But what do having thick and distinctive eyebrows reveal about our personality?
Psychologists have been combing through the evidence - and conclude that eye-catching eyebrows mean... you're probably a narcissist.
Researchers discovered that those with 'thicker and denser' brows are more likely to be self-centred than others.
A group of men and women who took part in a study were asked how much they agreed with statements such as 'If I ruled the world it would be a better place'.
Photos were then taken of them posing with neutral expressions. When the images were shown to another group, it was found that they could correctly identify the self-centred individuals from their more humble counterparts.
When the researchers removed the eyebrows from the pictures, however, the participants could no longer differentiate between them.
In a follow-up study in which only pictures of the eyebrows were shown to the group, they were again able to correctly identify the narcissists.
Lead author Dr Miranda Giacomin, from the University of Toronto, said: 'Narcissists seem to have more distinct eyebrows - thicker and denser.'
It may be that they naturally have more distinctive brows, or they might groom them in such a way so that they are more easily recognised by other people, she explained in a paper published in the Journal of Personality.
Previous research has found how brows can be a bigger aid to facial recognition than eyes.
Studies have found, for example, that people struggle to recognise celebrities without their eyebrows.
Dr Giacomin said: 'Narcissists love attention and admiration and may maintain distinct eyebrows so that they are noticed, recognized, and remembered. This increases their likeability and maintains their overly positive self-views.'
She added that thicker brows may boost masculinity or femininity, which in the past may have helped us attract more partners.
It may explain why both men and women still groom their eyebrows, with tweezing, colouring, Botox and even permanent tattoos to accentuate brow arch and fullness.
'Narcissists behave aggressively when pursing potential mates and enjoy successfully securing short-term partners,' said Dr Giacomin.
'Their eyebrows could signal this prowess to others.'
Reader Comments
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If two different journalists write an article on the same subject, that is not plagiarism.
If they both quote words spoken by a person significantly related to that article, that is not plagiarism, in fact to purposely misquote that person would be lying...
Different journalists, same subject, oh well.
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The magic of the mind-game lies in accusing in others what you most want to hide in yourself.
Love of (identity in) self- image is also self-concept.
There are ways of being totally 'me-centric' that mask in good works and intentions.
Rather than judging persons - as if we can ever judge another but by the measure we (unconsciously) set for our self - we can identify strategies of masking. Some are (temporarily) exclusively identified in the mask of persona and other have perspective on the mask and the underlying issues or conditionings that brought the need for masking, hiding or 'escaping' the fear and the pain of conflicted self/reality.
Self-specialness can work in apparently positive or apparently negative modes. Neither of which are truly who you are.
The original myth of Narcissus is of becoming so fascinated in his own self-reflected i-magi-nation that the call of Echo (who loves him) went unheeded and unheard. It is a variation of the 'Prodigal Son'. Seeming to create our own reality makes us central, powerful, and consequently trapped in and subject to such 'power' as we have WANTED true.
Recognising narcissistic qualities in ourself is the possibility of releasing ourselves - and others - from a prison-mind.
But from the point of view of identity in self-image, this possibility is seen as the greatest threat to 'self', security and a sense of control.
The mob of an evasion of personal responsibility for their own consciousness WANTS scapegoats, hate objects, enemies and someone lower than them to help them feel better about themselves. Some will of course use everyone ELSE as evidence to their own superior but usually masked judgements. Or perhaps everyone does it but have better strategies for concealing their thought. If you KNOW you are in effect accessing your own consciousness by what you (choose) to give focus to (in others) then you have a basis to extend and share worth, rather than seek it at their expense.
The lure of the collective self-reinforcement of self in agreement to justify hatred of selected others, works a collective narcissistic bubble. I am not suggesting that we are wrong to feel hatred of being used or abused, blanked or deceived by another - but our primary responsibility is to learn from this so as not to offer the conditions by which we - perhaps unconsciously - set ourselves up to be taken in.
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N0T !!