Guess Who Didn’t Have ANY Eyebrows?
Dear Ones,
I saw a post a couple of weeks ago about a woman who didn’t have eyebrows. There are plenty of people who don’t have eyebrows, but this woman was famous- known by people all around the world! Her image is very familiar, so familiar in fact, that over 7.8 MILLION people saw her iconic portrait in 2022. Maybe you already know who I’m talking about? If you guessed the Mona Lisa, you’re right!
It makes me curious when the first time I ever saw the Mona Lisa was. Her image has crossed my path enough times over the years that she feels familiar. Yet I had NEVER noticed her lack of eyebrows! Had you? If you are someone who pulls your eyebrows or eyelashes, you probably notice every missing hair from that part of your face. As those little hairs grow in, feeling itchy, ornery, and out of place, I bet you notice every single one of them too! Yet the Mona Lisa, who has been in plain sight this whole time, seems to be lacking this one little section of hair that can leave you feeling awkward, embarrassed and desperate for solutions to somehow stop the pulling. I don’t know if the Mona Lisa’s eyebrows were pulled out, or if she never had them, or if DaVince just didn’t have one of those cute little eyebrow pencils that some people use to carefully paint their eyebrows back in with. Considering that this is not something we even talk about when we look at the portrait, maybe, after all, it just wasn’t (isn’t?) important.
After writing the previous paragraph I got more curious and did a quick internet search. This brought me to some fascinating information. Turns out, in the Renaissance, it was common for women to shave their eyebrows! What?!?! This points me further to my sense that all of these ideas we’ve internalized about how we are supposed to look are arbitrary. When I was in my late teens, I remember being both fascinated and shocked to learn that French women didn’t shave their legs or underarms. I could go on and on about this challenge of thinking we’re supposed to have hair in some places but not have it in others (and how unfair that can feel), but for now I’ll just leave it there.
Why am I bringing this all up? If you’ve landed here, chances are you’re really stressed about your own or someone else’s hair pulling. Worrying about this might even take up a whole lot of your time. As you worry, I wonder what kinds of other important things that are being lost? Does the stress and worry deplete you of energy that you sorely need for other areas of your life? What would it feel like if instead of being trapped in this worry you thought of the Mona Lisa, and for just a moment, tried out your own “Mona Lisa Smile”?
The people who love you and that you love know that you are beautiful and important, whether or not you have eyebrows. Please, keep putting your whole self out into the world no matter the state of your eyebrows, hair, skin, or any other part of how you look. Hairs come and go (ugg, sometimes they go faster than other times), but your presence and impact in this world stays constant. Your importance never changes, even when your eyebrows do. Please dear hearts, stretch your face toward the sun, and share your beautiful smile with everyone who is blessed by your presence eyebrows or not!
