BEAUTY Hair Skin

Unibrows are Popular in Tajikistan

Written by Bryce

Are you into unibrows enough to paint one on?

You’re probably thinking, “unibrows? really? like the one Bert had on Sesame Street?” Yes. Like that. And in Tajikistan, a place I’m betting you’ve never been to.

If you’re into a little beauty experimentation, you might try locating this herb for some unibrow action of your own:

Usma, a leafy green herb, is sold in all Tajik markets. You can get a small bunch for about $0.06. The process is simple but effective, several market women assured me. Take a bunch of usma and let it dry in the sun for a couple hours. Then grind up the leaves until a dark green goo seeps out. Dip a branch of usma — or a matchstick, if you want to be more precise — into the goo and smear it on your eyebrows, making sure, of course, to color the space in between. Leave on for 15 minutes, and repeat the smearing process one or two more times. The result is a deep black unibrow, rich and expressive.

Asking Tajik women why they like the unibrow is a bit like asking Western women why they like to paint their nails or pluck their eyebrows into oblivion.

“I just think it’s beautiful,” was, without exception, the answer I got after asking more than a dozen Tajik women about their unibrows.

via GlobalPost

About the author

Bryce

Bryce Gruber is a Manhattanite mom who can be found jet-setting off to every corner of the globe. She loves exotic places, planes with WiFi, summer clothes, & Sucre brown butter truffles. Bryce's aim is to do to luxury what Elton John did to being gay. Follow her on twitter @brycegruber

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