz: 9009, Brobee from Yo Gabba Gabba!, Duncan from Total Drama, The Twins from Superjail!, Ed and Rolf from Ed, Edd n Eddy, and Baby Gerald from The Simpsons.
Medicine
[edit]Genetics
[edit]The unibrow is a genetic trait.[15] It is associated with the PAX3 gene.[16]
Medical conditions
[edit]A unibrow is part of normal human variation, but can also stem from developmental disorders. A unibrow is a recognized feature of Cornelia De Lange syndrome, a genetic disorder whose main features include moderate to severe learning difficulties, limb abnormalities such as oligodactyly (fewer than normal fingers or toes), and phocomelia (malformed limbs), and facial abnormalities including a long philtrum (the slight depression/line between the nose and mouth).
Other medical conditions associated with a unibrow include:[17]
- 3MC syndrome 1
- Acromegaloid facial appearance syndrome
- Acromesomelic dysplasia 4
- Amaurosis-hypertrichosis syndrome
- Arrhinia with choanal atresia and microphthalmia syndrome
- Autosomal recessive spinocerebellar ataxia 17
- Blepharophimosis-impaired intellectual development syndrome
- Blepharophimosis-ptosis-esotropia-syndactyly-short stature syndrome
- Brachycephaly, trichomegaly, and developmental delay
- Chromosome 1p36 deletion syndrome
- Coffin-Siris syndrome 12
- Cognitive impairment - coarse facies - heart defects - obesity - pulmonary involvement - short stature - skeletal dysplasia syndrome
- Congenital muscular hypertrophy-cerebral syndrome
![](http://178.128.105.246/content-http-upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fb/De_Lange_Syndrome_3.jpg/220px-De_Lange_Syndrome_3.jpg)
- Cornelia de Lange syndrome 1-5
- Corpus callosum agenesis-abnormal genitalia syndrome
- Cortical dysplasia, complex, with other brain malformations 11
- Deafness, cataract, impaired intellectual development, and polyneuropathy
- Deficiency of transaldolase
- DeSanto-Shinawi syndrome due to WAC point mutation
- Developmental and epileptic encephalopathy 23, 66, 83, 84, 85 (with or without midline brain defects), 100, and 105 (with hypopituitarism)
- Developmental delay with variable intellectual disability and dysmorphic facies
- Developmental delay, impaired speech, and behavioral abnormalities
- Diamond-Blackfan anemia 21
- Early-onset progressive diffuse brain atrophy-microcephaly-muscle weakness-optic atrophy syndrome
- Epilepsy, X-linked 2, with or without impaired intellectual development and dysmorphic features
- Epilepsy-telangiectasia syndrome
- Focal segmental glomerulosclerosis and neurodevelopmental syndrome
- Fontaine progeroid syndrome
- Goldberg-Shprintzen megacolon syndrome
- Growth delay due to insulin-like growth factor I resistance
- Hajdu-Cheney syndrome
- Hennekam lymphangiectasia-lymphedema syndrome 3
- Holoprosencephaly 5, 7, and 11
![](http://178.128.105.246/content-http-upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f3/Amentia_Plate_XX_%282%29.jpg/220px-Amentia_Plate_XX_%282%29.jpg)
- Hypotonia, ataxia, and delayed development syndrome
- Intellectual developmental disorder 61
- Intellectual developmental disorder with or without peripheral neuropathy
- Intellectual developmental disorder, autosomal dominant 64 and 65
- Intellectual developmental disorder, autosomal recessive 68
- Intellectual developmental disorder, X-linked, syndromic, with pigmentary mosaicism and coarse facies
- Intellectual disability, autosomal dominant 29, 30, 34, 43, 48, and 52
- Intellectual disability, autosomal recessive 5, 13, 16, 45, 46, and 61
- Intellectual disability, X-linked 21, 73, 97, and 106
- Intellectual disability, X-linked, syndromic 33
- Intellectual disability-brachydactyly-Pierre Robin syndrome
- Intellectual disability-facial dysmorphism syndrome due to SETD5 haploinsufficiency
- Joubert syndrome 35
- KBG syndrome
- Kleefstra syndrome 1
- Lissencephaly 6 with microcephaly
- Macrothrombocytopenia-lymphedema-developmental delay-facial dysmorphism-camptodactyly syndrome
- Mandibulofacial dysostosis-macroblepharon-macrostomia syndrome
- Marshall-Smith syndrome
- Microcephaly 4, primary, autosomal recessive
- Midface hypoplasia, hearing impairment, elliptocytosis, and nephrocalcinosis
- Mitochondrial complex 4 deficiency, nuclear type 20
- Mitochondrial complex III deficiency nuclear type 7
![](http://178.128.105.246/content-http-upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d9/Mucopolysaccharidosis_%28Sanfilippo_Syndrome%29_1.jpg/220px-Mucopolysaccharidosis_%28Sanfilippo_Syndrome%29_1.jpg)
- Mucopolysaccharidosis, MPS-III-A to -D
- Neurodevelopmental disorder with dysmorphic facies and variable seizures
- Neurodevelopmental disorder with facial dysmorphism, absent language, and pseudo-pelger-huet anomaly
- Neurodevelopmental disorder with growth retardation, dysmorphic facies, and corpus callosum abnormalities
- Neurodevelopmental disorder with microcephaly, short stature, and speech delay
- Neurodevelopmental disorder with severe motor impairment and absent language
- Neurodevelopmental disorder with spasticity and poor growth
- Neurodevelopmental disorder with spasticity, cataracts, and cerebellar hypoplasia
- Periventricular nodular heterotopia 9
- Pontocerebellar hypoplasia type 7, 8, and 10
- Primrose syndrome
- Severe feeding difficulties-failure to thrive-microcephaly due to ASXL3 deficiency syndrome
- Sialuria
- Skin creases, congenital symmetric circumferential, 2
- Smith-Magenis syndrome
- Spondyloepimetaphyseal dysplasia, Genevieve type
- Spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia, sensorineural hearing loss, impaired intellectual development, and leber congenital amaurosis
- Syndromic X-linked intellectual disability Chudley-Schwartz type
- Syndromic X-linked intellectual disability Nascimento type
- Syndromic X-linked intellectual disability Siderius type
- Syndromic X-linked intellectual disability Snyder type
- Trigonocephaly 1
- Uruguay Faciocardiomusculoskeletal syndrome
- Waardenburg syndrome types 1, 2A, and 3
- Wiedemann-Steiner syndrome
- Zimmermann-Laband syndrome 1, 2, and 3
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "confluent eyebrow". TheFreeDictionary.com. Retrieved 2016-02-02.
- ^ "mono-brow, n." www.oed.com. Retrieved 2020-08-14.
- ^ "mono-browed, adj". www.oed.com. Retrieved 2020-08-14.
- ^ Chisholm, Elise T. (24 Nov 1981). "How Brooke Shields is raising eyebrows again". Evening Sun. Baltimore, MD. p. 9. Retrieved 12 Mar 2021.
- ^ Synophrys: Epidemiological Study.P.Kumar. Int J Trichology.2017;9(3):105-107.doi: 10.4103/ijt.ijt_14_17 PMC 5596643.
- ^ Elder, Miriam (November 27, 2010). "Where the unibrow reigns". Global Post. Retrieved November 13, 2011.
- ^ Mannaerts, Pascal (28 February 2022). "Life on the "Roof of the World"". BBC.
- ^ Adame, Amanda (2017-05-25). "People Are Embracing The Unibrow – Here's Why It's A Good Thing". Konbini United States. Archived from the original on 2018-11-03. Retrieved 2018-08-27.
- ^ Usborne, Simon (2017-05-03). "Why it's finally cool to have a monobrow". the Guardian. Retrieved 2018-08-27.
- ^ "An Open Letter to the AGO About Frida Kahlo's Unibrow – Shameless Magazine". shamelessmag.com.
- ^ "Why Frida Kahlo's unibrow is important". NET-A-PORTER.
- ^ "Meet the model 'owning' her unibrow". Stuff. 4 April 2018.
- ^ "Anthony Davis Trademarked His Unibrow". Business Insider Australia. 26 June 2012.
- ^ "Roberto Elizondo Boxer - Wiki, Profile, Boxrec". 7 December 2017.
- ^ "Human Traits". faculty.southwest.tn.edu. Archived from the original on 2016-01-23. Retrieved 2016-02-02.
- ^ Adhikari, Kaustubh. "How we discovered the genetic origin of the 'monobrow' and other hair traits". The Conversation. Retrieved 2018-08-27.
- ^ "Synophrys (Concept Id: C0431447)". www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov. Retrieved 2023-12-01.
External links
[edit]Media related to Unibrows at Wikimedia Commons