• Video
  • Shop
  • Culture
  • Family
  • Wellness
  • Food
  • Living
  • Style
  • Travel
  • News
  • Book Club
  • Newsletter
  • Privacy Policy
  • Your US State Privacy Rights
  • Children's Online Privacy Policy
  • Interest-Based Ads
  • Terms of Use
  • Do Not Sell My Info
  • Contact Us
  • © 2026 ABC News
  • Style

Do bold brows make you a narcissist? What your eyebrows say about you

0:30
What your bold brows say about your personality
GMA Photo Illustration, Getty
ByNicole Pelletiere
June 14, 2018, 6:35 PM

Nowadays, our eyebrow lady is our most trusted adviser and in a world of microblading, threading, brow gels and more, it's no secret that it's all about definition. But according to a new study, rocking a thicker look could be a sign of a narcissistic personality.

Researchers at the University of Toronto examined which facial cues people typically look to when detecting others' narcissistic behaviors. In the three-part study published in the Journal of Personality, facial photographs were taken of students who exhibited traits of narcissism.

Those photos were then shown to participants, or "naive perceivers," who rated how narcissistic they believed each person in the photo to be, Miranda Giacomin, Ph.D., lead author on the study told "Good Morning America."

GMA Photo Illustration - Eyebrows
GMA Photo Illustration, Getty

Next, the facial photos were cropped or "experimentally manipulated" to show just the upper or lower halves of the face.

"We found that perceivers were able to accurately detect narcissism from the upper half of the face, and the main cue was the eyebrows," Giacomin explained. "Thus, people use others' eyebrows as a cue for their narcissism."

GMA Eyebrows GFX
ABC News

And to be absolutely positive that eyebrows were what the participants were looking at, Giacomin had the perceivers rate the targets' brows based on various dimensions like how they were groomed, distinctiveness, and femininity. Results found that eyebrows distinctiveness, aka, how thick or dense they were, corresponded with people's levels of narcissism.

But Giacomin agrees that people have been channeling their inner Cara Delevingne in recent years, and thicker brows have been a beauty look of the moment.

GMA Eyebrows GFX
ABC News

"A person's preference for thick brows may be related to their desire to be attractive and popular and on trend," Giacomin said.

If thick brows makes us narcissistic, what does it mean for those who bejewel theirs?

Up Next in Style—

How Heidi Klum transformed into 2026 Met Gala sculpture look

May 5, 2026

Met Gala 2026: Sabrina Carpenter wears dress made of film from movie 'Sabrina'

May 5, 2026

Met Gala 2026: Best red carpet looks

May 5, 2026

Met Gala 2026: Kylie Jenner accents her look with bleached eyebrows

May 5, 2026

Shop GMA Favorites

ABC will receive a commission for purchases made through these links.

Sponsored Content by Taboola

The latest lifestyle and entertainment news and inspiration for how to live your best life - all from Good Morning America.
  • Contests
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Policy
  • Do Not Sell My Info
  • Children’s Online Privacy Policy
  • Advertise with us
  • Your US State Privacy Rights
  • Interest-Based Ads
  • About Nielsen Measurement
  • Press
  • Feedback
  • Shop FAQs
  • ABC News
  • ABC
  • All Videos
  • All Topics
  • Sitemap

© 2026 ABC News
  • Privacy Policy— 
  • Your US State Privacy Rights— 
  • Children's Online Privacy Policy— 
  • Interest-Based Ads— 
  • Terms of Use— 
  • Do Not Sell My Info— 
  • Contact Us— 

© 2026 ABC News