The very best eyebrow serums for serious thickness (2024)

After hearing dermatologist Dr. Dhaval G. Bhanusali, rave about using minoxidil (the active hair-growth ingredient in Regaine) for eyebrow-hair growth, I decided to give it a go, knowing I could grab the over-the-counter online or any local drugstore. But how does it work, exactly? Welp, minoxidil helps prolong the growth phase of your hair-growth cycle, which can help increase the density of your hair before it sheds.

I’ve been following Dr. Bhanusali’s instructions and combing Regaine through my brows with a spoolie once a day for about four weeks. And my best friend recently noticed how full my brows looked on FaceTime when I had no makeup on (a sign that it’s def working, because my bare brows are usually thin AF). Because I’m only spreading it on my brows, so I’ll probably have this bottle for six to eight months at least, making it hella cost effective too.

Key ingredients: Minoxidil

Recommended use: Once daily at night

Glowing customer review: “High fevers over an extended period of time made my hair and eyebrows fall out. I was so bummed. My hair grew back, but my eyebrows just never did. So a dab of this foam applied every night before bed for several weeks, and voilà! They're growing back! So, so glad I tried it.”

RapidBrow is a fantastic brow strengthener I’ve recently added to my routine to boost my brows after a very misguided decision to bleach them a few months ago (no photographic evidence, because I immediately tinted them back to their natural colour). It’s loaded with gold-star hair-health boosters—including peptides and keratin, plus moisturising biotin and hyaluronic acid—as well as a soothing cocktail of allantoin and licorice root extract. Cosmopolitan US Assistant shopping editor Jasmine Hyman also just started testing it and has been loving the gentle formula. “As a girlie who hasn’t gotten her brows professionally waxed or threaded in years, brushing up my brows before bed with the conditioning formula gives me the perfect clean girl feeling and finish,” she says.

Key ingredients: Keratin, biotin, peptides, allantoin, licorice root extract

Recommended use: Daily at night

Glowing customer review: “This is MY first review I’ve ever written about a product. I just finished my first RapidBrow serum bottle. My brows honestly got thicker, the best part, that hair actually grew back in my “bald spots” on my eyebrows—the small places were hair randomly stopped growing. My brows looked nice and conditioned after each use. Buying my second bottle today!”

TBH, I swear by this eyebrow gel mostly because the light colour matches my eyebrows perfectly when I’m in a hurry and don’t feel like filling them in with pencil. But lowkey, I’ve also noticed after swiping it on nearly every day for the last six months that my brows look way fuller now. The combo of moisturising oils (jojoba oil, castor oil, and sunflower seed oil) and antioxidant-rich vitamin E help moisturise my brow hairs while lightly filling them with pigments to make them look thicker—with and without the gel.

Key ingredients: Jojoba oil, castor oil, sunflower seed oil, vitamin E

Recommended use: Whenever you style your brows (generally in the morning)

Size: 0.12 fl oz.

Glowing customer review: “This adds just enough colour and enhances the appearance of my brows so they look fuller. I like using this in the morning, and then I also use the Grande Brow at night, and my brows have been looking amazing! So much fuller, especially in areas like the front and the tail that used to be really sparse.”

This stuff is so good that dermatologist Dr. Mona Gohara refers to the formula as “pure gold.” Within two-and-a-half months, the biotin and hyaluronic acid-filled formula left her sparse brows fuller and thicker, to the point where she noticed hair growing around her eye area from sleeping on it at night. “But I just shaved it off, and we are good to go.” How’s that for a derm recommendation?

Key ingredients: Biotin, hyaluronic acid

Recommended use: Daily at night

Glowing customer review: “I have alopecia areata, and this is the only thing that has worked for me. I actually have brows now. This changed me.”

Got dry skin? Dermatologist Dr. Garshick recommends The Ordinary’s eyebrow-growth serum that’s filled with peptides to moisturise not only your brow hairs, but your skin itself, while also strengthening your skin barrier over time (and we know, moisturised hair = better chance at healthy hair growth). Plus, it’s got a little antioxidant-rich caffeine, which has some anti-inflammatory properties to help calm down irritation, which dermatologist Dr. Bhanusali, notes won’t necessarily make your brow hairs grow, but can potentially reduce inflammatory-based hair fall.

Key ingredients: Peptides, caffeine

Recommended use: Twice daily (once in morning, once at night)

Glowing customer review: “I get dandruff-type flakes in my brows a lot, and I noticed since using this that I haven’t gotten them at all! It kept my brows moisturised.”

Flaky, itchy, inflamed brows are not only annoying to deal with but can potentially inhibit hair growth too. If that sounds like your brows, try this calming brow serum from Milk Makeup, which combines soothing aloe vera and cannabis seed extract (an anti-inflammatory derived from hemp plants) to help neutralise irritation. It’s also got a cocktail of peptides and panthenol to hydrate your skin and hair and help prevent moisture loss.

Key ingredients: Aloe vera, cannabis seed extract, peptides, panthenol

Recommended use: Daily at night

Glowing customer review: “This product has brought back brow hair that I haven't been able to regrow in 10+ years. It has filled in my brows so much that I no longer have to draw in the ends of my brows.”

I’m all about filling my bathroom with fancy face creams and luxury face masks that give me as much joy to look at as they do to use. So obviously, I immediately tried Augustinus Bader’s eyelash and eyebrow serum when it launched, which uses the same strengthening and moisturising ingredients found in its skincare line (like amino acids, hyaluronic acid, and castor oil). It has moisturised the heck out of my brows, which has left them looking a bit more fluffed-up, especially in the very-sparse areas around my arch. So yup, I’ll be replacing the bottle on my shelf when it’s done—and not just because it’s pretty AF.

Key ingredients: Amino acids, hyaluronic acid, castor oil

Recommended use: Daily at night

Glowing customer review: “I’ve tried various ways of dealing with my disappearing eyebrows as I age, and this product is the easiest by far. A quick swipe on each brow, and that’s it. Minimal eyebrow gel required now, and I’m good to go.”

Whether or not eyebrow growth serums work depends on what you’re looking for. Eyebrow serums don’t actually help eyebrows grow any thicker or faster—they just have moisturising and strengthening ingredients to boost your brow health. So if you’re looking for a way to keep your existing eyebrows healthy and also add a coat of thickness from the oils in the serum, you’ll be good with any brow serum on this list.

But will an eyebrow-growth transform your skimpy tadpole arches into thick, Lily Collins–level brows? Nope, not even a little, despite what that high-school friend says on Facebook.

You can potentially help increase eyebrow hair growth with two ingredients: (1) bimatoprost, the active ingredient in Latisse; and (2) minoxidil, the active ingredient in Rogaine, says dermatologist Marisa Garshick. In a small-scale study, patients noticed increased hair density after coating their brows with .01 percent bimatoprost lotion (similar to the .03 percent bimatoprost in Latisse) once a day for six months.

Similarly, in another small-scale study, patients saw thicker brows after applying 1 percent minoxidil lotion to their eyebrows twice a day for 16 weeks (just beware, as noted above, that this can be majorly irritating, so you’ll want to start slow, consult your derm, and load up on soothing moisturizer afterward like Vanicream). Still, more studies are needed before dermatologists can conclude whether or not these ingredients directly increase eyebrow-hair growth.

In the meantime, other topicals, like antioxidants, peptides, and moisturizers, can be helpful in your journey to thick, bushy brows. “Peptides, vitamins and antioxidants may help to strengthen and improve the overall texture and quality of the brows,” says Dr. Garshick, “which can improve the overall appearance, but may not specifically grow eyebrow hairs.”

Look for moisturising ingredients

If you do wanna try your hand at nonprescription brow serums, look for moisturising formulas that feature biotin, panthenol, hyaluronic acid, and peptides (all of which lead to more hydrated hair and skin that can make brows look more “plump”), as well as amino acids and proteins like keratin to help strengthen your brows and reduce hair fall.

Consider medicated formulas

If you’re serious about eyebrow growth, look for an eyebrow serum that contains medicated ingredients like over-the-counter minoxidil. Both of these actually can potentially increase hair growth by elongating your hair’s growth phase, unlike moisturising and strengthening formulas that can only give the illusion of thicker, fuller brows. Basically, if you want to actually grow back lost brow hairs, consider a medicated option. Cara Delevigne brows, coming right up!