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I have heard the claim that if you shave your eyebrows, they will never grow back. I have even heard that surgeons try as much as they can not to shave a person's eyebrows unless absolutely necessary.

Is there any evidence behind this claim? Will eyebrows really never grow back when shaved?

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6  
Adam Savage once lost his eyebrows to a flame and it grew back – ratchet freak May 7 '12 at 17:28
6  
It's easy enough to find out. If you don't want to risk living the rest of your life without brows, just shave the forehead of a friend/spouse/roommate while they sleep! – Flimzy May 7 '12 at 18:42
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I’m questioning the notability of this claim … I’ve never heard it, and it sounds particularly ludicrous, given that we are commonly confronted with eyebrow growth (why else would some women (and men, of course) get their eyebrows plucked on a regular basis?) … – Konrad Rudolph♦ May 8 '12 at 12:03
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I WISH! Then I wouldn't have to keep waxing my eyebrows. – Sam I Am May 8 '12 at 14:01
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@Zano: Due to their relative proximity to the brain, eye brow follicles are especially smart. – Flimzy May 10 '12 at 7:09
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1 Answer

up vote 11 down vote accepted

Yes they do grow back

As this video shows. :-)

However, if you prefer something a little more informative you can look at the growth rates of various follicles, and the references around that article (it's well known eyebrow follicles are the slowest to grow).

It seems likely that surgeons avoid shaving them as they are so slow to grow, rather than because they don't grow at all.

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